The world of accounting & finance is not for the faint of heart. Not only do you have accountants facing impossible deadlines, especially during tax season, but also the finance pros who are working year-round to ensure we look good in front of shareholders and keep payroll on time.
Because of that, Vaco has been celebrating all accounting and finance professionals the entire month of April. After taking the time to say thank you to all the A+ players crunching numbers and keeping us in balance, we’re now in favor of keeping the spirit of this month going all year long.
After talking with members of Vaco’s finance teams, we thought what better way to show our appreciation than to create a list of how we can be better partners with our A&F teammates!
- Follow processes: Sure, it’s a lot of steps to make sure your expense report is submitted correctly. But it’s going to take up way more time for the controller who has to make sense of your mess. And let’s be honest, that first pass you made isn’t going to be approved, and you’re eventually going to have to submit it correctly. Respect the process. It’s there to help everyone!
- Give reasonable time for requests: If you have a big presentation in two weeks that has to include a future budget forecast, make sure you send a request to your A&F team now versus two days before. While they may be math wizards, they still have to prioritize all their work and the constant flow of inbound requests. They are always more than happy to help you, just make sure to be cognizant of their workloads and schedules.
- Review your numbers: Your A&F team doesn’t expect you to be a math whiz, but they expect you to make sure things add up. They work hard to implement procedures and programs that make your life easier, leaving any calculus conundrums to the pros. Moral of the story – recheck your math and show that you can effectively manage and track a budget.
- Show some love! Whether it’s a card or an in-person thank you for pulling all-nighters to ensure a deadline is met, make sure you show appreciation. These crucial players are the ones who keep the entire company in balance, on Uncle Sam’s good side, and let’s not forget – who issue your paychecks. Take the team out for lunch, shower them with numerical praises, or bestow a yummy assortment of sweet treats. Everyone loves that!
These are just a few of the many ways to be a better partner to your in-house Accounting & Finance teams. They work their assets off (sorry, we had to!), so let’s all be better teammates and show our appreciation.
