What do an orchestra and an aligned accounting team have in common?

An accounting team without standardized processes is like an orchestra playing various pieces of music at the same time: chaotic.

Think of your team like an orchestra:

There's a wind section full of clarinets and flutes, a brass section with trumpets and trombones, a strings section with violins and cellos, and a percussion section with a bass drum and snares.

And at the front of the orchestra, there's a conductor.

Consider what would happen if all of these musicians are reading different pieces of music? What if some musicians are reading sheets of music that are upside down? What if some aren’t even facing the conductor or their music at all?

The conductor is trying their best to unify each section into one harmonious orchestra, but that’s nearly impossible when everyone is either looking in the wrong direction, reading different music, or reading it in different ways.

It’s the same with your accounting firm.

How can you, your firm’s leader, harmoniously conduct your team to deliver client work efficiently, while, at the same time, trying to please your clients (audience) and add additional staff and services (musicians and instruments) as your firm grows?

The answer: with great difficulty.

Get your team on the same page

Can you imagine how much easier it would be for the conductor to unify the orchestra when you make this simple change:

Everyone is reading the same music.

Can you imagine how much easier it would be to run your practice if everyone was working from the same standardized process documentation?

It’s not the single, all-encompassing answer to the orchestra’s performance, and it’s not the single answer to all your accounting firm’s hurdles.

But it’s something, and the impacts are wide-reaching.

Standardize your processes to align your team

Without standardized and documented processes, even simple tasks can be difficult and time-consuming, and there's no guarantee of consistency.

That means clients are receiving inconsistent experiences, and different members of your team are performing tasks in different ways, depending on who they are.

But when you assess, refine, standardize and document your processes, you transfer them into efficient and repeatable actions that serve as a guide for you and your staff to reference as they’re needed.

This means everyone is reading the same music and walking to the same beat.

Not only are your team more aligned, but your firm will benefit from: