Just-in-Time Accounting: How to Decrease Costs and Increase Efficiency [Hardcover]

Steven M. Bragg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471392111 | ISBN-13: 978-0471392118 | Publication Date: May 30, 2001 | Edition: 2nd

Improve your accounting department with proven techniques and methods that will streamline all of the processes associated with your system. While increasing the quality of your performance, you will be guided by samples of cost/benefit analyses so that you may justify the implementation of your revised systems. Whether you are changing your accounting department out of necessity or just looking to enhance it, this book will transform your current department into a quicker and more reliable unit.

If you're looking for a way to increase accounting department efficiency and cut costs, start by reading this remarkable new hands-on guide and learn how to:

• Reduce transaction-related work and allow employees to focus on profit-increasing activities
• Eliminate redundancy and waste
• Apply the latest technologies to your accounting process
• Reduce costs to the corporation
• Eliminate errors and increase efficiency

These topics and many more are thoroughly discussed so that you may speed up your accounting processes and cut costs at the same time.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This extremely practical book explains how to streamline an accounting system so that transactions can be processed with minimal errors and staff time, resulting in high-speed transactions that allow the accounting department more time for business analysis, management reporting and other activities that contribute to a company's profits. Describes how to generate reports quicker, identify and eliminate unnecessary information in the reports, ensure that the correct data is used the first time and much more. Includes checklists whenever processes must be followed in a specific sequence. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Today, businesses are hard pressed to produce a profit each year. If a company fails to do so, either the competition or stockholders will make them pay for it. Efficiency in every aspect of a company is more important now than ever before. The dilemma of cutting accounting department operating costs-without sacrificing service-is something almost all CFOs, controllers, and accounting managers have had to face. So, how are you going to cope with the reality of this situation? After reading this book, you'll know exactly what needs to be done to make your accounting department efficient and cost effective.

As he did in his first edition, accounting expert Steven M. Bragg covers a wide range of areas that demonstrates how to eliminate inefficiencies, redundancies, and waste, while implementing high-speed, low-cost, quality systems that can be adapted to any company's particular needs. By streamlining routine procedures and utilizing new technologies, you'll improve your accounting department's quality with "error-free accounting."

In the Second Edition of Just-in-Time Accounting, streamlining traditional accounting systems and methods is discussed along with the most current developments in technology and techniques that will allow you to optimize your accounting department's performance.

Some of the new topics covered in this edition are:
* Setting up the accounting department
* Internet and intranet accounting applications
* Advanced data collection and storage systems
* Outsourcing the accounting department

The multistep approach provided in this book can be applied to all of your most common transactions, including cash, sales and accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, cost accounting, payroll, and many other areas of your accounting department. From assessing the status of your current systems to handling the effects change may have on your employees, this book gives you the opportunity to finally maximize the efficiency of your accounting process.

If you're serious about streamlining your accounting system and want to reduce errors and time spent on transactions, look no further than Just-in-Time Accounting, Second Edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2nd edition (May 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471392111
• ISBN-13: 978-0471392118
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,977,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The primary question I receive is, why would anyone write so many accounting books? The story began in the early 1990s, when my former boss, Jan Roehl-Anderson, asked me to assist in taking over a book called Controllership from Jim Willson (correct spelling), who had been maintaining the book since the early 1950s. I liked the experience, and even found it relaxing (I must have issues!).

So... I had an idea for another book, called Just-in-Time Accounting, which the publisher accepted, and which got me on the track of doing management accounting books. Most accounting books up to that point had primarily dealt with accounting principles and not how to management the department, so this was a rich area for new books.

The Accounting Best Practices book, which is one of the top-selling accounting books in the country, started when I was bouncing around ideas for new books with one of my editors, John DeRemigis. He suggested the accounting best practices idea, and I said, "nah, there's not enough material." Four editions later and over 400+ pages long, it appears that he was right and I was wrong.

Writing became more intense in 2005, when John Wiley & Sons recommended me to the authors of the Wiley GAAP Guide as a new co-author. This is a seriously technical high-end accounting principles guide, and so was nothing like what I had written before. My first assignment was adding a hundred or so new examples to the book, which was absolutely frantic -- imagine becoming an expert on a really far-out accounting topic in one day, writing an esoteric example, and then hurrying on to an entirely different example the next day.

I have just finished writing Accounting Controls Best Practices, which is chock-full of control points for the most common accounting systems, as well as for best practices upgrades to those systems. And now, it is time for a break, if only for a week.

So... I am heading to the Western Pacific for some serious diving off a live aboard dive boat.

Steve Bragg

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book - It could make your career, August 4, 2000

By 

Bungalow Details Robert Snare (Broomfield, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Just-in-Time Accounting: How to Decrease Costs and Increase Efficiency (Hardcover)

I wish this book existed during the turbulent 80's and early 90's. Outmoded accounting system's, corporate reorganizations, high employee turnover, pressure to do more, faster with fewer resources. As a Controller, most of my biggest headaches involved the amount of time required to close the books. The original closing schedule was 10 days into the new period. Then it was 8 days. Then 5, then 4 days.

I can't even guess at the time I could have saved had I known the techniques the author demonstrates in Just-In-Time Accounting.

This is not your usual accounting tome, based on statistics and theory. This is real stuff. Built out of scar tissue, experience and real world solutions. They are not necessarily easy solutions but lasting solutions worth the effort to implement.

The content deals with streamlining some basic areas:

Cash - How to speed up the process but still keep control. Some very interesting ideas about corporate credit cards, using your bank and lock boxes to save time and money.

Sales & Accounts Receivable - Some good ideas about redundant approvals, and minimizing paper.

Inventory - With hundreds of physical inventories under my belt I can vouch for the absolutely necessity of doing what the author recommends. This area was one of my great bugaboo's. Nothing affects the balance sheet like an inventory error. This involves bills of material, suppliers, production records, and computer system's. This is a whole world in itself but the problem(s) and solutions are concisely described here. Get your inventory under control and the rest is cake.

Accounts Payable - Good stuff that took me a long time to discover on my own.

Cost Accounting - Mostly about why you need it and how it allows you to spot P&L problems before the month ends. This is one of the critical areas to review since it is necessary for faster closes. Get the major variances identified early in the month instead of wasting time digging it up 4 or 5 weeks after the events occurred. One comment I have is the need for weekly staff meetings to review what happened last week, how will it affect this week and what is being done about it. These meeting will point out problem areas for the controller to preempt delusional variance explanations after monthend.

Payroll - Many good ideas that work. I have used the barcode system's.

The Budget - You probably know about these already but there are some time-saving techniques to minimize constant re-casting and interations.

EDI - I'm not too familiar with this.

The Quick Close - It can be done. This tells you how and I can vouch for the soundness of the concept. I actually set a corporate-wide benchmark of 1-1/2 days using these techniques. In my view that is the real payoff since it is the realization and payoff of all the other hard work. Gives you more time to do yet another iteration of the budget.

Some of the examples apply to huge corporations but most of the principles are universal. I really can't find fault in this book. It tells the controller, in the real world, how to get your system(s) sorted out. I have seen many "instant pudding" or fad of the month cause real damage if it didn't really work. There is no downside to these techniques. This is motherhood and apple pie. You can't go wrong trying.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book - It could make your career, January 8, 2001

By 

Bungalow Details Robert Snare (Broomfield, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Just-In-Time Accounting: How to Decrease Costs and Increase Efficiency (Paperback)

I wish this book existed during the turbulent 80's and early 90's. Outmoded accounting system's, corporate reorganizations, high employee turnover, pressure to do more, faster with fewer resources. As a Controller, most of my biggest headaches involved the amount of time required to close the books. The original closing schedule was 10 days into the new period. Then it was 8 days. Then 5, then 4 days.

I can't even guess at the time I could have saved had I known the techniques the author demonstrates in Just-In-Time Accounting.

This is not your usual accounting tome, based on statistics and theory. This is real stuff. Built out of scar tissue, experience and real world solutions. They are not necessarily easy solutions but lasting solutions worth the effort to implement.

The content deals with streamlining some basic areas:

Cash - How to speed up the process but still keep control. Some very interesting ideas about corporate credit cards, using your bank and lock boxes to save time and money.

Sales & Accounts Receivable - Some good ideas about redundant approvals, and minimizing paper.

Inventory - With hundreds of physical inventories under my belt I can vouch for the absolutely necessity of doing what the author recommends. This area was one of my great bugaboo's. Nothing affects the balance sheet like an inventory error. This involves bills of material, suppliers, production records, and computer system's. This is a whole world in itself but the problem(s) and solutions are concisely described here. Get your inventory under control and the rest is cake.

Accounts Payable - Good stuff that took me a long time to discover on my own.

Cost Accounting - Mostly about why you need it and how it allows you to spot P&L problems before the month ends. This is one of the critical areas to review since it is necessary for faster closes. Get the major variances identified early in the month instead of wasting time digging it up 4 or 5 weeks after the events occurred. One comment I have is the need for weekly staff meetings to review what happened last week, how will it affect this week and what is being done about it. These meeting will point out problem areas for the controller to preempt delusional variance explanations after monthend.

Payroll - Many good ideas that work. I have used the barcode system's.

The Budget - You probably know about these already but there are some time-saving techniques to minimize constant re-casting and interations.

EDI - I'm not too familiar with this.

The Quick Close - It can be done. This tells you how and I can vouch for the soundness of the concept. I actually set a corporate-wide benchmark of 1-1/2 days using these techniques. In my view that is the real payoff since it is the realization and payoff of all the other hard work. Gives you more time to do yet another iteration of the budget.

Some of the examples apply to huge corporations but most of the principles are universal. I really can't find fault in this book. It tells the controller, in the real world, how to get your system(s) sorted out. I have seen many "instant pudding" or fad of the month cause real damage if it didn't really work. There is no downside to these techniques. This is motherhood and apple pie. You can't go wrong trying

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT FOR CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS, December 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Just-in-Time Accounting: How to Decrease Costs and Increase Efficiency (Hardcover)

This book is the best in the market so far for accounting process improvements. The author did a great job in outlining the traditional and revised accounting procedures. Lots of opportunities available to streamline the work process and enhance the information flow. There are lots of useful flowcharts and tables that you can apply to your company right away.