New tricks in accounting

We have been doing some reading to learn some new techniques for a new client.  Our new client is a manufacturer whose accounting system was set up to operate in a lean environment.  While we have heard of lean and Beth has managed a mill in a lean environment, we had not seen it applied to accounting.  We have read a couple of books on the subject and while I resisted initially, I now get the point!  I next tackled Throughput accounting, written by Steven Bragg.  While I am sure it would not excite a lot of you, I found it fascinating.

The theory behind Throughput accounting is that every business has one area which dictates the speed with which the company operates.  In a manufacturing environment, it is usually a piece of equipment.  It can be due to policies (batch sizes or ordering procedures) or human factors (undersized staff).  The main emphasis initially is to identify the constraint and then to maximize its efficiency.  After that, the business must work to support this area.  There are chapters devoted to scheduling production, pricing products and cutting costs.  Really interesting and a different take on accounting and how it can support the operations and sales functions within a company.  We are hoping it will help our client run more efficiently and, of course, more profitably.

We are hoping to take some time off next week to spend with our families, so we wish everyone a happy holiday season.  Stay tuned in 2012!