It’s been a heck of a ride, but the adventure isn’t over yet. The last quarter has put a lot of pressure on businesses, caused a lot of tumult at organizations, and created a lot of challenges and changes in the accounting department.
From changing roles to new responsibilities to evolving protections, adapting to the new normal means doing what you can without jeopardizing the health, morale, or financial future of the company. But if you ever wondered how others just like you addressed these challenges and eased the pain their organizations faced, we recently presented a webcast on how leaders kept the ship afloat in a tumultuous time.
In our first ever Controllers Roundtable event, we brought on a variety of leaders who shared their experiences and tactics. Here are just some of the takeaways.
Act Early and Focus on Liquidity
You can’t survive without control over the cash flow. Luckily, that’s where you have the knowledge and skills to keep everything together. In our webcast, one of the biggest factors listed by those able to come out unscathed was to transition quickly and focus on liquidity.
Jhemma Winkworth of Relativity was able to make it work by taking a documented approach to the processes before quickly evaluating and refreshing the collections process and vendor relationships. Whether that meant implementing updates to collections processes and correspondence, bringing on team members to assist with this, or keeping an up to date forecast, our webcast explored a variety of ways to stay afloat.
Evaluate Your Software Investments
You’ve probably had to make a few software decisions over the past few months to provide accessibility to your firm. But what about the other end? Now is the perfect time to evaluate the usage and sentiment on your current solutions. From finding out what you can renegotiate to cutting down to “just enough” users instead of keeping extra users on the roster, this is one way to free up cash flow at your firm.
The Mental Health and Morale of Your Staff Matters
One of the most common topics discussed throughout our Controllers Roundtable event was the topic of mental health. In a time when layoffs, furloughs, and reduction in force initiatives are on the table, when social interaction is rare, and when anxiety over a global pandemic is consistent, it’s vital to keep everyone in touch. Focusing on connection and compassion will go a long way to keep your people focused and productive.
Learn More: Accounting Controllers Roundtable – Webcast Recap
As the person in charge of the day-to-day, the last few months may have been a bit tumultuous. How did controllers adapt and what goes into their strategies for recovery? This article only provided a taste of the true insights offered by our esteemed panelists. If you’re looking to learn more, preview our latest Controllers Roundtable below and click here to watch the entire webcast.
Learn even more from our COVID-19 Resource Center:
- Questions to Ask about Your Finances before You Pivot Towards Recovery
- Surviving the Crisis: Tips on Keeping Business Coming In
- It Pays to Get Paid: Taking Steps to Speed Up Receivables in a Crisis
- How Controllers Can Approach HR Initiatives During the COVID-19 Outbreak
- Controller’s Guide to Managing Cash During a Crisis
