{"id":676,"date":"2020-10-20T12:00:09","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prettybooks.com\/magazine\/?p=676"},"modified":"2020-10-20T17:27:45","modified_gmt":"2020-10-20T17:27:45","slug":"financial-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prettybooks.com\/magazine\/2020\/10\/20\/financial-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"How One Accountant Navigated the Waters of an Intense Financial Meeting Between Passionate Business Founders"},"content":{"rendered":"

An often-overlooked but important part of an accountant\u2019s role is attending client meetings. While some are simple, fun catch-ups, others can be complex. Some meetings are analytical deep dives into the health and operations of a business. These are meetings where key decision makers sit down with their accountants to review the trends, productivity, and results of their business\u2019 operations. One accountant knew her deep dive with a client was going to take so long that she pre-ordered lunch for everyone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The accountant knew this meeting would be intense. Her client was a growing business that had just graduated from simple profit and loss statements to more detailed level analytics. Businesses with a high level of activity require a deeper evaluation of their numbers to answer questions regarding their business triggers. This was only the second meeting of this kind the client had attended, and they were still processing all the new information.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses are made up of many different mechanics, like a watch.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

During the meeting, the accountant presented reports on cash flow, profitability, and budget to give her client a comprehensive look at how the business was doing financially. Her clients used that information as a jumping off point to discuss their current business operations, including what these trends meant for their future. The point of these financial meetings is to connect clients with their financials so they can get a better look at their businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses are made up of many different mechanics, like a watch. When you open it up, there are many levers and screws. When you are in a financial meeting, it\u2019s like magnifying every single mechanic inside, then going through and having a conversation about how to make the watch better.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot of work went into preparing for the meeting. The accountant scrubbed the ledger, created a presentation\u2014including a high-level overview and detailed analytics to support it\u2014generated reports, and created graphs that were easy to follow. She then created an agenda to emphasize the key focuses of the business and outline the discussion flow.<\/p>\n

Once the accountant sat down with her client team for the meeting, the real work began. She was expected to present her financial evaluations and juggle client questions, explaining reports and describing trends. Additionally, she was expected to moderate the discussions to make sure they stayed on track. Any time there are multiple key decision makers involved, discussions can get heated. In this meeting, the business\u2019 two founders, each with different ideas on what \u201csuccess\u201d meant for a business, came together to dive deep into how their business was doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re in a meeting, you\u2019re presenting numbers to your clients. The resulting conversation isn\u2019t about numbers, though; it\u2019s about people. It\u2019s about circumstances. It\u2019s about dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

The goal of financial meetings is to break down each mechanism to improve the way it works and aligns with the founders\u2019 visions of the company. They asked very direct questions, like \u201cwhy did our profit change?\u201d The accountant had to quickly maneuver from a business operations perspective to a numerical mapping of transactions, allowing her to guide them through the specific sequences in their business operations that had caused the change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe founders are talking to us in their language, which is business operations. As accountants, have to translate every single word they say into a mathematical map to show them how we got these numbers. We\u2019re guiding the client as they investigate the triggers in their operations through the numerical facts we see in their ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot was expected of the accountant, but she made sure to plan a break. When lunch arrived, the accountant and the founders took a twenty-minute break to talk and eat. That was always the accountant\u2019s favorite part. She got to chat with everyone and learn about who they are outside of the office. It\u2019s a side of these people she rarely gets to see, and those twenty minutes got her through the rest of the four-hour meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exhausting to lead financial meetings, but it\u2019s worth it to sit at a table where things are hashed out. This is a table where our clients can really talk about what\u2019s really going on in a business and how they can make it stronger and more successful. We make changes and provide truth and clarity for the people operating those businesses, and it\u2019s an honor to know that they trust and respect us to be there working with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the meeting, the accountant headed back to her desk to take notes on how the meeting had gone and how she could improve the client\u2019s understanding in the next one. Then she got out her notes from another client\u2019s previous meeting and started preparing for yet another meeting\u2014the following day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some client meetings are simple, and some are analytical deep dives into the operations of a business. During these meetings, key decision makers and their accountants review trends, productivity, and results of their business\u2019 operations. One accountant knew her deep dive with a client was going to take so long that she pre-ordered lunch for everyone. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[29],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow One Accountant Navigated the Waters of an Intense Financial Meeting Between Passionate Business Founders - Pretty Books Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some client meetings are simple, and some are analytical deep dives into the operations of a business. During these meetings, key decision makers and their accountants review trends, productivity, and results of their business\u2019 operations. 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