Reshuffle?

 February 7 – Sunday working: time for reflection.

Having tackled the garden this morning (which was in a mighty mess and slightly less so now) I had time to consider next actions for the company.

I admit I’m worried about our accounts department. Having developed out of it myself I made a conscious effort to allow my successor (#1) room to manage it as she felt appropriate. It’s far too easy to micro-manage issues in a department you know well.  I think I succeeded in that objective. The question I was considering was whether #1 has really risen to the challenge.

I remain sensitive to criticism I suffered here last year when criticising her for what I consider a sewrious lapse in internal control: representing that a bank reconciliation was under taken when I did not agree. And it is not as if this has been the only problem. She caused chaos when having a fling with East soon after her arrival (from which both have recovered, and for which he, of course, was at least as responsible) but now we have a crisis in the department and on this occasion I have more than sneaking suspicion she is very responsible.

I can do without this. I am effectively her understudy, and that’s undesirable. And I’m losing confidence that I can rely on her,  which is incredibly negative.

The solution dawned on me as I gardened. AM is growing in stature by the day.  Having shuffled jobs several times already, and having operational experience now, and with her being designated to assist me in managing any acquisitions in the event that we identify suitable targets I’m not at all sure now is not the time to take the bull by the horns and make her FD, declare the chief accountant post which #q1 has occupied redundant, look for a really good #2 to AM to actually run accounts and shuffle East’s #2, who is deserving of promotion to take over AM’s department, with East and me as mentors.

It’s a bit radical to have such a clear out in a go, but AM has the advantage of also knowing systems here very well. And I’m not sure I’m going to solve the problem in accounts with #1 in place any more.

I’ll muse on it. And consult East and the Chair, but this idea has survived writing it down. And thankfully, by tacit agreement, AM no longer reads this blog even though she is one of the very few people who knows who actually writes it. So I can risk airing my thoughts.