Accountancy - is it at variance with enterprise

In house accountant will never see eye to eye with the boss

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Accountants in house hardly agree with the boss. There is always a tension and a mutual disrespect. Do you agree

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paddle steamer
By DJKL
15th Jan 2018 18:08

No, sometimes I am in accord with the owners of this business sometimes I am not, sometimes I am in accord with my spouse sometimes I am not, sometimes I am in accord with my kids sometimes I am not.

Your statement is a nonsense, it is not an us and them situation, accountants are not a distinct species from entrepreneurs/managers/executives and the rest and the "boss" comes in many guises and from many backgrounds.

In fact often an accountant ends up as the "boss", a fair few FTSE 100 companies have accountants cluttering their boards, sometimes as chief exec and not crunching numbers.

I can say if there was mutual disrespect I would not be doing this job:

1. I would have gone elsewhere if such was the case.

2. My employers would have sacked me years ago if such was the case. (I have been here since 1997 part time 1999 full time)

A good accountant will (behind closed doors) speak his or her mind, will not follow the herd and will not pull his/her punches, in the right business that does not foster disrespect it fosters respect, in the wrong business if it fosters disrespect time to move on; imho a sign of a strong business relationship is one where you can plough into one another's pet projects with impunity re future resentment, I should know as I have been known to not mince my words if I think something is stupid and have been giving my ten pence worth for a fair few years.

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By Ruddles
15th Jan 2018 18:26

No, I do not.

Next question, please.

Better still - stop altogether.

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Oaklea
By Chris.Mann
15th Jan 2018 20:49

Dear, oh dear, how low can Aweb get?

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By Tim Vane
15th Jan 2018 21:20

To be completely honest I don't remember there being any accountants on the Enterprise at all, which does seem a little strange. It had officers and crew for engineering, security, communication, navigation, command, medical, catering, maintenance, weapons, science and alien liaison, but not, as far as I recall, a single accountant or bookkeeper. Or at least, not one that they ever showed on screen. Which is shocking really when you think about it. Who did the annual stock take of the photon torpedos, processed the till receipts from ten-forward or kept records of the expenditure on dilithium crystals? How did they ensure the mileage logs for the impulse and warp drives were properly documented? Surely there must have been a whole team of unsung number crunchers keeping things on the up and up while the ship was gallavanting around the galaxy. Seems like we need a new TV series on Netflix - Star Trek: The Lost Ledgers.

Make it so.

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Replying to Tim Vane:
By Ruddles
15th Jan 2018 21:31

Why was Lt. Uhuru brown?

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Replying to Ruddles:
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By andy.partridge
16th Jan 2018 10:13

I know that one.

The effect was a surprise because, apparently, only a Tribble came out.

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Replying to Tim Vane:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
15th Jan 2018 23:33

Spock kept it all in his head, all transactions, balances, everything, that is why when Kirk kept trying to post two debits and no credit he kept saying "illogical Captain"

There is an episode where there is crisis with Spock's brain having been taken, the reason they were all so concerned was that they had lost all the accounts.

Here is a quote from Spock on MTD,

“Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them.”

And on the purchasing department,

“It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.”

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Replying to Tim Vane:
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By Dib
16th Jan 2018 13:34

Surely all the accountants would have been back at Starfleet Command or whatever it was called? Presumably none of the crew would suffer tax on their income due to the availability of spacefarers' allowance.

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Replying to Tim Vane:
By Democratus
16th Jan 2018 14:48

Star Trek: The Lost Ledgers. I'd watch that.

I've seen worse on You Tube and indeed worse on Star Trek Discovery!

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Routemaster image
By tom123
16th Jan 2018 16:56

I know we have gone off piste - but just to return to the OP - I have always worked for 'enterprising' bosses - some good, some not.

Good bosses understand how good accountancy can support them in running their company.

The compliance stuff, that most of Aweb has to stress about, is a once a year activity, and never tells us anything we didn't already know.

In fact, because of generic layouts / headings etc, actually makes our businesses unrecognisable.

In my experience, the worst are the sons of the founders - they think they know everything, but, in fact, without having inherited the business they would often be unemployable.

(Not sure about daughters - never worked anywhere where the company passed down a female line)

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Replying to tom123:
By Ruddles
16th Jan 2018 17:06

Please - don't encourage him.

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By lisaknowles
24th Jan 2018 09:38

I absolutely disagree. I am an FD and have the utmost respect for my boss. We don't always agree on things, but he accepts and respects the knowledge and experience for which he hired me, and we both work on the assumption that he is the expert in his field, and I in mine.
If I was disrespected in the workplace I simply wouldn't work here, life's too short!

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By BigBadWolf
29th Jan 2018 11:59

No ... its just you! Perhaps you are just a disagreeable dude

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