Accounting Firms manage Income and Expenses for Businesses

by Art Gibb, freelance writer on behalf of Lewis & Associates ( 5-Jun-2012 )

Small, midsize and large corporations require the services of local professional Chicago accounting firms to help them manage their books and ensure that they are profitable. In every type of business it is the customers that drive the success of the organization. Paying for the salaries of each employee and being able to provide the corporation with the funds to pay their monthly expenses the customers that are paying for goods and services provide the income that every business needs in order to thrive. Now opposing the income streams of the business entity there are expense that need to be addressed and paid on a timely basis. While it is tempting for a business owner to look at their income only the balance sheet provides the profit and loss information that is required to view an accurate picture of how well the corporation is doing.

As an example of why every business owner and executive team needs to hire an outside accounting firm to manage their books I offer the following true story. I just learned about a company that provides security systems to people throughout the country and which was at one time earning $45 million annually. The thing is that the company went into default and filed bankruptcy because it was spending $60 million a year on operating expenses. A very generous benefits package and the highest paid installation costs that were given to the independent sales team proved to be the hurtful combination that brought the business down. Without watching the amount of money that was going out the door the income stream of the company was unable to sustain its spending. Because the internal bookkeepers were not paying attention to their payables as the principles of the organization only focused on what was coming in as receivables the business was forced into bankruptcy and ended up retaining only 12 of the 125 full time employees that once filled the corporate headquarters.

The hiring of professional CPA firms in Chicago provide the unbiased reviews of the incoming and outgoing flow of money as the businesses that value their continued success are able to manage their revenue and stay ahead of their expenses. A company’s profits and losses are the result of accurate bookkeeping and while there are many people who follow the philosophy of spending what they see in their checking account the accountants that are responsible for paying invoices and collecting on the receivables are able to recognize the errors that some executives make as they view the success of their company as a means to write checks that exceed their income.

Browse our top cities

Browse cities by state