Sometimes I’m so enamoured of what technology and different business practices can do for professionals that I lose sight of the easy stuff around which to innovate. Thank goodness there are smart people out there to remind me. Check out Bill Kennedy’s Energized Accounting blog. If you can’t be bothered, I’ll give you a teaser:
From How Things Look:
I was working with a not for profit trade association to re-energize their accounting system. The accountant said that the Board was always criticizing the amount that was spent on consultants. We looked at the financial statements and there it was: a single line called “Consulting” with a large number beside it.
“It’s so unfair,” the accountant continued. “The Board knows that most of that expense is for the speakers we bring in to do seminars and their cost is covered by participant fees.”
“Then let’s get the financial statements to tell the same story,” I said.
How did they do it? Go read the rest. Or how about this, entitled: Not For Profit Red Flags:
…many NFP’s are a microcosm of larger Canadian issues, such as west vs. east, rural vs. urban, English vs. French, individual vs. large corporation, and you have to ensure that all of the constituents are fairly represented. Financial reporting can be critical in demonstrating that the organization’s resources are being deployed in an even handed manner.
Bill’s really talking about story telling.
As an aside, the blogs I am finding most interesting are those coming out of Canada. That’s where I see the most social innovation in the profession as a whole. If you think about Bill’s ideas, they represent social innovation at a readily understood level using the numbers as valuable social objects that communicate the story. We need more of that.
Technorati Tags: innovation
