industry expert / accounting How to Improve Your
Accounting Department Letter to the Dealer
David Keller, CPA, CFE, is a partner with CliftonLarsonAllen, a top 10 nationwide CPA firm with extensive experience in serving the new, used, heavy truck, utility trailer and buy-here pay-here industries. Contact him at 314.925.4317.
DKeller@AutoDealerMonthly.com
store. The office staff normally feels as if no one cares about them. They don't produce gross profit for the bottom line, so why should you spend any time with them or tell them you appreciate them for what they do for the store? They are always telling you what everyone else is doing wrong and complaining about
T
he dealership office is normally the "forgot- ten" department of the
all the work they have to do. Well, if I were you, I would keep listening to them and pay attention. They are the "police force" of the dealership that watches your back and keeps everyone from taking advantage of you. They keep watch on your money, your assets, personnel, vendors and customers. They pay your bills, complete payroll, listen to all the managers complain about what you won't do for them,
clean up all the paperwork from all the other departments and try to show you a profit at month's end on your financial statement, even though their job is not to create sales or gross profit.
Sometimes doing all of the above wears down the morale of the office staff. Most office staff work very hard to complete everything on a timely basis and as accurately as possible. They feel under- appreciated for the work they do to "clean up" the other dealership employees' and managers' messy paperwork.
The best thing you can do is reinforce the great job your accounting department does.
Meet with them on a regular basis to find out what every- one else in the dealership is doing or trying to get away with. Sit down with them to review your expenses each month and ask them what needs to be done to reduce or eliminate those expenses to increase your profits.
Your accounting office doesn't produce gross profit but they can let you know the gross profits in the various depart- ments are not up to standards or meeting industry mini- mums. The accounting office can help you reduce the num- ber of low- or lost-gross-profit transactions which take place each month.
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