Solving In-house Accounting Inefficiencies and Bottlenecks

Challenge

A specialty automotive business, employing 20–25 people, was facing serious accounting challenges. The owner was frustrated by the lack of timely and accurate financials, which left him unable to confidently make major decisions.

Their external CPA often delayed reconciliations and month-end closings during tax season, creating bottlenecks. Bank and credit card reconciliations were incomplete, payroll was poorly integrated, and sales tax tracking was inconsistent.

Although the business had a bookkeeper eager to learn, she lacked the training and structure to manage day-to-day accounting effectively. The company needed an affordable, sustainable in-house system that would produce timely financials and give the owner confidence to move forward with growth decisions.

Innovative Approach

Fischer Cunnane stepped in to stabilize and restructure the accounting processes:

• Brought financial functions in-house by training the bookkeeper to manage bank and credit card reconciliations, payroll entries, and monthly closes with confidence.
• Corrected reconciliation issues by eliminating the CPA’s prior practice of “plugging” differences and instead introducing systematic tracking of missing or misclassified expenses.
• Implemented payroll templates to streamline entries, reducing processing time to minutes.
• Eliminated redundancy by showing staff how QuickBooks® could serve as the primary check register, replacing manual ledgers.
• Introduced supporting schedules for prepaid expenses, loans, and other accounts to ensure accuracy and transparency.
• Improved sales tax oversight by designing a review spreadsheet that allowed the owner to easily confirm which customers should and should not be taxed before filings were submitted.
• Shortened month-end close to less than one day by creating a clear roadmap of responsibilities and delegating routine tasks to the bookkeeper.

Outcome

The company’s accounting processes are now streamlined, reliable, and scalable. The owner receives timely monthly financials, enabling him to make confident business decisions, including approving the purchase of
major new equipment.

By empowering the bookkeeper through training and structured workflows, Fischer Cunnane significantly reduced reliance on costly external CPA services while improving accuracy and accountability.

The system now produces clean reconciliations, accurate sales tax reporting, and well-documented supporting schedules — positioning the company for future audits or reviews if needed. Most importantly, the owner has peace of mind knowing he can trust the numbers, and the business is financially prepared for sustainable growth.

Fischer Cunnane continues to provide oversight, ad hoc support, and a reliable sounding board for management as the company navigates expansion.