Clean up operations to be more profitable coming out of 'Great Recession'

Texas has the decided benefit of being among the first to emerge from the worst economy in our lifetimes.  But regardless of where your company's operations are located, now is the best time to clean up problems, inefficiencies and other surprises you may not know about so that when things get going really hot in the next couple of years you are better positioned to be that much more profitable.

For example, if you operate real estate assets which many companies do, when was the last time you had an outside auditor or even internal analyst review leases and other contracts to see if you are billing tenants correctly for common area maintenance fees (if applicable)?  Some companies I have seen have literally had accounting clerk-level staff managing ongoing operations of said leases for the better part of 40 years.  And with, for example, the 1986 tax law changes, which were now a lifetime ago, are you certain that you are operating at peak efficiency in this area?

We're not talking about strategic-level issues here.  Do we outsource?  Do we move manufacturing to Mexico?  Do we lease or purchase?  We're talking about ongoing operations.  And it applies to large companies and small alike.

I have quite literally seen companies with billions of dollars in revenue that needed to completely blow up the real estate and accounting departments.  Not necessarily outsource or offshore anything.  Just simply change who is over which departments, run a full top-to-bottom audit of operations and go three levels deep into "what we've always done."  Just because you've always done it does not mean it has ever been done right.

Then there are duplication of efforts issues that can be reduced by simply taking advantage of technology tools and even online accounting services or tools that were not available just a few years ago.  It is almost unnecessary to have your accounting data stored in your own IT department.  And the thought of having a Plant Accountant or Club Accountant at a golf course as well as a corporate accountant can be significantly reduced with tech tools the market is just itching to get real estate property managers to pay attention to.  Save yourself money--request a proposal from a suitable software provider if you manage multiple locations with accounting staff both on-site and at the corporate office.  Where a couple of tenths of a percentage mean the difference between a successful investment or disappointment, this can be a very beneficial tool to consider.

The strategy a company deploys can, of course, be the source of sustainability or bankruptcy.  That's a topic for another day.  We're just talking about ongoing operations.  And with the market coming around--finally!--it is prime time for businesses to ensure they are prepared to duel with the big boys in the percentages and ratios.