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Depends on how big you are. If your first friend at any company isn't someone in accounting your doing it wrong. Good accounting is not something you outsourc

Depends on how big you are. If your first friend at any company isn't someone in accounting your doing it wrong. Good accounting is not something you outsource, and a good accounting team is worth their weight in gold. If your concerned about exchange rates, you better have competent folks in accounting.

mcherm 4y ago
> Good accounting is not something you outsource I'm happy to believe you on that point, but can you explain WHY? It appears to me that accounting is the exact type of generalized skill with well-established standards that makes sense to outsource.
- zer00eyz 4y ago
  Thats the point, good accounting ISNT a generalized skill at all. Once you get past "how much is in the checking account" and into the why attached to quantity then you get insight. What is the cost and value of a client? Are there fixed costs (acquisition, setup) and variable (AWS/Usage). The ebb and flow of money and someone keeping an eye on it matter. Where and how you bank matters (lesson some are just learning). Hell just pricing a product internationally is a task that genuinely requires an accountant. Go hang with accountants, learn what they do and see the insight they provide.
TimTheTinker 4y ago
Accountants should be the ones running the companies. Mine is run by them, and it's great. There are some incredible perks, like always knowing the company is financially in a very good place and taking appropriate risks, a culture of transparency and collaboration ... I could go on.
- zamnos 4y ago
  First time I've heard a positive review about a company being run by the bean counters, who are generally more known for being brought in and cutting tiny luxuries which don't generate money or make financial sense, like free sodas in the break room.
  - gcr 4y ago
    “Being brought in” could be the crucial difference, yeah? When a company starts with beans on staff from the start, maybe there’s more of a sense of security
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - TimTheTinker 4y ago
    They're accountants, but I wouldn't call them "bean counters". They have a vision for the office of the CFO, and it's that the accounting team rises above mere bean counting into financial leadership. The company was also a VC-backed startup and is on the road to IPO, so it's run like an investment, not a cost center -- and hiring and keeping great employees is a priority. The perks and benefits are really great. It has won awards for the last ~5 years for being the "best company to work for in $region".
jojobas 4y ago
You might be confusing accounting with financial management. Accounting is outsourced by nearly 100% of startups. Financial management for startups with respect to "how big you are" is almost always "not big enough" until you have tens of millions. Both seed and series a are usually to be spent within a couple of years and hiring a full time financial manager to represent 5%-10% of payroll is just not worth it, he won't recoup his salary even by excellent trickery.
- jbverschoor 4y ago
  All the same right? Something with money and numbers. Just like everybody in tech is doing something with computers and writing code
  - jojobas 4y ago
    Oh you're a software developer? Can you fix my dishwasher?
    - jbverschoor 4y ago
      Be careful what jokes you make about samsung iot appliances

mcherm 4y ago

> Good accounting is not something you outsource I'm happy to believe you on that point, but can you explain WHY? It appears to me that accounting is the exact type of generalized skill with well-established standards that makes sense to outsource.

zer00eyz 4y ago
Thats the point, good accounting ISNT a generalized skill at all. Once you get past "how much is in the checking account" and into the why attached to quantity then you get insight. What is the cost and value of a client? Are there fixed costs (acquisition, setup) and variable (AWS/Usage). The ebb and flow of money and someone keeping an eye on it matter. Where and how you bank matters (lesson some are just learning). Hell just pricing a product internationally is a task that genuinely requires an accountant. Go hang with accountants, learn what they do and see the insight they provide.

TimTheTinker 4y ago

Accountants should be the ones running the companies. Mine is run by them, and it's great. There are some incredible perks, like always knowing the company is financially in a very good place and taking appropriate risks, a culture of transparency and collaboration ... I could go on.

zamnos 4y ago
First time I've heard a positive review about a company being run by the bean counters, who are generally more known for being brought in and cutting tiny luxuries which don't generate money or make financial sense, like free sodas in the break room.
- gcr 4y ago
  “Being brought in” could be the crucial difference, yeah? When a company starts with beans on staff from the start, maybe there’s more of a sense of security
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- TimTheTinker 4y ago
  They're accountants, but I wouldn't call them "bean counters". They have a vision for the office of the CFO, and it's that the accounting team rises above mere bean counting into financial leadership. The company was also a VC-backed startup and is on the road to IPO, so it's run like an investment, not a cost center -- and hiring and keeping great employees is a priority. The perks and benefits are really great. It has won awards for the last ~5 years for being the "best company to work for in $region".

jojobas 4y ago

You might be confusing accounting with financial management. Accounting is outsourced by nearly 100% of startups. Financial management for startups with respect to "how big you are" is almost always "not big enough" until you have tens of millions. Both seed and series a are usually to be spent within a couple of years and hiring a full time financial manager to represent 5%-10% of payroll is just not worth it, he won't recoup his salary even by excellent trickery.

jbverschoor 4y ago
All the same right? Something with money and numbers. Just like everybody in tech is doing something with computers and writing code
- jojobas 4y ago
  Oh you're a software developer? Can you fix my dishwasher?
  - jbverschoor 4y ago
    Be careful what jokes you make about samsung iot appliances