Why isn’t it good enough to simply meet your forecast? Unless your company is doing absolutely everything right and there’s no room for improvement, why not try to exceed expectations? At some point, your company may face a rainy day. You may be convinced that your company is going to win a contract award and instead your competitor wins. Exceeding forecast expectations one time can help offset not meeting them another time.

If you strive to exceed expectations, you are setting an example for employees. While meeting expectations is good, exceeding expectations is even better. Who doesn’t want a staff that tries to excel? And who as an employee, doesn’t want to be challenged?

One of the biggest reason to exceed expectations is for the company to increase, achieve, and maintain high staff morale. This morale is often the building block for how and why other goals are met. Of course, how companies can improve is highly individual. Following are a few ideas on which to reflect. Better yet: discuss these ideas not only with fellow executives but also with midlevel and lower level employees.

• Are you reviewing company processes? Are any company processes redundant? Do they still make sense? If a process should be changed, make a project plan about how and when the process will be reviewed or revised with realistic due dates. Listen to everyone’s suggestions and comments
• How can communication be improved? Communication is often the weak link in an organization. It can be difficult for employees to feel invested in the company if executives are not investing in them by at least sharing information. And if you are sharing information, are you also listening to the feedback
• Are staff members being underutilized? Are you using your employee talents effectively? Or do you have additional employees who are not meeting their full potential? It can be frustrating and demotivating to others who are working hard and trying to excel to have others on board who are not contributing as much as they could.
• Are expenditures and vendors carefully considered on a regular basis? Memberships, association fees, and such are wasted money if they are not utilized. The sort of question we would ask anyone requesting a membership or association fee is, “How will this benefit the company?” Be armed with the knowledge of how vendors and other expenses are utilized.

How BlueStone Services Can Help
Making these decisions will help you improve your overall financial forecast. If you need help with financial forecasting, contact us today! BlueStone Services can help you  reach your goals in more ways than one.

Article provided by: BlueStone Services Accounting Team

Article by: Trey Gailey, CPA

Trey Gailey is a founding member of Bluestone Services and serves as the firm’s Managing Director and Director of Accounting. He has deep experience providing accounting services across a wide swath of industries, including medical practices, distribution, and legal services. Trey has clients in the US and other areas of the world, garnering significant experience with international tax compliance to supplement his familiarity with domestic U.S. tax law.

When you work with Trey and the team at BlueStone, you can maintain confidence in your accounting. Our team provides complete, accurate and timely financial data and reports. Thanks to the efforts of a professional team and the technology we use daily, BlueStone’s can provide virtual or onsite outsourced accounting services based on your needs.

In his Managing Director role for the organization, Trey helps oversee the client experience for all service areas in BlueStone Services and focuses on the core operation offerings. Prior to helping develop and lead BlueStone, Trey officially joined its parent company, KatzAbosch in 2013. There he serves as a key shareholder.