Tom Carlson, formerly of Jefferies and Co. in New York City addresses some of the major problems with accounting departments and details the best practices. Enjoy the show and be sure to check back again soon for more!

1. ACCOUNTING MISTAKES &
BEST PRACTICES
Tom Carlson

2. • As the March tax season deadline approaches, many
businesses and accounting organizations are under a lot
of stress
• The problem with all the stress that comes with this
time of the year is that a lot of mistakes are made and
people’s money falls through the cracks
• Reports estimate about $7 billion was accumulated by
U.S. businesses in IRS civil penalties
• These penalties were rooted in incorrect reports
relating to income and employment values

3. • Human error remains a major factor to consider during
this important time of the year and it appears to only
be growing worse
• The mistakes being made aren't always that
complicated either
• In fact its the small errors that may have the largest
effects and require more attention to detail
• In this presentation you will find the best ways to
combat the accounting mistakes that may cost your
company and clients countless dollars

4. 1. MANUALLY INPUTTING INCORRECT
DATA INTO AN ENTERPRISE SYSTEM
• Seeing as how there is already an uncountable amount of data
entry in every accounting department or company, it shouldn't be
too much more effort to help fix the problems currently
happening
• It would only take a little more effort to input the incorrect data
to help out
• Mistakes happen but doing your part to catch them by reviewing,
will help out everyone involved in the process

5. 2. SAVING FILES WITH CORPORATE
FINANCIAL ORTAX DATATO A PERSONAL
DEVICE
• Data breaches occur each and everyday to some capacity and with
personal and organizational finances on the table, use of personal
devices with company data on them is a huge problem
• Its extremely easy to save items to your phone, laptop, or tablet and
take your work home, however this could lead to a data breach
costing millions or billions
• Not only would money most likely leave the companies door but it
would also damage the firms reputation among the public

6. 3.ACCIDENTALLY DELETING A CUSTOM
EXCEL FORMULA
• Excel still plays a major role in many companies, especially in accounting as
it keeps track of the numbers and formulas for achieving certain yields
• Many times companies will have custom formulas set up to expedite
certain process and make employees jobs more efficient
• Employees need to be conscious that those formulas are there for a
reason and should not be tampered with or deleted
• As a side note, companies should probably use accounting or tax based
software systems so that employees cannot edit the formulas provided

7. 4.WORKING ON A NON-SECURE PUBLIC
WI-FI NETWORK
• This goes back to the security issue I brought up earlier with using personal devices in
tandem with company data
• No accounting business should be running their Wi-Fi on a non-secure public network
• It is easy for hackers to gain access to these types of networks and wreak havoc
• Don’t invite potential dangers to your company’s doorstep
• This also goes for doing work around the corner at Starbucks because the data is no safe
• Most companies should have this as a policy of theirs in the contracts employees sign,
however it is easily overlooked

8. 5. OVERRIDING DATA IN AN ENTERPRISE
SYSTEM WITH FIGURES CALCULATED
OUTSIDE OFTHE PROGRAM
• Seeing as how there is already an uncountable amount of data entry
in every accounting department or company, it shouldn't be too much
more effort to help fix the problems currently happening
• It would only take a little more effort to input the incorrect data to
help out
• Mistakes happen but doing your part to catch them by reviewing, will
help out everyone involved in the process

9. 6. CLOSINGTHE BOOKS BEFORE ALL REQUIRED
DATA HAS BEEN COLLECTED & MODIFYING
ASSET INFORMATION FROM PASTYEARS
• This mistake can have major implications that affect the organization
as a whole
• A big danger that can be associated with this would be errors that
are carried over years and not noticed until its too late or not noticed
at all
• All data needs to be present before the books are closed to avoid
potentially enormous risks

10. 7. INCORRECTLY APPLYING UNITARY STATETAX
RULES & NOT KEEPINGTRACK OF OR
ADHERINGTO CITY-SPECIFICTAX REGULATIONS
• Staying alert and attentive to changing laws is also part of the job
• Staying on the ball in this regard will allow your company to move
seamlessly and without any problems or penalties coming your way
• It is well known that different states and different cities differ in their
tax laws, so companies that are up to date will excel past the ones
that make simple mistakes

11. • Organizations that routinely look for and address problems
will avoid major risks and problems for the company as a
whole
• Each and every company depends to every employee and
rely on them to put their best foot forward even if it means a
little more effort
• With stronger procedures in place businesses can further
themselves and be more accurate
-Tom Carlson