CPAs — Heroes of the Economic Recovery?

CPAs across the country are quietly playing a crucial role in helping ease companies back into profitability — by working to uncover hidden expense management opportunities that don’t undermine employee satisfaction and retention levels. 

For the many companies focused on cost containment and expense management, cutting back on discretionary expenditures, such as advertising and marketing, training and development and raises and bonuses, can certainly achieve short-term savings goals. But business leaders are also asking themselves at what long-term costs will these measures impact my company? For example, the importance of employee engagement has been front and center during the recession. Cutbacks in critical areas can damage engagement, leading to higher — and more costly — levels of attrition.

The harsh reality is that many organizations have evolved into numbers crunching entities, slashing all costs that stand in the way of the bottom line,including jobs. However, some companies are turning to some unsung heroes in the form of CPAs to uncover cost-cutting measures that will have the least impact on employees.

No one knows the tax laws better
To begin with, CPAs’ intimate knowledge of the tax laws makes them invaluable. Tax laws are constantly changing, and CPAs are required to take continuing education courses to ensure their knowledge is always up to date.

Having this relevant knowledge and essential information not only ensures that companies know their corporate tax obligations, but it can help avoid costly mistakes that often accompany constant changes in tax law. Moreover, tax laws may also change the benefits owed to companies, and CPAs are able to identify those areas of additional cost savings.

Forensic accountants save money; solve crime
Unfortunately, companies can suffer financially at the hands of their own employees. Corporate fraud and financial crimes that are carried out byemployees, and, in some cases, by the executives themselves, can be a significant financial drain on companies.

From disappearing office supplies to “cooking the books,” forensic accountants play a valuable role in closely analyzing the depths of companies’ operating costs and expenditures.

With the recession came several high-profile examples of misspending and errant allocation of funds that would have been better spent on the company and its people. Forensic accountants are tasked with uncovering these misdeeds and putting a stop to them — saving companies untold amounts of money.

Scrutinizing the numbers
If other cost-cutting avenues do not yield the savings needed to improve financial performance, hard decisions may have to be made. Employees could be in danger of, at the very least, losing their merit increases or bonuses. CPAs can help companies assess all cost-cutting measures before slashing salaries or eliminating jobs. Should jobs be at risk, the work that CPAs can accomplish in other areas could help lessen the direct effect on the workforce.