The world we live in is a very dynamic one and the challenges keep on increasing day by day for all the professions, and the corporate sector requires skills which can only be obtained from a constant effort to improve.

The mistake in the title is a deliberate one, it is one of the slogans that is put in the office of a UK Based Firm to keep employees motivated.

We can actually learn a lot from it and possibly use this information to improve ourselves, and also help educate those around us. The fact that it can motivate employees is very concerning and many of the readers must have given it a second read or disagree, but let us explain why that’s the case, especially in the context of SKANS Ecampus.

London Society of Chartered Accountants (LSCA) Board member Angus Farr stated that:
“​It’s always easier to see faults in others than it is in ourselves, but admitting mistakes without fear of punishment will allow accountants to learn and improve
​ .“

This is really necessary to be learnt by both accountants at a lower level but more importantly this must be understood by the manager of the person preparing the accounts, why? This is because if the manager understands that the mistakes are the process of learning something new and developing the skills to make the processes more efficient & effective then there will be no or less punishment on mistakes made by their subordinates.

Culture plays a big role in changing the mindset of the people in charge of those dealing with the accounts, as it sets a precedent for the employees to follow. If the culture allows for mistakes to be made in the process of learning new methods to make them easier and more efficient then the whole business will grow tremendously.

Bank Reconciliations

Reconciling the Bank is a good example as it can be a tiring process for those new to it and all firms dealing with the accounts of clients have to go through this. There are many ways to do it and the best one is found through trial and error, this is because for every client the entry making the difference might be different. It is impossible to be able to find the right method in the first go and it is equally possible that it might take more time to reconcile the Bank initially of a new client.

If the no-error policy is formed and closed processes are recommended by the culture then there will be less learning for the performers also it would take a long time everytime as it is CFAP-I: Adv. Accounting & Financial Reporting –
possible that the process recommended is not suitable to be followed for the particular client as it is for some other one.

Trial Balance Adjustments

This is also one of the main things that the accountancy firms have to encounter and those who have in their careers dealt with such year end adjustments that need to be made understand that performing this is a learning process for every different client. Encouraging accountants to find their own ways to perform this task can make it a lot easier and can possibly result in the development of ways to tackle obstacles in a better manner. Choosing a Career in Accounting: SKANS ECampus Insights

However if set standards are maintained over the years to follow a certain pattern and never deviate from it, then the accountants will not be able to re-engineer the process in order to make it efficient as the same standard cannot be applied for the accounts of all the clients.

There can be countless other examples that can be quoted which the professional accountants performs and newer & more efficient ways are discovered only when mistakes are tolerated, and treated as a learning process rather than something punishable.

I hope we were able to get a point across our readership. If you have any comments or queries regarding it, do let us know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading.

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