Some are anal about their account analysis and take the task of saving the company money on its bank service fees as well as auditing its bank(s) very serious. These are the ones I hear from often about the most minute of balance calculations to the more serious, "Omg my bank has been overcharging us for months!" which leads to some adjustments and credits coming their way. Yayy!
Then there are the ones who never do anything more than compare the electronic statement (822 or BSB) against the paper statement. If the bank sends the value twice on two different statements then it must be accurate. Right? Somewhere a trained auditor is scratching their head at this logic.
There are also the ones who simply don't care about their account analysis. They get the statement every month (or quarter) and just pay the bill (or allow the bank to direct debit their account for the fees due).
Common reasons as to why most Treasury departments neglect their Account Analysis:
a) It's too time consuming
b) We just don't have the staff available
c) The software programs on the market are ridiculously expensive
d) The possible benefits just don't justify the costs
e) We are perfectly fine using Excel spreadsheet for those purposes.
My rebuttal? Ok.
Today, my goal isn't to sell you something or tell you how important it is to ensure you are being charged correctly (and possibly fairly) for the services your company uses. My goal isn't even to tell you how your relationship with your financial institution should be a truly give-get. Why am I not trying to say these things? For one, I'm a horrible sales person. Two, I completely understand having to justify spending thousands of dollars to implement a new system whose costs might reap benefits (but, to this I do have a solution so contact me!)
Three, you can't convince someone to do something they have already decided isn't worth the time and effort.
Or can you?
What if and, hear me out here, what if the amount of money you saved the company directly translated into money for you, the employee? What if you could quantify, track, and record these savings to show the benefits of doing your account analysis not on a sporadic basis but on a regular basis. What if someone decided to take a "how can I make myself look good, pad my resume and accomplishments, while at the same time making the company's bottom line look good too?" approach?
The best salesperson can sell you something you never thought you needed. But, only someone with trained eyes can show you where you are bleeding money and teach you how to plug the hole. Use those savings to justify a bonus and/or raise because, after all, you should get a cut of some of those savings. Right?
I could go on and on about overcharges, undercharges, clever math, bundled service fees, pass-through charges, crappy ECRs, and even the difficulty of getting a refund or credit when you finally discover an error in your account analysis. But....
It's not my money so why should I care.
It's AMAZING how less motivated people are when they think this way. Put yourself in the equation and maybe it will change your perspective. Whether the current employer appreciates it or not, you have documented evidence in the value you have brought to the company and, let's be honest here, what company frowns on employees who save them money?
I recall several articles where the research shows money is not a motivator for employees to work harder than they have to. Recognition for their accomplishments. Accolades. Appreciation. Responsibility. Autonomy.
Don't leave money on the table; whether it's your money or the company's money.
Give it some thought.
Happy Analyzing!
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