Accounting is its own language. It is a language of certainty, of numbers, of . Accountants look at business in terms of certainties, or at least seek certainty and mitigation of risk.
The rest of us may see things differently. And this difference in perspective often creates poor communication, clashing expectations and conflict between accountants and those of us who are not accountants, or are at least not responsible for keeping track of the fiscal side of the business. Take asset management, for instance. Non-accountants may see computers, furniture, equipment and other assets as productive tools that we use and when they are not in use frankly, we don't think about them that much.
The accountant sees these same items as assets that must be depreciated, expensed and accounted for. And while our attitude towards each asset may be "out of sight, out of mind," the accountant can never let an asset be out of their sight.
Modern enterprise resource planning (ERP) software like Microsoft Dynamics GP includes extensive functionality for asset management and control. But conflict may still arise because the individuals serving as the manager or custodian of those assets may not have access to complete enough data to satisfy the needs of the individual responsible for accounting for the assets.
In this brief video, completed on a lark by , we see a humorous take on this communication barrier. The resolution, the relief, the punchline to the joke, is the availability of .
If this conversation sounds familiar, it may be time to on fixed asset control and Panatrack's solution for fixed asset tracking in Microsoft Dynamics GP.
By Panatrack, a Microsoft ISV ifor Inventory Control & Asset Tracking.
Thank you for this post. I have a keen interest in asset management and this has helped me a lot!