Hi! Internal Auditor/CPA

[Daddy Butter]

Hello everyone,

I was an outside auditor of dealerships for over 5 years and a few months ago have joined a dealer group as an internal auditor/special accounting projects role.

I hate the disconnect there can sometimes be between accounting and operations. And it's not just that both sides need each other. A dealership that has its accounting and operations streamlined and well-coordinated (i.e. on the same team) is sure to beat another dealership where accounting is seen as some necessary evil that's kept behind the curtains.

My philosophy is to make sure that everything I work on contributes to the company. Auditing for the sake of auditing is pointless. It should yield some sort of tangible benefit whether it be in the form of improved efficiency, savings, profitability, or lower organizational risk.

Thanks and I look forward to joining in on some great discussions with you all!

[79LilRedExpress]

Originally Posted by Daddy Butter

Hello everyone,

I was an outside auditor of dealerships for over 5 years and a few months ago have joined a dealer group as an internal auditor/special accounting projects role.

I hate the disconnect there can sometimes be between accounting and operations. And it's not just that both sides need each other. A dealership that has its accounting and operations streamlined and well-coordinated (i.e. on the same team) is sure to beat another dealership where accounting is seen as some necessary evil that's kept behind the curtains.

My philosophy is to make sure that everything I work on contributes to the company. Auditing for the sake of auditing is pointless. It should yield some sort of tangible benefit whether it be in the form of improved efficiency, savings, profitability, or lower organizational risk.

Thanks and I look forward to joining in on some great discussions with you all!

Welcome to the Forum...

I look forward to your insight.

Please fell free to start some threads, ask some questions and give lots of suggestions !

[Daddy Butter]

Originally Posted by 79LilRedExpress

Welcome to the Forum...

I look forward to your insight.

Please fell free to start some threads, ask some questions and give lots of suggestions !

Thanks, as do I!

[steve_biegler]

WOW...The forum has a staff accountant!!!

Glad you are here, the Forum has lots of great people!!

[Daddy Butter]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

WOW...The forum has a staff accountant!!!

Glad you are here, the Fotum has lots of great people!!

Glad to be here. Thanks for the warm welcome!

[XDCX]

Welcome to DealershipForum - it's great to have a new member who starts with an introduction and then jumps right in.

Originally Posted by Daddy Butter

I hate the disconnect there can sometimes be between accounting and operations. And it's not just that both sides need each other. A dealership that has its accounting and operations streamlined and well-coordinated (i.e. on the same team) is sure to beat another dealership where accounting is seen as some necessary evil that's kept behind the curtains.

I agree 100% about the disconnect and the fact that in a well-run operation both sides need each other. I firmly believe that the Dealer/Shareholders need a strong accounting department to protect the dealership from embezzlement and I believe the department managers can benefit from a strong accounting department to ensure that their department is maximizing their profits and minimizing their expenses.

Originally Posted by Daddy Butter

My philosophy is to make sure that everything I work on contributes to the company. Auditing for the sake of auditing is pointless. It should yield some sort of tangible benefit whether it be in the form of improved efficiency, savings, profitability, or lower organizational risk.

Great comment and I think this is what separates you from many others that perform your job.

I remember working with Office Managers at Dealerships who tracked Dealer Cash programs closer than the Dealer, GM or Sales Manager did. They were determined to calculate what it was going to take for their store to maximize a Dealer Cash program. These were the types of stores that typically made the most money.

[Daddy Butter]

Originally Posted by XDCX

Welcome to DealershipForum - it's great to have a new member who starts with an introduction and then jumps right in.



I agree 100% about the disconnect and the fact that in a well-run operation both sides need each other. I firmly believe that the Dealer/Shareholders need a strong accounting department to protect the dealership from embezzlement and I believe the department managers can benefit from a strong accounting department to ensure that their department is maximizing their profits and minimizing their expenses.




Great comment and I think this is what separates you from many others that perform your job.

I remember working with Office Managers at Dealerships who tracked Dealer Cash programs closer than the Dealer, GM or Sales Manager did. They were determined to calculate what it was going to take for their store to maximize a Dealer Cash program. These were the types of stores that typically made the most money.

Thanks a lot. Might I add that I've lurked on here for a while before joining and just want to say that you do a terrific job of moderating the forum and sparking new discussions.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by Daddy Butter

Thanks a lot. Might I add that I've lurked on here for a while before joining and just want to say that you do a terrific job of moderating the forum and sparking new discussions.

Thanks for the kind words.

The forum is just over five years old and it's still painfully small. That said, I think the members we have are awesome and I'd rather have a small forum that's friendly then a large one that's filled with hate and ignorance.

I still think the forum can serve a purpose that's not addressed by any other source. In my opinion there are stories that Automotive News will never write because they don't want to anger the OEMs that support them with advertising dollars and there are issues that the NADA will never address because the organization is mostly a "paper-tiger."

Concerning conversations, it's no surprise that some of the best threads we've ever had on the forum are created by our members. Google actively indexes the site and many of our threads end up drawing traffic to the forum based on Google searches.

Thanks again for the kind words and I'm glad you registered with the forum instead of being a full-time lurker.

[Daddy Butter]

Originally Posted by XDCX

I still think the forum can serve a purpose that's not addressed by any other source.

I absolutely agree. And whenever you go to the forums on those larger, more official sources you notice that many of them are barely active. Many times I've caught myself responding to posts that were over 5 years old!

Thanks again for the kind words and I'm glad you registered with the forum instead of being a full-time lurker.

Thanks. I'm glad to be part of the community.

[zep33]

Welcome aboard!!