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13–23 Create an Ongoing Training Program
special training before employees will fully comprehend how to use them
most effectively, as well as (perhaps more importantly) what not to do, since
some systems require expert usage to run properly.
• Lack of management training. Accounting is not just clerical—it requires an
excellent knowledge of how to manage processes in a multitude of func-
tional areas, frequently including employees in outlying locations. Without
proper management training, there will almost certainly be gross inefficien-
cies and errors in the department.
• Lack of process training. The accounting function, above all others, deals
with processes, such as the revenue cycle or the purchasing cycle. All
employees in this department must have a clear knowledge of exactly how
these processes work so they can process information through them most
efficiently, as well as make modifications that will further increase the level
of efficiency. Though some of this knowledge can be gleaned through many
years of experience, it is best to cut short this interval through a training pro-
gram that imparts both the fundamentals and the detailed steps involved in
all key company processes.
• Lack of training for advanced positions. Though employees may be ade-
quately trained in their existing jobs, this does not mean that they are in any
way prepared to take over positions higher in the accounting hierarchy. With-
out the necessary training to prepare them for these positions, employees
may become frustrated and leave for other companies willing to provide the
training for more advanced and higher-paying jobs.
• Practices that are industry-specific. Many industries have accounting prac-
tices that are completely unique. An example of this is the gambling indus-
try, which has an extreme orientation toward the collection, handling, and
recording of cash coming from the gambling floor. In these industries, it is
dangerous to bring in people from other industries without first giving them
a sufficient degree of training in industry-specific accounting practices.

The types of training classes administered may vary considerably from the rote
accounting topics that are covered in a traditional business college. For example,
Allied-Signal includes the following topics in its accounting and finance curriculum:

• Accounting for business combinations
• Activity-based management
• Business controls
• Cash-flow management
• Coaching and career management
• Controllership