Page 25 - Finance for Non-Financial Managers
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                                      Finance for Non-Financial Managers
                               6
                                                Don’t Judge the Executive
                                                    Book by Its Cover
                                While we have tried to give you a general idea of what job titles might
                                do which jobs, these are generalizations that do not apply to every
                                company, and maybe not yours. Some companies are more liberal than
                                others in granting titles. Still others might employ little-used titles such
                                as “director of finance” or “vice president of administration” or even
                                “manager of accounting” to indicate the head financial executive in
                                their organization. It’s best to obtain an organization chart or ask
                                someone in Human Resources or the Finance Department when
                                determining exactly who does what. It could save you embarrassment
                                or, even worse, getting the wrong information.
                               responsibility. A company that decides to take its stock to the
                               public marketplace for the first time—in an initial public offering
                               (IPO)—will almost always place the coordination role for that
                               transaction in the hands of the Finance Department.
                               Accounting
                               The accounting job is typically done by the Accounting
                               Department, led by an accounting manager, controller, comp-
                               troller, or similar title. These folks record all the transactions that
                               occur as the company does its business and then prepare
                               reports that help them, company management, and outside con-
                               stituencies understand the financial impact of those transactions.
                                   The accountants maintain the accounting software, process
                               all the paperwork that documents transactions that have
                               occurred, and record them into the company’s general ledger.
                               Most of these transactions are recorded in dollars and cents, or
                               the appropriate foreign currency for operations outside the U.S.
                               Some transactions keep track of other units of measure besides
                               currency, such as the number of pieces of inventory in the ware-
                               house, the number of vehicles in the company fleet, and so on.
                                   Of course, keeping records of financial transactions tucked
                               away in some computer serves no one unless we can get
                               access to the information when we need it. So, from all those
                               transaction records the accountants are able to prepare a vari-
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