| May 2008
"A look at the books"
With HSW Print celebrating its 60 year heritage as a printing
company, financial controller Huw Perry takes a look at how
accountancy has changed over the time.
When Mr and Mrs Hackman founded the business the finances
would have been managed using the traditional system of double
entry bookkeeping.
As a small company just starting out in the industry, the
book keeping would have been simpler than it is today but
you don’t build a company as successful as this without
firm financial foundation.
It was Mrs Hackman who took charge of all the administrative
side of the business. Juggling the demands of family life
with the spirit of the entrepreneur was no mean feat and demonstrated
just how dedicated she was to her young family and new business.
The ethos of accounting hasn’t changed – profit
and loss accounts and careful management of cash flow being
the primary drivers. But as HSW Print has grown, the need
for tight financial controls within the company have increased
with it and now there are 5 members of the accounts department,
covering
everything from payroll, invoicing, credit control, cash flow
management and accounts preparation.
One of the most striking changes from my point of view has
been the growing reliance upon the computer to carry out all
manner of tasks. It’s becoming difficult to remember
a time where information wasn’t accessible at the press
of a button. Sometimes when the system crashes though I find
myself misty eyed over the good old days where everything
was physically available as a hard copy and all you needed
were spare batteries for your calculator!
One of the other things which has virtually disappeared is
the use of cash. Sixty years ago cash payments would have
been the norm – now even cheques are losing out in favour
of electronic bank transfers or credit card payments.
As with all parts of the business – you see a lot of
change over a 60 year period and I am loathe to say that its
better or worse than in yesteryear – its just different.
However, I am confident that I will continue to learn new
systems as they are introduced and which will be adopted for
the benefit of HSW Print.
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