Why Do We Wait to Fix Our Books Until There’s a Crisis?
Why do people leave filing their tax returns to the last possible minute? There are a lot of reasons, but this might be the best one I’ve seen:
“I’ve got plenty of time as the last minute isn’t due for another 4 or 5 billion years.”
Seriously though, people love to procrastinate on financials – personal and professional – even when they know better. We come up with reasons to delay, putting off the pain as long as possible. But we’ve seen it firsthand: this kind of procrastination isn’t just a small business problem. It happens in S1M, $10M,| and even $100M+ organizations – and it can get messy
Books are outdated, miscategorized, half-done, or scattered across systems. And because there’s no immediate pressure, they stay that way, until there’s a wake-up call:
- Applying for a loan
- Preparing for an audit
- Selling the company
- Discovering fraud
Then the cost of waiting becomes painfully clear. That means more stress, more risk for the business and its people, lost opportunity cost, and of course – more money. We’ve seen companies spend 1,000+ hours and six figures cleaning up years of financials—-just to close a deal.
The smart move? Fix it before you need to.
If your bookkeeping is on point, you can expect
• Retter data and cecision-making
- Fewer surprises
- Faster access to capital
- Confidence when banks, buyers, or auditors come calling
Best of all, you’ll have a system in place to reduce risk and increase efficiency, and who doesn’t love a smooth-running machine?
Where Imperial comes in:
Yes, we’re known as the clean-up specialists. We fix bad books – the kind that would make most CPAs run the other way. But we’d much rather get involved before it becomes an emergency.
We work closely with CPAs, and we’re independent, experienced, and more affordable than firms trying to do it all. When things get messy, we’re the ones to call.
What you can do now:
- Review your books now, before it’s urgent
- Act like an audit’s coming – you’ll thank yourself later
- Reach out to Imperial for a consultation
The last minute could be in 4 or 5 billion years. or it could be closer than you think.
All my best,
Alex
Why do people leave filing their tax returns to the last minute?
Original Article by Mark Sacc Jokes
Strategies for retaining vital employee knowledge
Article on INTHEBLACK
Photo by Poabay on Penels
There are two types of organizational knowledge: explicit and tacit. Explicit knowledge is about processes and information – easy to document and teach. Tacit knowledge is insight and wisdom each person has learned over time and experience – and is much harder to record and disseminate.
The problem? Tacit knowledge is the first thing to disappear when someone leaves. It’s not just about knowing what to do – it’s knowing how and why something’s done a certain way. That lived experience is gold, and most companies don’t have a system to preserve it.
What can you do?
- Encourage peer-to-peer learning
- Break down internal knowledge into bite-sized content (think microlearning, short videos, quick docs)
- Set up internal mentoring or even a podcast-style format to share stories ano lessons learned
The more you capture and share internally, the less vulnerable your business becomes when people move