Help me create my new job.

May 22, 2007 8:43 AM

Help me create my new job.

I have started a part-time (20-25 hours, though I can work as many as I want) job at a small company which deals in restaurants (3 or 4), a couple of apartments, homes and small warehouses/storage spaces. Basically a small real-estate company whose cash comes from the restaurants and goes into more real-estate or restaurants.

I have been hired on as a Comptroller/Controller. My assignment is to learn the current routines and come up with processes to staunch money loss and generally tighten up the ship. As an example: my first project is calculating the rents we are charging and comparing them to the expenses to make sure we are covering costs...It is a business currently run by entrepreneurs and I am being looked to as the professional (having studied accounting and finance) who will know how to impose order on the chaotic methods that have become entrenched over the last 15 years.

Does anyone know of any good books or other resources that I can read through? I am currently in school and am using my professors as resources already, but they are as academic as I and what I need is to learn how to support, not stifle, the entrepreneurial creativity that has driven this business so far.

posted by iurodivii to work & money (3 comments total)

Don't know what to tell you as far as external reading, but the most important thing for you to focus on is the "why" you are analyzing something - generally to help them make or save money.

What is your focus goign to be on? Feel free to email me if you are going to be working on the restaurant side of the business (my day job is similar to yours, but strictly the restaurant biz).
posted by PFL at 10:00 AM on May 22, 2007

Get to know what's going on before you start making changes, or suggestions, or even throwing out ideas. The people working there have found a way of existing that works, and you have to know what works and what doesn't.

This means talking to everybody, including secretaries, cleaning people and the doorman. The people at the bottom hear everything and know everything.

Your stock in trade is (1) your credibility and (2) your knowledge of the organization. You want to become the one others think of first, because you always give a straight answer and because if there's anything you don't already know, you know whom to call to find out.
posted by KRS at 10:29 AM on May 22, 2007

Be skeptical about financial data you are given. Make sure you understand what each line item includes. Ask for GL detail to better understand it.

There are probably a handful of key metrics your boss should be (or already is) tracking. Hit the library and try to find a book that details what ratios a company should track. This "For Dummies" book seems to be a good starting point.
posted by redarmycomrade at 10:34 AM on May 22, 2007