Better Observation Is What We Need, And More Of It
Anyone out there who read my last post may have misconstrued it as an indictment on the beer industry. It is not. Most beer vendors are honest, hard workers, just like most restaurant employees. It is just a story which leads to a question. Where is the problem in this scenario? The problem, as I see it, is with a lack of strict methods and measures of accountability. Mr. Bud Man would have never started to test the waters if our industry had higher measures of accountability within our businesses.
I believe that most people are honest, but will test the waters if given the chance. It is like the ageless question, who is more honest a bank teller or a bartender? Most people would guess a bank teller. But that is not true, bank tellers suffer from the same weaknesses that all people do, but they have strict measures of accountability in the form of auditors. If an armored car shorts a delivery at a bank (a scenario not unlike Timmy and Bud Man’s in the first post) then the auditor is all over it. An auditor never lets shortages go unnoticed, always investigates discrepancies in the figures. He can use scientific methods to locate individual problem areas which could not be investigated otherwise. An auditor or controller, who is only accountable to the ownership to deliver honest, accurate feedback about the movement of the assets of a business is essential in every organization.
Auditing is essential. It is the provider of timely information. Feedback is essential. It is the timely solver of problems. Auditing should be the sole responsibility of a singular individual in an organization. A person who reports only to ownership. Not management, the auditor is an essential part of management.
Effective auditors do not spend significant time in house, and they rarely visit the establishment during off hours. It is their job to watch everyone at all hours, employees, vendors, management, and even ownership and family. A good auditor is happy to explain their methodolgy to anyone, because it is a very simple science, using simple math. I believe that all owners should make considering methods of efficiently and accurately auditing their establishments a high priority. Often times it can be achieved though a POS system or simply a scale and microsoft excel. It does take a bit of time to develop these types of systems. Which is why an outside individual trained in auditing, bookkeeping, or business consulting is often the best person for the job, especially in smaller organizations (like bars and restaurants). This type of person meets the condition of not spending significant time in house by default. The cost of auditing services will almost always be recouped many times over in improved efficiencies in operations, improved profitability, improved communication, improved staff moral, and improved piece of mind.
