When somebody’s leaving your company, it can be a good time to look back and see what might have happened. This can be true for the finance staff as well.

I had a client that just got notice at the end of the day on Friday that the cost accountant was leaving. It came as a little bit of a surprise, although there were some signs there beforehand as most often can be the case. Perhaps, you can look at it and see the indications that you can be on the watch for.

Here are some things that come in mind for finance people to consider:

1. What range of responsibilities was the person looking for? For example, in accounting, this could range from doing entry level bookkeeping on certain accounting transactions, to doing account analysis, to doing journal entries, to having total responsibility over certain areas, such as say fixed assets, to producing the entire financial statements. Where did the employee want to be on that spectrum and how does the job fit with that?

2. Supervisory roles. Some people want to take on more supervisory or managerial responsibilities over time. However, other people in finance are very comfortable and, perhaps, more comfortable just being producers. You need some of both in your company. So, think about where that person wants to head.

3. Professional development. What kind of areas does the person want to get training? Does the person need to keep up with CPE (Continuing Professional Education) credits? Are those opportunities available through your company or through reimbursing self study?

4. Personal situation. What kind of personal situation can come into play? Have there been any changes on the personal side that could affect what the person wants and suddenly get out of alignment with that your company has to offer?

5. Compensation. How does the compensation fit with what the person is looking for? What’s the growth track on the compensation?

6. Company culture. How does it fit with the company culture? How are the demands on the hours versus what the employee might want to put in? Are there other key aspects about how the company operates that are in alignment or out of alignment with the employees desires?

When somebody leaves, it might be unfortunate or it could be an opportunity. Either way, you have to make the most out of it. One way is to look back with the employees on the different factors. If you can have an exit interview, more power to it, but if not still kind of conduct this analysis. Where were things out of alignment in the particular situation? That can help give you a better clue in terms of what you want to do going forward for the next particular hire.

Jon Paul, MBA, CPA, CMC, CM&AA

President, Value Added Finance Resources
Bringing new insights on results and maximizing company value