I got to thinking about job supervision recently and how important it is in any field.
When you think about it, most jobs have people supervising them. The professions, skilled trades, and unskilled trades have someone watching or supervising others: someone to make us accountable, to check our work, to keep us on track.

At AIS Solutions all of our bookkeeping work is supervised. I think it helps both myself and our clients sleep better at night. However, from my personal experience in the accounting field supervision sometimes isn’t the case or it’s not done as well as it should be.
Accountants and bookkeepers are different
Accountants and bookkeepers perform different functions. In some of my dealings with clients they sometimes forget this.They will refer to their bookkeeper as their accountant and vice versa. Both are important to any business, but the skill sets are different. As I explained in a previous blog post: Accountants Stop Doing It.
Proper supervision ensures the quality of your bookkeeping
A bookkeeper should be supervised by a more senior accounting professional, preferably by an accountant who has a professional designation. Their work should be reviewed to ensure that it’s error free and it meets quality standards.Also, it always helps to have a fresh pair of eyes review anyone’s work.When an accountant reviews the work of a bookkeeper, they look at the books from a bookkeeping, accounting, tax, and financial reporting perspective – well beyond what the bookkeeper focuses on.
Beware of the independent bookkeeper
If the bookkeeper you use works as an independent freelancer then it’s likely there is no one to supervise their work.  This could lead to a greater chance of errors. Now, having said that, there are many qualified bookkeepers, but you have to wonder about the quality of work when supervision is missing.
Do you want to play subcontractor?
If the accounting and bookkeeping function is performed by separate companies or individuals that likely means more coordination is required by the company hiring them. This can lead to potential delays as work is filtered through another layer of outsourced talent which may not be necessary. If everything is kept under one company umbrella – the bookkeeping and accounting – delays in work flow are less likely. Plus you have the added bonus of knowing the team is familiar with each other and more efficient.
What do you think? Is supervision something that is important to you? Do you have a system in place for supervision of employees or outside contractors? Your thoughts are always welcome, so let us know!
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