Accounting Best Practices: What Every Executive Should Know to Build a Stronger Financial Foundation
Aug 15, 2025I’ve sat in meetings where the numbers were accurate, the reports were timely, and compliance boxes were all checked. Yet the conversation stalled.
Why?
Because while the mechanics of accounting were in place, the strategy wasn’t.
The truth is, good accounting isn’t just about getting the numbers right. It’s about making sure those numbers serve the direction of the business. If your finance function is still viewed only as a reporting engine, you’re not getting the full value out of it.
This is where accounting best practices matter. In execution, this plays out across leadership, decision-making, and business performance.
Let’s talk about what that looks like.
The Pain Point: Accurate Numbers That Don’t Drive Action
Most executive teams don’t struggle because they lack data. They struggle because they don’t know what to do with it. The reports land and the metrics get discussed. But there’s a disconnect between accounting outputs and strategic direction.
I’ve seen businesses meet every reporting deadline, yet still make poor capital decisions because the numbers lacked the framing needed to drive action.
Strong accounting should support more than compliance. It should support clarity.
What Best Practice Looks Like in the Real World
Let’s get practical. Here are the accounting best practices I help executive teams embed, designed to move beyond box-checking and enable confident leadership.
1. Align Accounting with Strategic Goals
One of the most common gaps I see is between accounting processes and business objectives. The finance team is tracking the right metrics technically, yet missing alignment with strategic priorities.
Best practice means asking: Are we measuring what matters most for where we’re heading?
For example, a firm planning global expansion shouldn’t just be monitoring cost centres. It should be forecasting currency risk, testing cash flow under different entry strategies, and ensuring intercompany pricing reflects market realities.
Accounting becomes a strategic asset when it's structured to support decisions rather than simply organize categories.
2. Build Real-Time Visibility
Lagging reports are no longer enough - executive teams need visibility into what’s happening now, not just a snapshot of last quarter.
This means automating routine tasks, integrating systems, and designing dashboards that show live data aligned to real performance drivers. When I work with CEOs and CFOs, we often start by identifying which reports are stuck in the past and which ones could drive forward-looking clarity.
Real-time doesn’t mean rushing. It means relevance.
3. Shape the Story Behind the Numbers
Strong accounting tells a story. It connects the dots between metrics and meaning.
When the board looks at a P&L, they’re not just asking “what’s the margin?” They’re asking “what does this mean for our pricing model, for our supply chain, or for our next strategic move?”
If your reporting doesn’t answer that, you’re not getting full value from your numbers.
This is why I help teams reframe their financial communication. By focusing the message rather than simply changing the data. When leadership can draw a straight line from the figures to the decisions, confidence increases. It also improves the speed and the direction becomes more clear.
4. Close the Gap Between Finance and Operations
In high-performing organisations, accounting doesn’t live in isolation. It’s embedded in the business. Finance leaders are in the room with sales, with product, with strategy.
Best practice accounting means building a feedback loop, where operational teams understand what the numbers mean, and finance understands what’s driving them.
Too often, I’ve seen reports filled with variances and deviations that no one has the context to interpret. When finance is integrated, those variances become conversations. They become the triggers for better decisions.
5. Future-Proof Through Scenario Planning
Accounting reflects performance and equips you to prepare for what comes next.
Scenario planning is one of the most underutilised accounting tools. Yet when done well, it can surface hidden risks, reveal pressure points, and strengthen resilience.
I guide boards through scenario models that test assumptions and track results. What happens if inflation stays elevated? What if demand shifts by region? What if funding tightens? These are the questions future-ready accounting should be prepared to answer.
A Story from the Field: Precision Without Purpose
I worked with a multi-entity firm where each business unit ran its own set of immaculate books. There were no errors. The audit came clean. The reports were frequent.
Yet growth had stalled.
The issue wasn’t data quality. It was an alignment. Every team interpreted the numbers through its own lens. There was no single financial narrative. The board couldn’t see the full picture.
We brought leadership together and rebuilt the reporting structure around shared strategic objectives. We aligned KPIs, reframed the commentary, and simplified the dashboards.
In the next quarter, reporting became faster and decision-making significantly improved. The board moved from questioning figures to debating direction. And for the first time in months, the CEO felt confident calling the next move.
That’s what best practice accounting unlocks.
The Real Cost of Getting It Wrong
When accounting is disconnected from strategy, the costs aren’t just financial. You lose time, trust and the clarity required to lead.
Poor practices can delay decisions, weaken investor confidence, and slow down responses to change.
Strong accounting, on the other hand, creates strategic leverage. It brings discipline to execution and insight to leadership. It is one of the most powerful tools an organisation has, when used correctly.
One Final Thought
Your accounting function goes beyond accuracy - it's about readiness, aligning data with direction, and enabling your board to make faster, smarter decisions.
The organisations that understand this are already outperforming those that don’t. Because in today’s economy, clarity is a competitive advantage.
If you’re ready to bring that clarity to your financial foundation, let’s talk.
Schedule a Strategic Review
I offer 1:1 strategic reviews for boards and CFOs - especially those leading across Auckland, Christchurch, Sydney, and international markets - who want to sharpen their financial message and unify their strategy.
In 30 minutes, we’ll pinpoint where your accounting practices may be holding you back and how to align your numbers with what really drives growth.
Let’s make sure your finance function is built for the future.