Member of Russell Bedford International, a global network of independent professional service firms.
Member of Russell Bedford International, a global network of independent professional service firms.
Accounting & Advisory (CAAS) Supervisor
In today’s competitive business environment, staying on top of your company’s financial health is essential for sustaining growth, maintaining profitability, and making informed decisions. Business owners need clear and accurate insight into their financial position in order to make informed decisions, manage risks, identify opportunities for improvement and plan for the future. One of the most effective ways to gain this insight is through consistent financial reporting. Reviewing a few key financial reports each month can help you understand how your business is performing, where improvements can be made and whether you are on track to meet your financial goals.
Below are five financial reports every business owner should review monthly. These reports will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of your company’s financial health.
The Profit and Loss (P&L) statement, also called the income statement, is one of the most important financial reports for any business. This report summarizes your company’s revenue, costs, and expenses over a specific period of time, typically monthly, and shows whether your business generated a profit or a loss. Key metrics to review in this report include gross profit, operating expenses and net income (or loss).
Why this Report Matters:
2. Balance Sheet
A balance sheet provides a snapshot of your company’s financial position at a specific point in time. It outlines what your business owns (assets), what it owes (liabilities), and the value remaining for the owner or shareholders (equity). Key metrics to review in this report include current assets, current liabilities, and owner’s equity.
Why this Report is Matters:
3. Cash Flow Statement
Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. The cash flow statement tracks how money moves in and out of your business over a given period. Key metrics in this report, include operating cash flow, cash inflows (customer payments or sales revenue) and cash outflows (expenses, payroll and operating costs) and the overall change in your cash position.
Why this Report Matters:
4. Revenue or Sales Performance Report
For many businesses, revenue comes from multiple products, services or business segments. A revenue or sales performance report helps track where income is coming from and how these sources are performing over time. Key metrics in this report may include revenue by product line or service category, sales trends and performance by department or salesperson.
Why this Report Matters:
5. Accounts Receivable Aging Report
The accounts receivable (AR) aging report shows how much money customers owe your business and how long invoices have been outstanding. This report typically groups receivables by time periods such as 30, 60 or 90+ days past due. Key metrics to review include total outstanding accounts receivable, aging categories and the percentage of overdue invoices.
Why this Report Matters:
Successful businesses don’t rely on guesswork; they rely on data. By reviewing these top five financial reports each month, Profit and Loss (P&L) Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement, Revenue or Sales Performance Report, and Accounts Receivable Aging Report, business owners can gain a clearer understanding of their financial position and overall performance.
Regular financial review of these reports not only helps minimize risk and maintain compliance but also provides valuable insights that can support better decision-making, improve profitability and long-term growth. When business owners stay proactive with financial analysis they are better equipped to navigate the challenges, seize opportunities, and builder a stronger, more sustainable business.
If you have questions about your financial reports, please contact the CAAS team at CK. Our trusted advisors work with business owners to improve financial reporting, strengthen accounting processes and provide insights that support smarter business decisions.
CPA | CK Principal
A growth mindset is essential for any business that wants to make a lasting impact on its stakeholders, customers, employees and community. Leveraging technology, tools and expert advisors can help support that growth, but it can also reveal weaknesses within an organization, particularly in its financial infrastructure. As your business expands, accounting should do more than simply track what has already happened. It should actively provide insights, support decision-making and help guide your business forward. The following strategies can help strengthen your financial foundation and support sustainable growth.
Many new businesses begin with cash accounting because it is simple and helps track how much money is coming in and going out. However, cash accounting does not always show the full picture. It only records transactions when cash changes hands, which can make it difficult to see how sales align with related costs.
As your business grows, accrual accounting becomes more useful. It records revenue along with expenses in the same period they occur. This allows you to better understand which products or services are truly profitable.
As your business grows, regular financial reporting is vital. Set a monthly financial reporting cycle for the areas that matter the most for your business and consistently follow it. Accurate and timely reports of these areas help you trust your numbers and make informed decisions. A good practice is to review the previous month’s financial statements by the 15th of the current month.
Accounting software and applications are excellent tools for recording transactions efficiently and accurately. Your team can focus on interpreting numbers and analyzing costs, along with identifying excess expenses and helping leadership make informed business decisions. When technology handles the routine tasks, your team can fully understand and act on the data.
Your past financial statements can help guide future decisions. Use historical financial data to build sales forecasts for each product line. Accurate cost estimates will help you see how those sales translate into profits that help your business grow. It’s also helpful to establish key performance indicators (KPIs). These metrics both financial and non-financial allow you to track progress towards your goals and measure the overall success of your business.
Even strong internal teams can benefit from outside perspectives for financial reporting and analysis. Working with experienced professionals with strong backgrounds in accounting and forecasting can help your staff interpret data effectively. Consulting with these professionals regularly throughout the year, not just at tax time, can provide valuable insights into your business that help refine your growth strategies. Additionally, advisors can also recommend tools and methods for establishing an accounting and reporting system tailored to your needs.
Growth creates opportunity, but it also increases complexity. With clear reporting, effective technology, and forward-looking analysis, your financial data becomes a powerful guide rather than a guess. Supported by the right systems and expertise, you can make confident, informed decisions that turn momentum into lasting success.
If you’re looking to strengthen your accounting department and team, consider contacting Cray Kaiser’s CAAS Department. Our team can work with your staff to improve your financial reporting and build systems that support your business as it grows.
In part 3 of our video series about college foundations, Dan Swanson, an assurance manager at CK, shares his perspective on working with college foundations. In this video, he explains key year-end considerations, like tax reporting and nonprofit audits and how proactive planning can take the stress out of the process. He also highlights how CK partners with foundation staff and boards to prepare for audits, maintain clean records and ultimately free up time to focus on fundraising and advancing the foundation’s mission.
Transcript:
Welcome, everybody. I’m very excited to be here today. My name is Dan Swanson. I am an assurance manager here at Cray Kaiser. I’ve been with the firm for about 12, 13 years now, and I wanted to talk about a subject matter that I’m very passionate about, and that is college foundations, and some of the important factors that we need to be considering, some of the hot topic issues.
What are they doing with year-end tax reporting? Even though they’re a nonprofit, there’s still some year-end tax reporting that needs to be done. So how do we alleviate that requirement? Nonprofits need year-end audits. So how do we help the foundation get through the year-end audit procedures? We here as auditors kind of have a leg up in that because we know what they’re going to ask for. We know what type of work papers they need. We know the routine so we can be your advisor to get you through that process.
So another value add that I think teaming up with Cray Kaiser has is the year-end audit. So as foundations, as a nonprofit organization. The foundations that we do work with, they’re required to have an annual audit performed. And typically it’s in conjunction with the college’s audit. They’re both separate audits, but they need to be issued kind of simultaneously. So an issue that comes up a lot is, oh no, it’s year-end audit time, what do we do? How do we get prepared? What are the auditors going to ask for? What do we need to do?
So what’s super cool about, you know, teaming up with Cray Kaiser is we’re also auditors. So as auditors, we know the process. We know what questions are going to be asked. We know the expectations that the auditors are going to have on the foundation. So having all that knowledge and all that experience, we can advise and we can consult with the foundation, counting staff, board members, et cetera, okay, here’s what we think needs to happen, and we can get them prepared ahead of time in advance. So come year-end audit time, all that worry, all that stress hopefully goes away because we’re ready. We have clean records. Everything reconciles. We’re super transparent. Any question the auditors have, we’re going to be able to explain, okay, here’s what we did, and here’s why we did it, here’s our work paper to support that balance or to support that transaction. Having a good clean records done monthly really sets you apart come audit time.
You know what we typically do with the foundations, I work with is the auditors will have a request list. And so what I like to do is schedule a meeting with the foundations and we’re going to go through this request list one by one and I’m going to help educate them. Okay they’re asking for this and here’s why. You know we’ll take care of this request as kind of your outside accountants or you guys take care of this because this deals with donor information and you know you have that at the ready. So we kind of divide up responsibilities on the audit. Here’s what we’ll take care of. Here’s why they’re asking for it. And we’ll meet again in a couple weeks and see where we’re at, so when the auditors are here are present they have everything they need to do to get through it timely. And we try to get out ahead of any requests that way the auditors have what they need and it’s simply they just need to get through it.
So again that’s the fun part again because I know what they’re going to ask for. I know what they need. I know how they think. And I can help educate the foundation staff and make sure that they’re as prepared as can be, come year-end audit time so these things don’t drag on and on and on and then becomes this high stress situation. If I can relieve that stress, if I can relieve that angst, then I feel like I’m doing my job.
And so far, knock on wood, the foundations every year, in my opinion, I think the audits have gone very smoothly and so that’s where my cool that’s kind of awesome. You know, we’re doing it we’re teaming up with them they’re getting through this, this year on audit procedure. It’s not this overwhelmingly stressful task. So again a lot of them, they’re fundraisers, so accounting isn’t their fortitude. So if we can come in and help educate on the accounting piece then I can free them up to go out and fundraise and spread the mission on the foundation. So that’s, I’ve got the accounting. I’ll help you out.
But again, selfishly, I’ll do the accounting so you can go out and do what you do best. So that’s where I think coming to Cray Kaiser adds value. If you have any questions that you would want to ask me, please feel free to reach out. You can go to the Cray Kaiser website and you can find me. Again, I’m Dan Swanson. I’m an assurance manager here.
MSA, MST | In-Charge Staff Accountant
On December 2, 2025, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a draft of the new Form 4547, titled Trump Account Election(s). This form allows authorized individuals (typically parents or guardians) to elect to open a “Trump Account” for eligible minors. These accounts are part of a new federal initiative designed to help children build financial assets early in life. One of the most notable features of Form 4547 is the option to receive a $1,000 “Pilot Program Contribution” from the U.S. Treasury for children born between 2025 and 2028.
According to the IRS instructions, the the most efficient way to file Form 4547 is by submitting it with the authorized individual’s electronically filed current-year federal income tax return. For the initial rollout, this would likely coincide with the filing of the 2025 tax return.
If the form is not filed with the tax return, it may still be filed separately using paper filing.
The IRS has announced plans to launch an online portal at trumpaccounts.gov in mid-2026. This portal may eventually allow authorized individuals to make Trump Account elections online. However, it is important to note that contributions to Trump Accounts will not be allowed before July 4, 2026.
In early December, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation announced a $6.25 billion philanthropic commitment to fund 25 million Trump Accounts. Through this initiative, the foundation plans to contribute $250 per account for children who:
This program is intended to support children who do not qualify for the $1,000 federal Pilot Program Contribution. Parents can assess potential eligibility by entering their zip code into Census Reporter which provides median income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Additional details about the Dell Foundation contribution aren’t available yet but we will provide an update as soon as more substantive information becomes available.
To learn more about how Trump accounts, Form 4547 or related contribution programs may impact your family, please contact one of the trusted advisors at Cray Kaiser. We can help you navigate new developments and plan accordingly.
CPA | CK Principal
As it does every year, the Internal Revenue Service recently announced the inflation-adjusted 2026 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Additionally, tax professionals and their clients may use the optional standard mileage rate to calculate the deductible costs of operating vehicles for moving purposes for certain active-duty members of the Armed Forces, and now, under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, certain members of the intelligence community.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2026, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (van, pickup or panel truck) are:
The business standard mileage rate is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs as determined by the same study. The rate for using an automobile while performing services for a charitable organization is statutorily set (it can only be changed by Congressional action) and has been 14 cents per mile for over 15 years.
Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle for business rather than using the standard mileage rates. Notice 2026-10 contains additional information.
If you have questions about the standard mileage rate or calculating the actual cost of using your vehicle for business, please contact Cray Kaiser.
Accounting & Advisory Services (CAAS) Manager
Understanding the difference between net income and retained earnings is essential for any business owner who wants to build long-term profitability. While these two accounting terms are closely related, they serve different purposes and offer valuable insights into your company’s financial health.
Retained earnings represent the leftover net income after dividends have been paid to owners or shareholders. Instead of being distributed these profits are reinvested, back into the business forming a fundamental part of equity. These funds can be leveraged for various productive uses, including financing new projects, investing in research and development, or upgrading infrastructure.
In other words, retained earnings reflect how much profit your business has chosen to retain for future growth rather than pay out. This healthy practice forms an important part of the shareholders’ equity section on your balance sheet and also strengthens a company’s financial position over time.
The formula for retained earnings is a simple formula:
Retained Earnings (RE) = Beginning RE + Net Income – Dividends.
For example:
If a business. begins the year with $300,000 in retained earnings, earns $100,000 in net income and pays out $20,000 in dividends, the ending retained earnings would be $380,000.
Net income measures how much money your company earns after all taxes, operating costs and expenses have been deducted. It’s a key indicator of the company’s profitability for a specific period. It’s important to note that while net income contributes directly to retained earnings, the two serve different purposes:.
It’s also important to note that net income is taxable, while retained earnings are not, since taxes have already been paid on those profits.
Dividends represent the portion of profits distributed to shareholders, typically paid in cash or as stock dividends. To maintain healthy dividends, a company must ensure they have sufficient retained earnings to support these payouts while also funding growth.
You can find retained earnings in the equity section of your balance sheet, typically on the right side, along with liabilities and shareholder equity. Some companies also prepare a separate statement to track retained earnings, showcasing the inflow and outflow of these critical funds.
Even simple calculations can go wrong if not handled carefully. When tracking retained earnings:
Accurate calculations ensure your financial statements reflect the true state of your company’s growth and performance.
Both net income and retained earnings are more than just numbers, they’re essential indicators of financial health and business growth strategy. By understanding these concepts:
A clear understanding of net income versus retained earnings helps business owners build smarter growth strategies and maintain financial resilience.
Ready to delve deeper? Our Client Accounting and Advisory Services can review your Retained Earnings and help you plan for sustainable business growth. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
Accounting & Advisory Services (CAAS) Manager
In business, cash is king. For small to medium-sized companies, understanding where your money comes from and where it goes is not just a strategy; it’s essential for survival and growth.
Whether you’re a startup founder or a seasoned business owner, managing cash flow can be the difference between thriving and struggling. Here are 10 powerful reasons why tracking your cash flow should be a top financial priority and how it can help your business stay healthy, flexible and future-ready.
1. Get a Clear Picture of Your Spending
When you track your cash flow you see exactly how your money is allocated and spent. This helps you spot wasteful spending, control costs and understand your true financial position beyond what your profit and loss statement shows.
2. Measure Business Performance Accurately
Comparing your cash flow forecasts to actual results, shows how well your business is performing. If your projections don’t match reality, you’ll know where to adjust, making your future plans more reliable and achievable.
3. Always Know Your Cash Balance
Understanding your cash on hand and working capital helps determine what your business can do today. Tracking these helps you make smarter decisions about paying bills, investing excess funds or seeking external financing before cash gets tight.
4. Discover Ways to Boost Cash Flow
Analyzing cash flow data enables businesses to discover practical ways to bring in more money, such as optimizing inventory management or improving how quickly customers pay. These simple tweaks can significantly improve your liquidity.
5. Plan Ahead for Short-Term Needs
A cash flow statement acts like a financial dashboard. It shows you what funds you have available right now, helping you plan short-term goals, pay vendors on time and avoid last minute cash shortages.
6. Making More Informed Business Decisions
When you know your cash position, you can avoid poor financial decisions, like delaying purchases until customer payments arrive. Better insights lead to better financial judgment.
7. Protect Your Vendor and Supplier Relationships
Consistent, positive cash flow ensures you can pay vendors and suppliers promptly. This builds trust and strengthens vital business relationships.
8. Prepare for Financial Emergencies
Unexpected slow seasons or expenses can happen to any business. Regular cash flow reviews help you spot red flags early and create backup plans to handle challenges before they become crises.
9. Support Long-Term Growth Strategy
Detailed cash flow analysis is essential for long-term planning. It helps you prioritize key projects, manage investments and position the company for future success.
10. Create a Solid Foundation for Business Expansion
Strong cash flow management lays the groundwork for growth opportunities, like hiring more staff, opening new locations or launching new products, without falling into financial turmoil.
Tracking cash flow is not merely about monitoring money; it’s a strategic advantage. It keeps your operations running smoothly, supports better decision-making, and positions your business for growth.
If you’re unsure where to start, please reach out to Cray Kaiser’s CAAS Department. We can help you set up practical systems to monitor and manage your cash flow effectively. Contact us today to schedule a consultation meeting and learn how to strengthen your business’ financial foundation.
In part 2 of our video series about college foundations, Dan Swanson, an assurance manager at CK, shares his expertise in supporting college foundations. With more than a decade of experience, Dan breaks down the complexities behind managing scholarship funds, maintaining accurate financial reporting and leveraging financial systems to ensure transparency and donor confidence. He explains how thoughtful accounting practices directly translate into real opportunities for students. He highlights why strong financial oversight isn’t just important, but essential to fulfilling a foundation’s mission.
Transcript:
Welcome everybody. I’m very excited to be here today. My name is Dan Swanson. I am an assurance manager here at Cray Kaiser. I’ve been with the firm for about 12, 13 years now. And I wanted to talk about a subject matter that I’m very passionate about. And that is college foundations and some of the important factors that we need to be considering, some of their hot topic issues.
I wanted to kind of talk about foundations and how we here at CK have helped foundations on a number of different areas. So when you think of college foundations, what do you think about? What are some of their big struggles? What are they, what’s their mission, what’s their vision, what are their values. So with college foundations, they get funds, they get dollars, they get money, they get to invest, and hopefully those earnings, it earns, returns, which then turn into scholarships, turns into real dollars for real students to pay for real education. So sounds simple, but when you have, if you only had like two or three scholarship funds, not a big deal, but some of our clients that we serve have over a hundred different individual unique scholarship funds or program funds, and they have millions of dollars of investments. So how do we ensure that everybody’s getting their fair share of these investment earnings? How do we ensure that the financial statements are telling an accurate story to the board, to the executive director, to the finance committee, to all those involved to make sure the end of the day, the maximum amount of dollars are going out to students to serve the mission. So that’s where we here at Cray Kaiser can come in and use all of our knowledge and experience to really help these foundations and a number of different factors.
You know, personally, I’ve helped just with the system setup. You know, what financial system are they using? Is there any setup issues we need to update, adjust, add to it, what type of modules does their system have? Timeliness of financial reporting, are they getting accurate financial statements monthly?
So some shared experience I have while working with foundations, some of the things that keep them up at night. I kind of touched upon this as individual scholarship funds or individual program funds. Your more sophisticated donors are going to ask, how’s my fund doing? How’s my scholarship doing? How much do I have left in that fund? How much did you spend in scholarship funds this year? What did it earn? Can we do better? You know, if my balance is running low, do I need to write another check to get my scholarship funds back up there? So in order to answer all those questions, what do you think we need to do? What’s super important? What’s super important is, you know, accurate financial reporting, both on an overall basis and by an individual scholarship and or project fund.
So the way I tell people is if you’re like a for-profit company, you have kind of one set of books that you need to monitor and track. With these nonprofit foundations, you could have 200 different trial balances or general ledgers that you have to track. Because each individual scholarship fund is its own kind of entity. So you can see where it’s not super simple and straightforward. You really got to be very careful and very meticulous about tracking this activity.
So how do we do that? How do we make sure it’s over cumbersome? Because we the goal is we want to give these donors financial reporting accurately and timely because that’s going to drive them to open up their checkbooks and bring in more funds and more opportunities to these to the students. Again what’s the goal? We want to give out scholarships to help educate young students.
So kind of where I come in, where I get passion is about, is we can see, you know, by accurate financial reporting, by accurate accounting, where it has a direct impact, you know, on America’s youth. So it’s pretty cool. So from that standpoint, it’s very cool. Accounting is cool, right? Accounting is cool, guys, you know, because it translates to real dollars to real students. You know, how do we pay it forward? Well, have good solid accounting records will pay it forward and increase scholarship funds.
Other issues I’m seeing, a lot of these foundations use the same type of software package. And over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good at learning the system and its full capabilities. So what I’m always trying to do is, I understand that this is the financial package that has always gone to the board each month, but what else can we do? What are they looking at? You know, I’ll sit in the board meetings or sit in the trenches. You know, what is it that you hone in on? What is it that you’re looking at? What’s important to you? And then I’ll try to see if the system can generate a better, more improved report to help them do what they need to do to keep the foundation on the straight and arrow. Again, transparency is your best friend. So how do I utilize that system to its fullest potential? Because it’s a powerful system, so let’s utilize it. So what is it that you need? What is it that you want? And then let’s work towards that. So that’s kind of fun. It’s fun to kind of see what, hear what they want, what they need, and then going back to the system and seeing if we can generate a new report and make it part of that standard monthly financial package. So that’s a lot of fun.
Some of the other issues I see is there’s different, like there’s like a dual-based system where one tracks all the donor information and all the contribution information. And then there’s a different system, which is your standard kind of general ledger accounting software. and they talk to each other and they’re integrated to each other. So making sure that both systems talk appropriately is super key. You know, if we have a bunch of donor information, a bunch of contributions in one system and it’s not being linked correctly to the other system, you can see how financial reporting can become out of whack and then you can see how come year-end. When it comes to audit time, it’s going to create a lot of headaches. So how do we get in front of that? How do we make sure the system is set up initially? So both systems are talking to each other and are integrated. So again, over the years, I’ve kind of learned both systems and we know how to make them work. Or at least know who to contact to help us when we notice issues.
If you have any questions that you would want to ask me, you know, please feel free to reach out. You can go to the Cray Kaiser website and you can find me. Again, I’m Dan Swanson. I’m an assurance manager here.
In this first video in our series about supporting college foundations, Dan Swanson, Assurance Manager, shares his passion for helping college foundations fulfill their missions. With more than a decade of experience in the firm and a lifelong connection to education, Dan explores the unique financial challenges and opportunities that college foundations face.
Transcript
Welcome everybody. I’m very excited to be here today. My name is Dan Swanson. I am an Assurance Manager here at Cray Kaiser. I’ve been with the firm for about 12-13 years now, and I wanted to talk about a subject matter that I’m very passionate about. And that is college foundations and some of the important factors that we need to be considering, some of the hot topic issues. I want to talk about some success stories, some issues that they commonly face.
One of the reasons I’m very passionate about this, because we always hear that question, if I wasn’t an accountant, what would I be doing? You know, I’m a big fan of education, my parents were teachers, I have brothers that are teachers, so if I wasn’t an accountant, I would be a teacher. So by serving these college foundations, I feel like I get the best of both worlds. I’m helping students, while getting to use my accounting knowledge and expertise. So, it’s very near and dear to me. So, I wanted to kind of talk about foundations and how we here at CK have helped foundations in a number of different areas.
So, when you think of college foundations, what do you think about? You know, what are some of their big struggles? What are they? What’s their mission? What’s their vision? What are their values? So, with college foundations is they get funds, they get dollars, they get money, they get to invest, and hopefully those earnings, it earns returns, which then turn into scholarships, turns into real dollars for real students to pay for real education. So sounds simple, but if you only had like two or three scholarship funds, not a big deal, but some of our clients that we serve have over a hundred different individual unique scholarship funds or program funds and they have millions of dollars of investments. So how do we ensure that everybody’s getting their fair share of these investment earnings. How do we ensure that the financial statements are telling an accurate story to the board, to the executive director, to the finance committee, to all those involved to make sure the end to the day, the maximum amount of dollars are going out to students to serve the mission.
A big thing that I see with a lot of these foundations is the budgets. Every year, the board, the finance committee comes up with budgets. How much are we going to budget to spend out in scholarships? How much are we going to budget for various, just kind of general expenditures? So how do we make sure on a monthly basis our budgets to actual are being monitored and tracked and appropriately recorded. So that’s the overall goal. That’s the overall purpose of what we here try to accomplish when working with foundations.
The board, the finance committee spends a lot of time coming up with budgets. Whether it’s kind of revenue budgets based upon donations that are coming in or investment earnings. But it’s also some of those management in general costs, you know, because we all know that there’s some just overhead that they need to cover. They need software, they need to pay for people, supplies, printers, etc. So, it’s not 100 % of it’s not going to scholarships. There are these overhead manager, we try to minimize it or they try to minimize it, but there are those costs. So a good way to kind of monitor and track that is through like is through budgets.
So how do we make sure as expenses are being incurred and checks are being cut, that we’re matching up the right expense item to the right budgeted line item. Seems simple but it can get it can get kind of tricky depending on the volume of invoices and who’s coding the invoices. You know, are we consistently coding this vendor to this budgeted line item? So again, what I like is kind of being on the outside is we’re that second set of eyes. You know, we can go in there and kind of build some of these expenses and enter your payables and run your checks for you. But you know, you are the kind of the initial person at you being the foundation, but we’re that second set of eyes. Hey, did you think about that? Did you think about this? Does this match up with the budget? And then we can kind of catch some inconsistencies in real time. And as we catch them, we can try to implement best practices because consistency is key. So, if we can implement these best practices, we’re consistent. And then the financials, again, tell the story. If you have any questions that you would want to ask me, you know, please feel free to reach out. You can go to the Cray Kaiser website and you can find me again I’m Dan Swanson. I’m an assurance manager here.
CPA | CK Principal
Corporate credit cards are a valuable tool for businesses. They simplify purchasing, make expense tracking easier, and give employees flexibility to do their jobs. However, with this convenience comes the responsibility to ensure that these cards are used wisely and ethically.
That’s where a clear credit card policy and the right technology come in. Together, they help protect company resources, reduce fraud and build trust across the organization.
A strong credit card policy serves as both a safeguard and a roadmap. It clearly sets expectations for appropriate usage and explains the reasons behind the rules. When paired with expense management platforms such as Bill.com, Expensify and Ramp, to name a few, it can provide solutions to track transactions in real time, flag suspicious activity automatically, and simplify reporting and receipt collection. This combination of policy and technology gives finance teams the ability to detect irregularities before they escalate into larger issues, along with fostering transparency, accountability, and trust, ensuring that employees understand not only how to use their cards, but also the rationale behind the guidelines.
To create an effective policy, organizations should begin by considering both the operational needs of their teams and the inherent risks associated with credit card programs. This thoughtful approach lays the foundation for a culture of fiscal responsibility.
Technology makes monitoring and enforcement easier. Sometimes, business applications may require specific credit cards, so app selection should align with company policies. The right tools give firms both flexibility and control over purchase and expense management.
A clear, well-communicated policy, supported by the right technology, protects companies while giving the employees the resources they need to succeed. For more information on strengthening your credit card policies and integrating technology into your accounting systems, please contact Cray Kaiser.
