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Signature Analytics Named an SDBJ 2022 Best Places to Work

Best Places to Work, Company Culture, Featured, News

Signature Analytics is honored to have been named a 2022 ‘Best Place to Work’ by the San Diego Business Journal, and to be recognized amongst so many great companies in San Diego.

Each year, the San Diego Business Journal’s Best Places to Work Awards program recognizes outstanding companies whose benefits, policies, and practices are among the best in the region.

Now more than ever, companies have to be more thoughtful, creative, and purposeful about keeping their employees engaged and motivated. Companies that have made the 2022 list have done exactly that.

CEO, Peter Heald says, “We are so honored to have received this award as one of San Diego Business Journal’s Best Places to Work in 2022, marking the third year we have received this accolade. I am grateful to our entire team for their hard work, dedication, and continuous improvement in making Signature Analytics such an incredible place to work.”

How Is a Company Deemed a Best Place to Work?

Each year, San Diego Business Journal partners with Best Companies Group, which manages over 50 Best Places to Work Awards programs on the regional, state, national, and international levels.

Best Places to Work is open to all public and privately held companies for both for-profit and nonprofit to be eligible for consideration. To qualify, however, companies must have a facility here in San Diego as well as a minimum of 15 local employees.

The Best Places to Work Awards program includes 100 San Diego companies. Each San Diego company that applies to be recognized encounters a two-part assessment process, which considers an anonymous employee engagement survey (75%) and the benefits a company offers (25%).

Why is Signature Analytics One of the Best Places to Work?

At Signature Analytics, we pride ourselves on our strong company culture and dedication to our employee growth. Hear it best from our team.

Anthony Sands, Senior Vice President Business Development and Regional Manager at Signature Analytics says, “Working at SA is exciting, engaging with co-workers across multiple clients allows us to be connected in a virtual workspace. The flexibility continues to be a benefit, as our accounting experts work remotely to support clients’ needs. Of course, connecting in-person, during quarterly events contributes to building the culture at Signature Analytics.”

Nancy Wilson, Accounting Manager at Signature Analytics says, “I love working at Signature Analytics because of the flexibility and the support. I work from home, but I don’t work alone. The team is engaging, and I know I always have someone to reach out for help. I am regularly asked by leadership if there is anything I need or any way I can be better supported so I can succeed.”

About Signature Analytics

Founded in 2008, Signature Analytics was created to fill a critical function for CEOs and business owners in small to mid-size companies.

Jason Kruger, Founder and President of Signature Analytics, recognized that many companies required more sophisticated accounting and financial planning services, but not their own full-time accounting staff or full-time CFO.

Signature Analytics provides outsourced accounting solutions that work with businesses’ existing accounting resources to guide leadership and support increased profits and productivity.

Signature Analytics works with a variety of companies with specific expertise in these industries:

Non-Profits
Professional Services and B2B Service Companies
Technology
Manufacturing and Distribution
Life Sciences
Rehab, Recovery, and Wellness Centers

Learn more about Signature Analytics.

The Effects of Inflation and Roaring Economy On Businesses

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As the world seemingly gets the coronavirus problem under control, the United States is at the front line of anticipating a new post-pandemic future. With the lockdowns and business shutdowns being a thing of the past, the next problem we have to deal with is nurturing the economy back up.

Everyone is excited that the cases of COVID-19 are coming to a stop. According to an analysis by Deloitte, the next phase in this recovery is the gross domestic product, which is poised to boom beyond the pre-pandemic period.

However, despite the expectations, inflation is real, and it is coming at the US and global economy fast. The cost of goods and services has gone up and has stayed there, and it may worsen before it gets better. There will be a lull before the storm, and small businesses are presently weathering its greatest brunt.

If you run a business, you must anticipate the economy’s performance and appreciate the long-term effects of inflation and a roaring economy. This post will dive deep to analyze the most likely long-term effects of the post-pandemic economy and how your business can manage through it. Read on to discover.

What is Inflation?

Inflation is a period when the cost of goods and services shoot up. Inflation often begins with a shortage of service or product, leading to businesses increasing their prices and overall costs of the product. This upward price adjustment triggers a cycle of rising costs, in the process making it harder for businesses to reach their margins and profitability over time.

Forbes has the most straightforward clear definition of inflation. It defines inflation as a rise in prices and a decline in the currency’s purchasing power over time. Therefore, if you feel like your dollar does not take you as far as it used to before the pandemic, you are not imagining it. The effect of inflation on small to medium-sized businesses may seem somewhat insignificant in the short term but can quickly make an impact.

Reduced purchasing power means that businesses will sell less and potentially lower profits. Lower profits mean decreased ability to grow or invest in the business. Since most companies with fewer than 500 employees are started with the owner’s savings, it puts them at significant financial risk as inflation rises.

Effects of Inflation on SMEs

Here are the three most notable effects of the post-pandemic economy on US businesses every entrepreneur should expect.

Erosion of Purchasing Power

We have already noted it, but it is worth repeating: the first effect of inflation is often just a different way of describing inflation. Inflation hurts the purchasing power of a currency as prices of goods and services go up. Interestingly, prices go up fast during inflation but are gradual in coming back down, if ever.

Shortages of Finished Products in the Market

You may already feel the pressure of inflation as an entrepreneur, but its full impact is yet to be felt. Inflation is not linear; it ripples through an economy differently, at different times, and affects businesses differently. One of the most immediate impacts is a shortage of supplies that may prevent the completion of production goods.

When manufacturers cannot get all the raw materials they need to produce finished products, the entire market hurts. While Just In Time (JIT) manufacturing was developed to address such a potential problem, the inter-connected market leaves many entrepreneur’s funds tied up in inventory-in-process, accumulating losses and driving demand and prices higher.

Inflation Raises the Cost of Borrowing

So the economy isn’t doing so well. But optimists paint a rosy and colorful picture of the economy once the pandemic problems are dealt with. If your business is hurting financially, why not just take a small loan to insulate it in these challenging times? During inflation, the cost and availability of loans can cause major problems down the road. This may not be an issue today, but it could be a bigger issue in the future.

How SMEs Can Manage Post-Pandemic Inflation

No matter what industry you do business in, your business must make the right strategic decisions in a time of inflation. The decisions that you make to manage inflation may determine whether the business sees its next anniversary or not. Here are five steps your business can take to forestall the effects of inflation in 2022.

Evaluate Product or Revenue Mix

There is never a better time to scrutinize and optimize the products your business deals in than during inflation.. The most effective approach is to analyze product or service streams, compare performance over time, and get a good picture of the business and available options in different geographical markets, client types, and distribution channels.

The whole idea behind streamlining your business during inflation is to cut costs and maintain profitability in a slowing market. To this end, a business may shift its production to focus on higher-margin products and services and protect the business’ bottom line. Analyze potential short and long-term effects of the shift and understand how it will affect the future of the business before implementing it.

Strengthen Your Products’ Pricing

The prices of almost every product go up during inflation. Your business, too, will have to consider price hikes to stay in alignment with the rising costs in the market. Even if economic inflation does not immediately impact your industry, it pays to be proactive by strengthening your product’s pricing and improve your business’ competitive market position.

Before increasing prices, analyze the competition and let their prices be one of your guiding points. You will also need to be upfront with customers about the price increases and why they are necessary. Transparency will help customers adapt to the new situation, and it helps them prepare for higher costs without compromising their loyalty to the business.

Evaluate Risks to Your Supply Chain

A modern business supply chain can be long and complex. Contrary to popular belief, the process by which a product moves from raw materials through manufacture to retail is riddled with risks. One effective way to prepare your business for inflation is to protect the supply chain, especially if you deal in physical goods.

The most common risks to small business’ supply chains are:

Over-dependence on a single supplier
Using long-lead-time suppliers such as imports
Heavy, bulky, hazardous, or perishable products that are hard to store
Materials that are passed through a JIT supply chain

There are many steps you can take to mitigate supply chain-related risks in your business in a time of inflation. Some of these steps may include:

Setting up an alternate supply chain – not merely finding an alternate supplier
Stockpiling critical supplies that have a low holding cost
Putting in place an expedited supply strategy
Reviewing stock levels at every stage of the JIT supply chain

Each business has different supply chain risks and now is the time to critically look at yours. What changes can impact the near-term and long-term health of your supply chain?

Understand Your Inventory

When prices start going up, a healthy inventory can be a competitive advantage. By the same principle, it is more profitable to keep a minimum inventory when prices are going down. Understanding your inventory levels and keeping them in line with market demand will help you make better decisions to maximize profitability. It also helps to improve internal accounting control, business oversight, and inventory management processes and accuracy while you’re at it.

Cash is King; Keep It

Proactive entrepreneurs take the time to anticipate potential scenarios of inflation. You can use the ‘What If’ technique to consider various possible scenarios that will affect your business. For instance, you can anticipate wage increases, higher material prices, and disruptions in the supply chain. Any time you forecast a scenario make sure to consider the amount of money your business needs to get through each scenario.

Cash is always king. More than ever, in inflationary times, you should not let your customers use your business as a bank. A high inflation rate will pile risks on a business, and it hurts more when its receivables become uncollectible.

Prepare your Business for Inflation

During inflationary times, you need efficient systems and processes to drive greater visibility into your business, so you can act fast and stay ahead of the competition. The real question is, do you know your numbers?

Post-pandemic inflation is already with us, and businesses are taking a hit. No matter your industry, you need a solid financial and operational strategy to evaluate the risks to your business and put measures in place to minimize them. Contact Signature Analytics and let us help you get visibility into your financial performance so that you can achieve your goals.

3 Ways Outsourcing Accounting Can Improve Your Business

Featured, News

Few people have the accountant’s touch when it comes to handling a business’s finances, and that’s okay. While you, as the executive, have likely spearheaded aspects of your accounting strategy out of pure necessity at this point, it may be time to update your processes and hand the strategy over to the experts.

Instead of scrambling to tackle finances in-house, consider outsourcing. You’ll receive unparalleled accounting support and strategy while gaining a flexible team of accounting experts so you can go back to focusing on your business growth.

Before focusing your attention on growth, let’s cover the three main benefits of accounting outsourcing for your business so you can make an informed decision.

Some main benefits we’ll cover in more detail below, include:

Letting your outsourced team own the accounting process
Having the right, qualified people on your side & managing through turnover
Gaining access to an entire team and extended network of experts

Let’s dive in.

#1 Owning the entire accounting process

While your business expertise is valuable to inform financial decisions, one of the benefits of outsourcing accounting is that the experts provide you with the best and latest processes and technologies to help you efficiently and effectively accomplish your goals.

First, the experts will evaluate your processes. Understanding your current processes is an essential part of your accounting strategy. By outsourcing, your new partner isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel or overhaul your operations.

Outsourced accountants will come in with a fresh set of eyes and use their expertise and experience to offer suggestions on ways to update and improve your processes. They are looking to make things better by adding efficiencies and ensuring new processes and workflows remain scalable to fit your company’s needs as it changes or grows.

They’ll likely evaluate:

The current team and their skill sets
Information and structure
Current processes and technology uses
Data cleanup protocols

Next, the team will evaluate your current technology in the same way. Since automating manual processes is imperative to time-saving, updating your technology may be the key to saving valuable time and money.

By eliminating manual processes and implementing automated solutions, you take the hours of manual (typically low-level work) work off your employees’ plate, giving them more time to work on goal-oriented tasks that add value to the business.

Automation also takes human error out of the equation, which reduces the risk or the possibility of fraud.

From there, it’s time to implement the new processes and technology. Your outsourced experts will document all new processes and provide training to your existing employees. They continue to be accountable for maintaining those processes and managing the team, taking the burden of management off the CEO or Owner’s shoulders while also empowering the current team to stay accountable and perform at their best.

After your processes and technology are optimized, it’s important to hire the right people in the right roles to drive your business into the future.

#2 Hire qualified people & reduce turnover

Turnover is inevitable at any company and is even more common at a rapidly growing company.

Common mistakes we see are:

Companies hire lower-level employees and expect high-level output
Companies hire high-level employees with high pay but they focus on low-level work
Companies do not know how to manage or structure an accounting department

In all scenarios, both lead to frustrated employees and subpar results – which frustrates executive management and leaves employees feeling dissatisfied. Employees feel blamed, and oftentimes, you have good people already; they likely need a little training oversight to be more effective in their role.

So do you hire more people? Can you commit to affording to hire more people or the people you need full-time?

With growth or change, outsourcing becomes an ideal solution. One reason is that an outsourced team can provide scalability and flexibility as you grow and provide continuity if you experience turnover.

If you experience internal turnover, the outsourced team is there to fill those gaps temporarily or permanently. If you’re looking to hire for the internal role, your accounting experts can support you with the hiring, onboarding, and training process.

Suppose you experience turnover within your outsourced team. In that case, the good news is that multiple positions are supporting your company within the outsourced team. And there’s always someone who is being training by your outsourced team before the departure. This is why continuity is such a big deal for many.

Overall, your company will experience lower turnover even in times of high demand, cash flow problems, or special projects with an outsourced partner by your side who is helping to manage this process.

#3 Direct access to a team of experts

Another benefit of outsourcing to an accounting firm is that you gain an immediate team of trusted experts but also have access to the entire team within the company – should you need it.

What’s important is that your outsourced team will integrate themselves into the fabric of your business. They are always looking for new ways to help, offer ideas and insights they’ve seen in the market, and keep you posted on the latest trends, strategies, and technologies.

Since they are always thinking about your business’s well-being and future direction, if they should ever need to bring in another in-house export or provide an introduction to an outside one, you can bet they’ll do it helps your business. They are well connected with many experts outside of accounting, such as advisors in HR, marketing, banking, and various other reliable partners to support you.

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Ultimately, the level of sophistication a team of outsourced experts can bring to your business is unmatched. With a plethora of experts acting as part of your team and sitting in the driver’s seat of your strategy, problem solvers are consistently a phone call away. Plus, they’re committed to helping your company grow.