It’s not surprising that many physician practice owners are focused on big, dramatic financial events like an audit. Tax season. Preparing for an acquisition.
But here’s a secret that all successful owners learn: These “marquis” events will ultimately contribute less to your practice’s success than the humble finance operations your team is executing every day.
Why the Day-to-Day Matters So Much
That’s because your physician practice’s ultimate financial potential is determined by how well basic fiscal functions are executed now.
Without an efficient finance operation, you stand to incur significant negatives, including (sometimes substantial) revenues lost, and missed opportunities for future growth. You also risk diminishing the value of your practice—both in reality, and in the eyes of investors, future partners, and private equity firms, all of whom will look carefully at your underlying fundamentals.
Yet, even knowing that good daily financial management is the key to business success, many physician practices lack the know-how or discipline to implement basic fiscal standards.
You Should Be Implementing These Daily Practices
You may not think that your practice is vulnerable in this area, so let’s put that notion to the test with two questions that you, your CFO, or your accountant should be able to quickly answer:
Question #1: Does your practice have the internal capacity to consistently…
- Create accurate and timely monthly financial statements?
- Record all business activities into standard accounting formats?
- Insure that the general ledger ties to original source documents or sub-ledgers?
- Efficiently manage payroll processes?
- Reconcile daily cash receipts and manage all banking functions?
Question #2: Which of these more complex procedures—all of them essential for capturing your practice’s full grow potential—have you implemented?
- Internal controls that safeguard practice assets?
- A method of recording unusual or one-time transactions in practice financial statements?
- Effective management of accrual-basis or cash-basis books?
- Directing the preparation of tax-related documents for tax preparers, attorneys, and bankers?
Did you answer all of those questions with a yes?
If not, it’s time to think seriously about professionalizing your fiscal operation.
Helping You Manage the “Little” Things that Add Up to Success
With 25+ years of healthcare finance experience, HCFA can help you manage daily finance operations with one or more proven approaches. We can:
- Train your existing staff to perform these critically important functions at a higher level
- Help you identify and evaluate external professionals to take charge of them
- Execute them ourselves
- Function as an internal subject matter expert to supervise their efforts and insure proper outcomes
Don’t leave the future of your practice to chance.
If you have not already established a strong, daily fiscal operation, the time to lay this foundation is now.