Accounting Process Improvement: Why “Fixing What’s Broken” Isn’t Enough
Most organizations don’t set out to build inefficient business processes. They evolve that way—one workaround at a time. A new hire needs access, so someone shares their login credentials. A financial report takes too long, so a spreadsheet gets bolted onto the workflow. A system can’t reasonably handle a new service line, so the team creates a manual step “for now.”
Over time, those “temporary” fixes hard-code inefficiency into how work gets done.
Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash
When leaders notice friction, the instinct is often to fix the visible pain points: shave a step here, automate repetitive tasks there, retrain the team on what already exists. While that helps in the short term, it rarely delivers lasting improvement, and it almost never prepares the business for growth.
At a certain point, incremental fixes stop working. That’s when a process rebuild is necessary.
So let's get into why simply patching broken processes falls short, how to recognize when you’ve outgrown your current accounting workflow, and how to reimagine business processes from the ground up.
Why Iterative Process Fixes Eventually Fail
Incremental improvement has its place. Lean principles and continuous improvement matter. But they only work when the underlying process is sound.
When it’s not, small fixes often create new problems instead of solving old ones. Here's why:
You’re Optimizing a Flawed Design
If your business processes weren't designed intentionally, or were built for a much smaller, simpler organization, optimizing them just makes the flaws more efficient.
For example, automating approvals doesn’t help if approvals aren’t actually necessary. Adding dashboards doesn’t help if the data feeding them is inconsistent. And standardizing steps doesn’t help if those steps no longer reflect how work should flow.
Consider McKinsey's State of AI in 2025 report. The consulting firm surveyed nearly 2,000 companies across 105 countries and found that 88% regularly use business process automation and artificial intelligence (AI), but only 6% see a bottom-line impact. So what's the secret sauce for high performers, which McKinsey defines as companies that see more than 5% EBIT impact from AI? They're three times more likely to fundamentally redesign processes for AI integration instead of automating existing processes.
Workarounds Become Permanent Infrastructure
Workarounds are signals. They tell you where systems, roles, or rules no longer align with reality. The problem is that most organizations respond by formalizing the workaround instead of addressing the root cause. Over time, exceptions become standard practice, legacy knowledge replaces documentation, and critical business processes depend on specific people instead of clear roles.
Processes Stop Scaling at the Same Pace as the Business
Operational processes that work for a $2M company rarely work for a $20M company, and almost never work for a $100M one. As volume increases, hand-offs multiply, error rates rise, cycle times stretch, and visibility declines.
Companies that don't intentionally rebuild existing processes to support growth often hire more people rather than fixing business process workflows. That drives costs up faster than revenue and erodes margins.
Signs You Don’t Need Business Process Improvement, You Need Business Process Re-engineering
How do you know when it’s time to stop tweaking and start over? Here are some common indicators:
The same issues resurface every quarter, despite repeated “fixes”
Process documentation exists, but no one actually follows it
Team members rely on memory instead of systems
Leadership lacks confidence in reporting or forecasts
Adding new services or clients creates disproportionate strain
Technology investments haven’t delivered the expected ROI
If growth feels harder instead of easier, that’s typically not a people problem. It’s almost always a process design problem.
What a Process Rebuild Actually Means
A process rebuild is about intentionally designing how work should happen given your current goals, constraints, and growth plans. While that starts with an inventory of your current processes, don’t just look for tweaks. Look for transformation.
At its core, a rebuild answers three foundational questions:
What outcomes do we want to achieve?
What work needs to happen to achieve them?
What’s the most straightforward way to make that work repeatable and scalable?
That requires stepping back far enough to challenge assumptions, not just refine steps.
Step 1: Start With Outcomes, Not Tasks
Many process initiatives fail because they begin with specific task lists instead of outcomes. A rebuild starts by defining what success looks like for the client, the business, and the team doing the work.
For example, instead of asking, “How do we close the books faster?” ask, “What decisions depend on this information, and when do they need to be made?”
That shift changes everything from timing to tooling to accountability.
Step 2: Strip the Process to Its Essential Value
Once outcomes are clear, the next step is to identify which activities contribute to them.
This is where many organizations discover redundant approvals, legacy reporting no one uses, manual steps created to compensate for old systems, and controls that no longer mitigate real risk. If you take an honest look at your processes, you'll likely find several that add little or no value. Removing unnecessary steps improves process efficiency and reduces error rates and stress.
Step 3: Design for Flow, Not Departments
Traditional processes often mirror organizational charts. Work moves from team to team, with hand-offs that introduce delays and confusion.
A rebuild designs processes around flow, not functions. For example, does your process identify clear ownership at each stage? Defined inputs and outputs? Are there minimal hand-offs? Do you have built-in checks instead of after-the-fact fixes?
Organizations that invest in these project and process management best practices waste 28 times less money than organizations with poor management processes, according to research from the Project Management Institute.
Step 4: Align Technology to the Process (Not the Other Way Around)
One common mistake in process improvement is forcing teams to adapt to tools that weren’t selected with the process in mind. In a rebuild, technology supports the designed workflow.
When core processes and systems align, organizations tend to see measurable gains.
Step 5: Build for Scale, Not Today’s Volume
Your rebuilt process should not only work now but also support your organization at two or three times its current volume. That means designing with clear decision rules, standardized inputs, defined exceptions, and documented ownership.
Scalable processes reduce dependence on specific individuals. It also makes onboarding new employees faster and more consistent.
Step 6: Make the Process Measurable and Adaptable
A rebuild isn’t “set it and forget it.” But it does create a stable foundation for continuous improvement.
That foundation includes defined success metrics, regular reviews, clear accountability for updates, and feedback loops tied to real outcomes.
When you embed key performance indicators (KPIs) into business process management, improvements become intentional rather than reactive.
What You Gain From Redesigning Processes
When done well, a process rebuild delivers benefits that incremental fixes rarely achieve:
Faster execution without burnout
More reliable organization and client data for decision-making
Lower operational risk
Improved margins through efficiency
Greater confidence in scaling services or headcount
Most importantly, it gives leadership greater control over how work gets done, how team members use resources, and how the business grows.
Fixing what’s broken might keep things running, but it won’t prepare your organization for what’s next. Change and growth need more than patches and workarounds. They require processes that are intentionally designed, clearly owned, and scalable.
A true process rebuild helps you move from reactive problem-solving to proactive execution so your systems support your strategy instead of holding it back.
If your team spends too much time managing friction instead of driving results, it may be time to step back and rebuild from the ground up. Contact Slate to start reimagining your business processes with growth, clarity, and scalability in mind.