Real Numbers: Management Accounting in a Lean Organization

Most lean accouting books - in fact most books - present what they consider the solutions, the final answer. Real Numbers does present some answers, but more importantly, they provide the direction. By painting a picture of the ideal state that we should all be shooting for, they give us the guideposts to help us make progress and improvements day after day after day. This is much more powerful, because the progress that follows reading and applying this book can last for years. It is also more flexible because we can adopt what they are teaching to a wide variety of settings and companies. Furthermore, the authors have done it - they were there making it work. I think 10 years from now we will still be referring to this book as an important contribution to lean accounting and to accounting in general.

The book's presentation makes a case for accurate and timely information that is easily understood and actionable. Whereby it is now time to take the benefits learned from implementing lean manufacturing on the shop floor into the office and remove the blinders of old traditional accounting systems. Doing so transforms the accountant from bean counter to a valued partner in the business.Discussions include:* a strong section on performance measurement - what the financial team should be measuring in place of current traditional accounting reports. * how to streamline the process and bring about meaningful change* a practical methodology for making the transition away from cost accounting - to go from micro accounting to macro accounting* plain English management financial systems - what they are, why to use, benefits, and how to get them using the one day close method* new concepts in budgeting (the lean budget) and capital planning whereby one looks at reduction in inventory and flexibility instead of per part cost* lean acquisitions - what to do with all that new found cashThe final three chapters are my favorite where Jean and Orest take their boardroom management skills and depart wisdom to the reader. Here it is explained why the CEO and CFO must become active leaders, the benefits of breaking from tradition, and the twelve principles of lean accounting.This is a must read book for everyone who wants to shed the role of bean counter or who has struggled with bean counters and their misunderstanding the accounting side of lean manufacturing.Rick AndersonPresidentTTW Inc. - WinMan software

How can a manager gain a real picture of a company's performance? Real Numbers: Management Accounting In A Lean Organization helps managers understand management accounting practices, which often produce complex financial statements which have little to do with reality. Each of the authors is a CFO who probes management accounting systems and how simplicity and clarify can be restored to an organization's accounting system. The authors provide some solid, invaluable advice on tweaking accounting practices to get the most from facts and figures generated by accountants.

Do you remember your favorite cheat sheet from language class? It was a book or a pamphlet or even a tightly scrawled crib sheet with key reminders on how to navigate the gap between your birth tongue and a whole new world. You carried it around with you to help find your way. Jean and Ori have put together the best cheat sheet for people straddling the language gap between modern manufacturing and old school accounting. I can't recommend "Real Numbers" enough. Mine is already dog-eared. I carry it with me to international planning meetings to help me translate the smoke and mirrors that can fill the room. "Real Numbers" is filled with concise, easy-to-understand chapters that assist any decision-maker in understanding the transition from bean counter to business partner. Every chapter has a value-adding how-to approach to overcome the major mental hurdles blocking lean enterprise: controlling wasteful transactions instead of eliminating them, supporting rear-view driving instead of agile leadership, covering every contingent instead of reporting accurately what is needed and when. Most companies attempting lean transition run into the failure of business accounting to update its methods in stride with lean thinking. This book explains how accountants can see themselves in a new role bridging that gap. And seeing that new role with a shared accounting language is half the battle - won.

It touched on what we learned in Lean Accounting Training and will be an excellent resource to back up that training as we apply the principles in our own Lean journey. It gives real world examples of Lean Accounting applied in two companies that have truly embraced the Lean Enterprise: Lantech and Wiremold are both featured.Todd KunzeDivision Lean Manager for O-RingParker Hannifin Corporation