No one person should hold the keys to your company’s finances
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve shared a few stories about companies that suffered serious financial losses — all for one simple reason:
They trusted a single person to manage their finances, from start to finish.
In both cases (and yes, both were real), the bookkeeper or accountant fell victim to fraud.
Not because they were careless — but because there was no one else in place to ask the right questions when something didn’t look quite right.
I’m sure there were smaller, unnoticed losses too. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time — but when there’s no one to double-check their work, those mistakes often slip through the cracks.
In a properly run finance department, everything is reviewed, cross-checked, and verified.
But when one person is doing everything, even the most diligent professional becomes a single point of failure.
And yet, it happens every day.
I find it fascinating — and a little worrying — how many business owners are comfortable with this level of risk.
Why do we do it?
Partly, it’s human nature. We want to trust people. We value loyalty. We see someone who’s been with us for years, who knows our business inside out — and it feels safe to rely on them.
In a way, it’s comforting.
But the truth is, trust doesn’t protect your business.
When you rely on one person to handle everything, you’re not just trusting their integrity — you’re trusting their memory, their attention to detail, and their ability to juggle everything perfectly, all the time.
That’s not realistic. It’s too much pressure for one person.
Others simply don’t look too closely at what happens “behind the scenes.”
They focus on sales, marketing, growth — the exciting parts of business. The financials feel like a technicality.
But in reality, the finance function is the backbone of every business. Done right, it doesn’t just record what’s happening — it drives growth and profitability.
When it’s done wrong, or left in the hands of one person without proper checks and balances, it can quietly drain tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds from your business before you ever notice.
That’s why relying on individuals is risky.
What you need to rely on instead is systems.
For example, a direct debit will only be set up once the payment approval process has been completed, including an audit trail of procedures such as bank detail verification and purchase order approvals.
Nothing is left to chance.
That’s what a mature financial operation looks like. Good people, supported by great systems.
If your business is turning over £1m or more, it’s time to professionalise your finances — to move from firefighting to forward planning.
That’s where we come in.
When we manage your finances, you get the full strength of a team — experienced bookkeepers, accountants, and specialists who collaborate, cross-check, and support each other.
Behind them, you get our tried-and-tested systems and processes, ready to implement from day one.
Once everything’s running smoothly, you’ll finally have reliable, accurate, timely financial information at your fingertips — and a team who’ll work with you to use those numbers to make confident decisions about the future.
If you’d like to see how this could work for your business, let’s have a chat.
Just email garry@insightassociates.co.uk or call our office on 01279 647 447 to set up a no-obligation conversation with me or one of our specialists.
Warmly
Garry
