There’s an old accounting saying from the 1980s that goes something like, “Never let an accountant or bookkeeper create or update your chart of accounts.” Whoever said that deserves a gold star because they are absolutely correct.

Unlike controllers who have set up dozens or a hundred-plus charts of accounts (COAs), their younger counterparts tend to be bulls in a china shop when fiddling with the COA. They use a steamroller approach to adding accounts without thinking about what they are doing. That especially goes for outsourced bookkeepers with no accounting background.

When adding a new general account, think like a business person, a finance person, or an operator. Do not think like an accountant or a tax partner. That doesn’t mean you don’t use accounting or tax intelligence when making changes. That’s secondary thinking, not the main thing, as counterintuitive as that sounds.