With the rising cost of ensuring a golf club’s facilities are up to par, coupled with dwindling membership figures, accurate financial planning has never been more important for the survival and prosperity of golf clubs today. In this blog, we give you four reasons why KW Accountants can be the ultimate caddy for a golf club’s fortunes.
Whilst we realise that it may seem counterintuitive to splash the cash on an accountant, when there are so many monetary elements vying for a golf club’s expenditure, it could be the best investment a club could ever tee up.
Never is that truer than when the accountancy practice in question comes armed with substantial experience of the inner financial workings of a golf club, just as Kirkwood Wilson Accountants does.
With that in mind, here are four examples of how we can drive a golf club’s fortunes a fairway further than you would think.
1. Bespoke monthly management reports
Kirkwood Wilson Accountants use a standard Sage accounting system but also develop bespok management reports to give the level of detail that we require. That ensures that we are able to monitor monthly management accounts both against previous year and against budget and on a monthly and year-to-date basis. In addition, we introduce reconciliations to double check the accuracy of the recording function. Because of the accuracy of the monthly accounts, year end accounts are therefore produced quickly and without any changes.
2. Future-proofing your golf course
These types of systems give golf clubs much better control over their finances. That means that budget can be planned in a much more proactive way, on the best facilities for members, and issues can be flagged and discussed as soon as they arise. It also helps to make the golf club much more professional in its approach to financial control.
Many golf clubs have had a secretary who essentially had to do all of the club’s administration. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to find people who have all of the necessary skills, without having to pay a fortune in salary. With the system above, however, the golf club only needs a basic bookkeeper to input the entries into Sage. The rest of the accounting function can be outsourced, leaving the secretary to deal with golf club matters.
3. Saving money you didn’t even know you could save!
We would strongly recommend that clubs should have a look at their constitution and carefully examine what currently happens. For example, some clubs still have an audit of their records, even though the audit threshold was increased many years ago and they therefore do not need one.
If not an audit, then there will almost certainly be an ‘independent examination’ of the records. If the production of the accounts is outsourced to a reputable, qualified firm of accountants, then these costs could very well be saved and invested towards the club’s facilities and daily running costs.
4. Solving the Auto-enrolment problem
Many golf clubs have someone who prepares the payroll in-house, usually using payroll software. But over the next couple of years golf clubs, like all businesses, will have to address the subject of ‘Auto-enrolment’ – the new workplace pensions system.
This may be simply too complex for many bookkeepers to oversee and it may be more practicable to outsource this service. The annual payroll software subscription would then be saved, along with the majority of time spent on payroll, and the golf club has the peace of mind of knowing that it’s all being handled properly.
For more information about Kirkwood Wilson Accountant’s accountancy services please contact us or speak to one of our dedicated team members today on 01704 546000.
