“A stitch in time saves nine” – the old adage, something we’ve all experienced in some way, applies to business as well as sewing. Taking time in the present to prevent future problems is something top-of-mind as we work to help our clients close out their year and get ready for 2022.
To be ready for a new year, we make sure best practices are followed – and that involves making lists and checking them twice. Checklists keep us on track and up-to-date with requirements at the end of the year.
This year, we found a checklist with an interesting graphic showing the concept of the 1-10-100 quality principle to prevent the cascading effect of small issues becoming catastrophes. This applies perfectly to the critical step companies should take to clean up their data each year. Cleaning up the last 12 months of data keeps businesses from making decisions using bad information.
Source: Validity
Starting a new year with cleaned and accurate information prevents an inaccuracy snowball from turning into an avalanche later. Clean and accurate data, like inventory, vendor lists and billing information prevents delays, regulatory breaches and poor overall performance.
You can feel confident that your choices and plans are built on the truth when there are no duplicates, errors or inconsistencies in your data. It streamlines searches and prevents frustration.
According to market research company AI Multiple, data issues arise due to technical problems such as:
- Synchronization issues: When data is not appropriately shared between two systems, it may cause a problem.
- Software bugs in data processing applications: Applications can write data with mistakes or overwrite correct data due to various bugs.
- Information Obfuscation by users: It is the concealment of data by purpose. People may give incomplete or incorrect data for a variety of reasons.
WJ Technologies works with Unanet, Deltek and Jamis – software companies that inherently provide some key components for having clean data. One is increased controls on inputs, which ensures cleaner data is being used in the system. Another is the ability to highlight and resolve faulty data before it becomes problematic.
While the software helps with data issues, it also helps to hire a firm to professionally clean your data. If you find yourself in need of expert advice during your year-end close, reach out to us – we’ll help fix issues now to save you time and money later.
WJ Technologies is a leading provider of accounting software and services for Government Contractors. We tailor our services to meet your company’s needs offering accounting systems consulting, software evaluation and decision support, accounting services, staff augmentation, training, and government contracting services. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you!
