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The most effective (and realistic) use of business planning options is likely to be a combination of several approaches undertaken with a coordinated effort. As noted below, complicated problems will usually require complex solutions. This will often translate to a series of business management and planning maneuvers that can take a number of months or even several years to complete. Business owners will be wise to avoid any working capital consulting expert portraying the problem-solving process as easy or quick.

For a company that is not experiencing one or more substantial problems, the need for new business planning options is rarely a high priority. However even for the most healthy business, contingency plans are advisable. A valuable illustration of the value of contingency planning for business financing is seen in recent examples of banks suddenly eliminating commercial mortgage loans programs with little or no advance notice. Unfortunately changes can continue to occur with little warning due to the level of chaos that currently prevails throughout commercial banking.

For most complex problems, there are rarely simple solutions. The current difficulties for small business owners are a growing challenge. For most businesses, similar circumstances have not been seen during the past several decades. Without at least some outside help, even a highly experienced business owner is likely to be missing enough direct experience to make it through the maze of current problems and changes.

What ties all businesses together, no matter what they deal with? Accounting, of course it is literally the backbone of every business. Solid, professional accounting gives a business a clear image of where it is at this moment, and lets the financial managers make informed choices on the future of the business. Accounting is also a profession that dates back literally thousands of years. Evidence of accounting procedures even date back as far as the days of the Pharaohs and Ancient Egypt.

The root of accounting actually is bookkeeping, no real surprise there, though many people do not think about it much. What a bookkeeper does is track all of the money that the business handles, both incoming and outgoing. A bookkeeper ensures that the books are balanced properly, and the records are clear and in order. A bookkeeper also handles information regarding payroll, bank statements, ledgers, and even information regarding real estate and investments the company itself has.

Another aspect of accounting is auditing, which protects the employees, owners, and investors of a company from any sort of accounting fraud or mistake. An audit is usually performed by an outside company to maintain a lack of bias. What an accountant does during an audit is go through all of the financial records of the company, including the ledgers, to figure out an accurate financial picture of the company. If the ledgers the company holds do not match the bank statements, then the accountant realizes that there is something wrong and it is their job to figure out what. Sometimes this means discovering that someone has been helping themselves to company funds, but other times can just be correcting a harmless error.