What makes a good accounting department in a company?

I just got hired in a company that did not have an accounting department. I was asked to set one up incompliance with the sarbanes oxley act..i have never worked in the accounting field so i really dont know how an accounting department should be run..if anyone could help i will be extremely greatful

Is your boss ok or not? No a/cg dept and he hired just 1 person (you) who's never worked in the a/cg field and you've to comply with SOx? That Act is huge, and difficult as hell, you need lots of trained staff familiar with SOx requirements. First of all, I think you should ascertain that SOx applies to your co. I can't imagine that it survived all along without an a/g dept and it has to comply with SOx.

Then you have to build up the dept from scratch. Start with the day-to-day running of the bizness. Review the internal control system. Organise the payment vouchers before keying them into the system, make sure when monies are rec'd you know who they're from. Obtain the a/cg dept copy of the sales invoices from the sales dept, familiarise yourself with bank reconciliations, etc. Ask your boss what are the reports he wishes to see each month but don't promise him anything. Tell him some will take a longer time cos you're starting from zero base.

Man, you're brave to take on this job!!

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