ThumbPrints Consult

05/10/2025

Bridging the Gap Between Accounting and Finance
In large organisations, they’re separate:
- Accounting closes the books, keeps records clean, and ensures compliance.
- Finance builds forecasts, manages cash, and advises on strategy.
But in SMEs, a small team often does both. Sometimes, it’s just you.
And this is where many accountants stumble. They bury themselves in accounting tasks (entries, reconciliations, reports) while the business expects more.
What the business really wants are answers:
✔ Can we afford to hire?
✔ How long will the cash last?
✔ Where are we losing money?
✔ How do we grow without going broke?
That’s finance. And that’s where the real value lies.
Your accounting responsibilities won’t disappear. But they must help you form the foundation to confidently step into finance.
Because while not everyone understands accounting, everyone understands money. And who else will give the business those answers if not you?
Don’t just be the accountant who records history.
Be the finance partner who helps shape it.

26/12/2024

Cost management is a vital skill for any business or project as it involves planning, estimating, budgeting, controlling and reporting the costs of a project or business activity. A cost baseline and cost management plan are two key tools that help you achieve effective cost management.

The training focused on how to develop and maintain a cost baseline and a cost management plan; how they relate to cost control and change management

Consultant: FootPrint Hospitality
Resource Person: Daniel Udo (ThumbPrint Consults)
Sponsor: Lahana Hotel

22/12/2024

How do you allocate overhead costs to different products or services in a fair and accurate way?

One method is Activity Based Costing (ABC), which assigns overhead cost based on the activities that consume them, rather than on arbitrary or traditional basis.

The training discussed the basics of Activity Based Costing (ABC), how to apply it to business, the challenges and benefit it offers

Lead Consultant: FootPrint Hospitality
Resource Person: Daniel Udo (ThumbPrint Consult)
Sponsor: Lahana Hotels

14/12/2024

I have a friend who owns a pharmacy
Everyday, He pours his energy into keeping things smoothly.
Himself and his team manually record every sale and write receipts by hand, He spends hours reconciling sales and cash at the end of the day.
He says he has to do this because employees are always stealing his cash and items. It’s a grueling process because by the time Himself and his team are done tallying, it’s 4 hours past closing and even then, something is always off.
I remember sitting with him one evening, watching his team cross-reference piles of receipts and scribble numbers in a book.
I asked him “what would happen if you missed a day of this?”
He sighed and said “It would take days to catch up”
That hit me!
This wasn’t just inefficiency-it was exhaustion. The kind that holds your business back, robs your peace of mind and traps you in survival mode.
Now imagine this:
-Products are scanned and tracked in real time
-Instant checkout with automated receipts and records
-A system that shows you what’s selling, what’s not, and what’s running low-all from your phone
The stress? Gone!
The financial benefits? Obvious
The peace of mind? Priceless
What I told my friend (and I’ll tell you);
Running a business shouldn’t feel like this, Go Digital!
Take control of our operations, protect your cash flow and give yourself the space to lead
A digital workflow will transform your business 100%.
You deserve to run your business-not letting your business run you.
Don’t know where to start from? Contact me

12/12/2024

Here’s a story every accountant and business owners needs to read:

A small business submitted its financials to the FIRS.
-Revenue: N50m
-Rent Expense: N5m

But in reality:
-Revenue barely hit N5m
-The office was a coworking desk

The FIRS is now demanding VAT on N50m and WHT on N5m rent
How Did This Happen?
When asked, the owner confessed:
‘The Auditor (who prepared the accounts) suggested inflating the numbers would make us look good”
Irrespective whether he was lying or not, there was a full set of financial statements with fraudulent numbers, same was backed with an auditor’s seal.
Now the business is stuck with two options:
1. Come clean: Admit the numbers are fake
2. Pay the Tax: Steak to the lie and pay the money.
Neither option is pretty
Transparency is painful but restores credibility over time
Lessons:
1. Integrity is everything
Fake numbers might win you sort term applause, but they’ll destroy trust and your business in the long run
2. Always question bad advice
If it feels off, it probably is
Ask yourself “what’s the real cost of this decision?”
3. Accountants: Protect your signature
Your seal is your reputation
Don’t risk your reputation on short cuts or dishonesty

-Business owners: Report the truth. Credibility is worth more than inflated numbers
-Accountants: Lead with ethics. A false signature can ruin your client’s business
-Everyone: Integrity isn’t negotiable
-Your turn: What would you do? Come clean or pay the tax?

10/12/2024

When you start a business…
You might think “I’m making money, everything is fine”

But cash flow issues can hit hard.
Suddenly you are scrambling to cover expenses

Ignoring your financial health is like driving blind. You are heading for trouble without knowing.

…you can spot red flags early by reviewing your statement of financial position regularly and tracking cash flow. It’s not just about how much you sell, it’s about how much you keep.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Set up a process to review our finances monthly, know what’s really happening in your business. If numbers aren’t your strength, get an expert to help. This simple shift will save you from surprises down the road.

Taking control of your business starts with understanding your financial health, not just your profit or loss but your entire financial picture.

15/11/2024

A chart of accounts is an important organizational tool in the form of a list of all the names of the accounts a company has included in its general ledger. This list will usually also include a short description of each account and a unique identification code number.

Whenever you need to record a new transaction, like an invoice to a client, an expense, a loan, etc., you need to record it correctly. In general, there are 5 major account subcategories: revenue, expenses, equity, assets, and liabilities.

A business transaction will fall into one of these categories, providing an easily understood breakdown of all financial transactions conducted during a specific accounting period.

*Key Takeaways*
A chart of accounts is a list of the names of a company’s accounts in its general ledger
A COA is an organizational tool that makes financial transactions easier to understand at a glance
A COA has five main subcategories: revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, and equity
Accounts on the COA usually have a name, a brief description, and an identification code number

We Handle complex accounting challenges.

10/09/2024

Reasonable assurance means that there is a likelihood or a probability where internal controls designed and implemented by management might not identify or manage risks an organization is exposed to. In another way, reasonable assurance means that there is no guarantee that after the implementation of an internal control system, risks shall not occur.

When external auditors perform an audit of the financial statements of an organization, the outcome of audit provides reasonable assurance. This means that financial information prepared by the organization may still be materially misstated due to either fraud or occurrence of human error. This happens even in large global corporations.

We resolve complex accounting issues

Consults

03/09/2024

Interpreting cash flow statement when conducting cash flow analysis shows how much money your business has on hand after taking care of expenses. Cash flow is not the same as profit, which represents sales revenue after expenses have been subtracted. Instead, a cash flow analysis examines your income and spending on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis.

resolve complex accounting problems

28/08/2023