Balancing the Books with Surgical Precision

I didn't start my career as a bookkeeper. After college I did several entry level jobs in Real Estate and Social Work before getting an additional certification as a Surgical Technologist. I spent the next 20 years in the surgical suite assisting the surgeon with every type of operation you can imagine. It was a decent job for a younger person who is able to stand on their feet for 12 hours day and take call in the middle of the night. As I matured I sought a career less taxing on the body with a flexible work-life balance. Making the transition to Accounting and Bookkeeping was pretty seamless, and let me explain why Bookkeeping is like Surgery. Here are the top 3 ways in no particular order:

1. Detecting and Controlling Hemorrhage. One of the most critical parts of the surgical procedure is to control bleeding. Great care is taken by the surgical team to find, cauterize or ligate bleeding vessels to keep the patient from losing blood. As a bookkeeper I use those same detective skills to see where a business might be bleeding money. In the course of categorizing transactions and reconciling accounts, I'm looking for patterns and running reports. For example, if I see that a business is paying higher than average merchant fees for their POS, I'll recommend a re-evaluation of that vendor. Sometimes I can refer that client to someone in my network with a less-costly solution.

2. Helping People. I was attracted to healthcare because I wanted to make a difference in the quality of someone's life. I feared that bookkeeping would be "unfulfilling" in that respect, but surprisingly, bookkeeping is a helping profession. When a client hands me a box full of receipts with a look of bewilderment and stress, I know that I can take a huge burden from their shoulders. Being able to solve someone's problems and help them breathe a little easier, is almost as rewarding as removing a burst appendix.

3. Counting. In surgery accurate counts of instruments and sponges are conducted throughout the procedure. As a bookkeeper one of my key tasks is to keep track of revenue and expenses, categorize transactions and reconcile accounts.

   Like the surgical team who track the location of a sponge in and out of the body, I track the flow of money in and out of a business.