The Growth of family offices and their governance needs
Growing global wealth has increased the need for better accounting systems and has resulted in a worldwide surge in the number of family offices. Bloomberg referred to family offices as “the vehicle of choice to protect and preserve assets for future generations.” Family offices cater to a range of clients for whom privacy and confidentiality are paramount concerns. Ergo the need for greater accountability. This can be achieved by using a state-of-the-art accounting system, such as General Ledger Software.
With General Ledger Software, all the firm’s financial data, including payables, receivables, cash in hand, assets, debts, equity and more is maintained in the digital general ledger.
What is General Ledger Software?
General Ledger Software is a master accounting document that represents a company’s record-keeping system. All financial transactions expressed as debits and credits are recorded in the general ledger and are validated by a trial balance. The General Ledger tracks the movements and changes in accounts and contains the financial data that is essential for preparing the company’s financial statements.
Key Takeaways
- Failure to maintain accurate ledgers results in inaccurate financial data and makes it harder to make good decisions.
- A professionally maintained general ledger is the foundation of an efficient accounting system.
- Using general ledger software simplifies the process of maintaining the ledger and provides real-time insight for the firm.
How General Ledger Software Works
General Ledger Software is integral to a family office’s accounting system. The general ledger maintains and organizes financial data used to create financial statements. Accounts, sub-accounts, ledgers, and sub-ledgers are digitally stored. Recorded transactions from individual sub-accounts are summarized and updated in the main General ledger, after which it is possible to generate a trial balance report. The trial balance is double-checked and adjusted, creating an adjusted trial balance, which is then used to generate financial statements.
How Does a General Ledger add value to your accounting system?
A family office is able to save time and utilize its workforce more efficiently by using top-of-the-line General Ledger Software. With General Leger Software, transaction records are maintained neatly, and well-organized and accurate financial information allows for better financial decisions. General Ledger Software can significantly enhance the credibility of financial information that is presented to various stakeholders, including to upper management, potential investors, and the government.
An important factor is that General ledger software offers you constant real-time insight into the performance of your business. – a valuable tool, since a company’s financial statements don’t always reflect economic reality.
General Ledger Software is a must-have for a Family Office, but not just any accounting software will do. FundCount’s real-time general ledger is fully integrated with its portfolio accounting, analysis, and reporting functionality. It simplifies and streamlines data flows and diminishes the need for reconciliation between multiple accounts or systems, making data-driven accounting an incredible source of business analytics.
