Transformation Starts in the Ledger

When people talk about transformation, they usually start with tools: new dashboards, automations, integrations. I start with the books.

After years helping businesses implement and optimize NetSuite, I’ve learned that technology only works when the accounting does. You can automate everything you want, but if your subsidiary structure or intercompany logic is off, you’ll spend more time fixing mistakes than realizing value.

I’ve seen it too often. A project nears completion, workflows run, invoices post, inventory syncs - and the reports don’t match. Transactions don’t roll up cleanly across entities. The cause is almost always the same: accounting was treated as a checkbox instead of the foundation. That’s where transformation falls apart.

Listen Before You Configure

When I start a new project, I don’t open NetSuite first. I open my notebook.

I ask clients to walk me through their process - how orders flow, who approves them, what lives in Excel. The first step is always listening.

It’s tempting to skip this part. Everyone wants to “go live,” but the time saved in setup is lost in rework. You can’t align a system with reality until you understand how that reality actually operates - from the inside out.

Clients often ask, “What’s best practice?” My answer never changes: it depends. Best practice is whatever keeps your data accurate and your reporting meaningful.

“The beginning is just: okay, let’s hear you. You need to know their process first.”

Where Companies Go Off Track

Across industries - nonprofits, logistics, manufacturing, small business - I see the same pattern. Teams configure NetSuite or another ERP, map processes, and automate workflows. But they forget one thing: the accounting impact.

The dashboards look great, but they don’t tell the truth. Intercompany relationships are incomplete. Reports don’t match reality. They can process transactions but not explain them. And that’s dangerous. 

When accounting is an afterthought, the system stops being trustworthy. People end up checking the ERP against Excel “just to be sure.” You lose faith in the very tool that was supposed to simplify your life.

The irony is that these problems are preventable. Start with a clean accounting design - subsidiaries, intercompany logic, reporting - and your system will actually explain how value moves through your business.

“Reporting is the piece we often leave to the end, but it’s critical. It’s how you see the value of all that work.”

From Accounting to Automation

Before consulting, I worked in accounting firms. The tools were basic, but they taught me discipline - to understand every entry, every reconciliation, every exception. There was no hiding behind automation; you had to know why the numbers looked the way they did.

That mindset followed me into consulting. Systems should mirror how a business truly operates.

Today, I’m the one my teammates call when something doesn’t add up - literally. The fix is rarely complicated. It just requires seeing both sides: the system logic and the accounting impact.

“The best consultants don’t just automate. They translate finance into flow.”

The Satisfaction of Solving

What keeps me in this work isn’t the complexity - it’s the clarity that comes after.

There’s a quiet satisfaction in finding the missing piece that realigns everything. Sometimes it takes a night away - staring at a problem too long, then spotting the answer instantly the next morning. That’s the moment you remember why you do this.

“Transformation isn’t about moving faster. It’s about making sure what you build actually holds.”

Seeing the Whole Picture

Large implementations divide work into streams - order to cash, procure to pay, accounting, reporting - each with its own owner. Real transformation happens when someone connects them.

When you can see across all workstreams, you start to notice patterns. A small change in sales order configuration can alter revenue recognition. A tweak in inventory flow can change the entire financial roll-up. These aren’t technical details; they’re structural truths.

It’s easy to get lost in your module. But the goal isn’t to perfect your piece, it’s to make sure the whole system tells one coherent story.

AI and the Future of Finance

People often ask if AI will replace what we do. I don’t think so - not if you understand your craft.

AI is a thought partner, not a substitute. It helps me research, document, and articulate ideas I already grasp. It doesn’t think for me.

It’s like when the calculator was invented. It didn’t make mathematicians obsolete; it made them faster and more accurate. But you still had to know the formula.

AI is the same way. If you know what you want, it helps. If you don’t, it just gives you noise.

“AI doesn’t replace thinking - it helps you express it.”

Lessons from the Field

After years of implementations, a few principles have stayed constant:

• Listen first. You can’t improve what you don’t understand.
• Start with accounting. It’s the skeleton of your business.
• Design reporting early. That’s how you prove the system works.
• Stay collaborative. Transformation is always cross-functional.
• Use AI as leverage, not replacement.

These principles have shaped every project I’ve done - and every mistake I’ve helped fix.

The Hidden Side of Transformation

Most people think transformation means new tools or faster automation. I think it means understanding your business better.

When your system mirrors your actual structure - subsidiaries, relationships, reporting - you stop running blind. You start seeing your business.

That’s the moment I love most: when a client looks at a report and says, “Now I get it.” Because that clarity changes how they make decisions.

“Build the system to explain the business, not just to run it.”

A Personal Shift

When I moved from accounting to consulting in 2021, I didn’t expect to love it. Accounting was structured; consulting felt messy. But I realized it’s the same work - reconciling chaos into order - just with a wider lens.

Now, instead of closing books, I help others build systems that close theirs better.

That blend of accounting logic and technological creativity is where the future of consulting lives: between precision and imagination.

I still get messages months after go-live - sometimes a question, sometimes just, “That report is still perfect.”

That’s when I know we built something real - something that didn’t just meet a deadline, but changed how they see their own numbers.

And that’s the point. Transformation isn’t about shiny tools or instant wins. It’s about clarity. It’s about truth in the data.

If your team is wrestling with financial complexity, I’d love to compare notes. Sometimes the smallest accounting insight unlocks the biggest system breakthrough.