Checklists Enhance Performance and Reduce Risk

Source: Accounting Today

Consultant Gary Boomer suggests that CPAs can learn valuable lessons from The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, by Atul Gawande. Even though the book's lessons are derived primarily from the medical profession and airline industry, the idea that checklists can reduce risk, foster discipline, and improve performance translates to any industry or profession.

Professionals may resist the use of checklists, viewing the steps as “no-brainers.” But even when checklists outline routine tasks, they significantly reduce skipped steps. In medicine, for example, simple checklists for routine procedures reduce or even eliminate infections. Many people fear that checklists are “rigid” and interfere with the exercise of professional judgment. On the contrary, Boomer explains, a checklist “gets the ‘dumb stuff' out of the way and clears the mind to focus on the harder stuff.”

Technology can be helpful in designing and implementing checklists, but it's critical to use technology properly. Otherwise, you can end up with excessively complex checklists that just waste time. To be effective, checklists should be short and simple and should balance discipline and accountability with the need to incorporate the right amount of professional judgment.

Also, it's important to integrate checklists and other procedures throughout the firm. Too many firms allow different departments to make their own technology and procedural decisions. Finally, firms should regularly evaluate and, if necessary, update checklists to maintain their effectiveness.

For the complete article, read “Driven by checklists, or professional judgment?”

From Accounting Today, January 1, 2012, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004, 800-221-1809.