Happy Republic Day to all Indians.

The first key thing to start with is a pre-work. Before you land up at the accounting unit you should try to achieve a level of pre-work. This will ensure that you do not get the routine monotony downloaded to you, but you can prepare to go beyond that as well.

As a first step, you need to understand the dynamics of the engagement. You should understand if this decision is top down or came from the accounting unit functionaries. Sometimes, the decision is taken by the executive management and pushed down. This is where you may face a reasonable to strong back lash from the functional operatives. You should understand if the decision was taken to reduce the temporary staff, or to reduce cost by moving the functions to a low cost location. There could be a situation where the movement may be a result of career progression at the accounting unit, this would be the healthiest form of the engagement.

You should have a list of the key stakeholders and the functional operatives and the role they play at the accounting unit. It would be good to get a brief profile of theirs and the fact if their jobs are getting negatively affected by this decision. In such a situation, you need to build a relationship with the set of people who will continue to monitor your work from the side of the accounting department.

More on Saturday…