Accounting is a Design Tool
In talking with Ann Morhauser (one of our advisors) several months ago, she articulated something I've been trying to put into words for awhile. In relating her personal journey from artist to businesswoman, she explained how she came to realize that "accounting is a design tool!" By this, she means that accounting is the tool with which you design your business and measure its performance. It's the visible measure of the affects your choices, tweaks, and actions have on your company.
Like many designers, Ann was initially afraid of accounting. Designers are often trained well to deal with ambiguity and other "fuzzy" criteria. Numbers and other exacting measures often make designers nervous--especially when it comes to money. Partly, this is because the things we value the most (and where we add the most value) aren't easily measured by numbers. But Ann's revelation was that financial measures are nothing more than one result of an organization's actions (and not the only one). Freed from the idea that money was the only legitimate measure of value in an organization, accounting is actually an extremely clear and, relatively, easy-to-learn system--and not worth being afraid of. In addition, it's standardized so it's eminently interoperable across business functions and other organizations.
Yes, accounting is pretty regimented (much so by international regulations and agreements). But that's exactly the foundation that allows one to be creative with it. I'm not suggesting people be creative with their reporting (the "creative accounting" that leads to lawsuits and scandals) but, instead, being creative with how they apply it to business decisions.
Most designers won't be in charge of accounting functions (like Ann was at the beginning) unless they've got a very small company. It's the same with other business leaders. The important skill to understand is how money (and, nowadays, other values) are accounted for in an organization. All senior managers need to be able to understand financial statements so they can see their organization from this view. This is just one requirement of being a leader. It's how we spot opportunities and problems (like an embezzling accountant one friend once uncovered as CEO of his organization).
For sure, standard financial accounting isn't going to tell the entire story, nor does it measure everything of value. However, it's an important, standard, and necessary perspective on business and one no business leader can afford to ignore. It's also not as difficult as most designers think.