Office Managers’ Forum

This article is a summary of the key elements presented during the conference held as part of the Practice Management and Development course sponsored by the Multi-Specialty Foundation in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2009. This article represents an amalgam of perspectives from practices across the United States. The Office Managers’ Forum brought together the office managers and surgeons from practices across the United States as panelists. The panelists answered a multitude of practice management questions that included wide-ranging topics such as accounting and financing, staff well being, working with a spouse, hiring and firing, staff meetings, accreditation, motivation, and problems and perks specifically associated with a facial plastic surgery practice.

This article is a summary of the key elements presented during the conference held on June 4, 2009 as a part of the Practice Management and Development course sponsored by the Multi-Specialty Foundation in Las Vegas, Nevada and represents an amalgam of perspectives from practices across the United States. The Office Managers’ Forum brought together office managers and surgeons as panelists to answer a multitude of practice management questions regarding their personal approach on how they have handled or would handle a particular clinical situation or scenario.

Accounting

As a recurrent theme during this session, panelists stressed the importance of having checks and balances by having 2 individuals responsible for the daily closing of the books. Doing so not only minimizes the chances for temptation of theft but also reduces the chances that any one individual will feel a sense of entitlement and hold an office hostage by his or her unique role. On a larger scale, monthly reconciliation can be performed in-house, but then the accounts can be ultimately sent to an independent accountant for review and tax submission. Understanding the difference between accrual- and cash-based accounting can provide a more insightful view on true monthly profitability and net cash flow, respectively.

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