New Accounting Manager Goals, Objectives, First Steps

Why not start with internal controls that would be system agnostic.

Example; segregation of duties, responsibilities of the signatories, etc.

A person's opinion is no better than their information. Plus, each organization is a unique little snowflake of occasional failure.

So, your evolving opinion about what needs doing needs more information, especially from those you work with.

I'd first concentrate on getting info from those above and below you in that new position about what they think is going on. Opportunities, obstacles, strengths, weaknesses, repeat problems, all that sort of stuff. It doesn't mean they're right. It just means you need to know.

It's unlikely that they have absolutely no idea what needs improvement or are completely wrong about it. If that's the case, you're in "F" Troop and your job is now twice as hard.

Pay special attention to repeat problems. That kind of thing gets noticed and needs to go away.

Then, rank those possible problem areas and pick off the easiest/most beneficial first.

If it's so start-up that there is no actual state of play, then just go for getting basic systems in place.

That's my take on it. Good luck!

This may be a cliche' but this is the mindset that you should have.......

Address your biggest pain points first. You have to initially get things "working". Maybe not as efficient at first but continuously making it work better. However, you should also have the bigger picture at the back of your mind. Prioritize with the intention of building/scaling something bigger. You have to gather all the right pieces (and maybe placing them in their right places) first before you can build the puzzle and slowly see the picture.

Remember that you will NOT get it right the first time (just don't be spectacularly wrong) ....and that is perfectly okay. As long as you have the mindset of continuous improvement.