Need to Improve Documentation? Try this!
I talk about communication a lot here because it's one of the most important skills in the modern professional workplace and is not covered well enough in traditional schooling. Because communication is incorporated into so many different areas of the modern workplace, it's a skill that you cannot afford to be bad at. The thing that many people don't realize is that communication comes in many forms. Communication can be:
Face to face client interactions
Emails
Work papers and internal financial documents
Today I'm going to focus on number three, the work papers in internal financial documents that many accountants, consultants, and business owners utilize in the regular operation of the business. Many times, these work papers support key operational and financial data for the company and need to be understandable to both the person preparing the work, as well as someone who might review it. The secret to making this documentation better is to ensure that the contents can be properly read by anyone who might look at it. To do this, you should understand this saying:
“Don't document to be understood, document so that you cannot be misunderstood.”
Public accountants need to be very familiar with this saying because they are in a constant battle of trying to document enough so there aren't any questions, while also not taking too long to do so. Some of the best documentation that I've seen pulls out only the specific information that is needed to solve the problem and walks to the reader through the process of inputting and interpreting that information. The important thing to note is that the best documentation isn't always the longest. Remember, you're trying not to be misunderstood, so don't add anything extra that the reviewer doesn't need.
When you read this saying out loud you can really start to think about how you should change your mindset while creating your work. It's not just about making sure you can create something that other people can interpret and use the way you intend; it's about ensuring your documentation is idiot proof. Taking on that mindset will force you to create your communications in simple, direct language that is easier to understand. Not only that, but you will also need to ensure that whatever you are creating has a logical flow that would be hard for someone to get lost in. By taking the extra time to ensure your documentation cannot reasonably be misunderstood by the people you're working with, you become a much more effective communicator, and communication drives results!