LEANING TOWARDS IMPROVEMENT

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LEANING TOWARDS IMPROVEMENT

According to Balzer (2010) and Liebtag (2014), Lean Six Sigma is ubiquitous in the workforce, including areas of higher education institutions and accounting firms. Lean Six Sigma is primarily prevalent in areas of healthcare and manufacturing. Having knowledge in Lean Six Sigma can drastically improve the way people think about implementing and evaluating projects and processes. This paper describes research conducted, applied, and executed to help departments within the Division of Student Success at The University of Akron. These departments have significantly reduced the amount of waste and are now producing more revenue due to the Lean Six Sigma processes implemented over the past year. Though these changes are beneficial at the current time, the appropriate department within the University must re-evaluate to make sure they are the most efficient while still providing the most value to the customer. Continuous evaluation and improvement is crucial to today’s ever-evolving society, making Lean Six Sigma a crucial and valuable skill in the workforce. HONORS RESEARCH PROJECT 3 Introduction Dating back to the 1500’s Lean has evolved over time. Starting with the simple idea of an assembly line idea used to create boats in Venice, Italy (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2000). In 1890, Frederick Taylor documented travel paths of processes to tie together complex steps and eliminating waste (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2000). In 1902, Toyota Motor Company starts to improve processes, by having a machine automatically stop when it senses a defect. This allowed one individual to look over multiple machines at a time (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2000). In 1908, Henry Ford devised a plan to create interchangeable parts allowing a standard system setup in each plant and supplier (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2000). Skipping ahead a few years to 1941, the United States Department of War develops a standardized way to teach millions of workers. This idea of standardized work eventually became a primary factor in Toyota Motor Company’s thinking (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2000). In the 1960s, Toyota Motor Company “creates a management with a new approach to problem solving, leadership, production operations, supplier collaboration, product and process development, and customer support” (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2000). In 1987, John Krafcik proposes the term “Lean” for the management methods pioneered by Toyota Motor Company (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2000). Not prevalent throughout my accounting courses, the curiosity surfaced how Lean Six Sigma applied to the accounting field. Research pertinent to Lean Six Sigma principles and research applying Lean Six Sigma to the accounting industry are described within this paper. Two projects, completed within the realm of Lean Six Sigma, focused on a few departments within the Division of Student Success at The University of Akron. These projects are described HONORS RESEARCH PROJECT 4 in detail within. Section 1 focuses on how the accounting field benefits from Lean Six Sigma principles. Section 2 discusses the motivation behind my honors research project. Section 3 includes the basic principles used when implementing the two projects. Section 4 discusses the two project implementations in detail. Section 5 describes the implications of the projects including challenges, lessons learned and a section on looking forward in my future. Field of Accounting Rationale As Lean Six Sigma evolved over the last few years, many fields, including accounting, started to incorporate these ideas into the workplace (Balzer, 2010). The Lean Six Sigma seeks to improve processes and add value to the customer (Gilpatrick & Furlong, 2007). Lean is the philosophy about improving efficiency, whereas Six Sigma focuses on the client experience and satisfaction (McCarthy, 2009, p.17). By evaluating processes through Lean Six Sigma, any department can eliminate excess costs and waste, thus generating more revenue. Two recent articles by Leibtag, in 2013 and 2014, highlight the importance of Lean. Leibtag (2014) discusses how the accounting industry may use Lean Six Sigma and how these “principles can help a firm operate more efficiently and enhance value for clients” (Liebtag, 2014, p. 12). Operating efficiently may be as simple as creating a schedule of when each client’s tax returns are due. Doing so would minimize the risk of overlooking a return and may help to schedule staff overtime more appropriately (Kepczyk, 2014). A firm may also operate more efficiently by having managerial positions delegate work to younger staff members. Allowing the younger, less experienced members gain more experience allows more time for managers to seek out new clients, thus generating higher revenues. Though change may be difficult at first, seeing the change through will more than likely better improve the work. No HONORS RESEARCH PROJECT 5 one ever said change is easy, but “to do the same thing over and over and to expect that the results will change, is insanity,” as attributed to Einstein (Einstein, n.d. [A]). When there is fear of change, some resist the benefits Lean Six Sigma can provide. This was evident in my project with Student Health Services where several individuals were terrified of the interruptions lean may cause. These fears, caused by the thought of losing their job, however, this negativity towards Lean Six Sigma needs to be replaced with the opportunity to efficiently and effectively use processes through Lean Six Sigma principles to reduce waste (Gilpatrick & Furlong, 2007). In an accounting firm, it is important to always base costs around the client as the client drives the entire business. An Ohio based CPA firm, Rea & Associates, saw the advantages of Lean Six Sigma being used in their clients’ manufacturing plants and “found that the improvement techniques… could be applied to a white-collar setting to eliminate waste, ensure quality and timely service to clients, and boost the bottom line” (Liebtag, 2013 , p.16). Upon implementing Lean Six Sigma, Rea & Associates kept their revenues up, while freeing up capacity of approximately one hundred hours per employee. An advantage during busy season, employees were less stressed about working long hours as improved work processes allowed engagements to run quicker and with fewer employees. Rea & Associates “not only improved its own efficiency, but also has indeed become a role model for how a business in the accounting industry can add value and increase client satisfaction simply by working more effectively” (Liebtag, 2013, p. 16). Client satisfaction is important as it “client satisfaction leads to repeat business, widespread positive word of mouth, and overall business success” (Liebtag, HONORS RESEARCH PROJECT 6 2013, p. 18). Client satisfaction will allow the business to continue to thrive and produce better services in the future. The application of Lean Six Sigma will benefit the accounting profession. Appearing as a strong link of Lean Six Sigma to applicable studies of an accounting student, these applications will likely improve customer satisfaction, reduce waste, and increase their bottom line. Motivation and Personal Development Over the past three years while working as a student assistant, I assisted the Division’s Assistant to the Vice President, Fiscal Operations, Susan Beke, my supervisor, with various accounting duties. Allowing me to observe the departments struggling with excess waste, I often listened to the ideas my supervisor suggested to offset these problematic areas. These ideas considered the ideas and principles of Lean Six Sigma. Listening to these ideas about Lean Six Sigma motivated my curiosity for research and a potential project. To reciprocate the generosity, I turned to the Division for help in brainstorming an idea for my honors project that related my accounting degree to a project that would benefit the University’s departments. From the Division, the idea of a Lean Six Sigma project benefiting the a few Division departments originated. After encouragement from my supervisor, who is certified in Lean Six Sigma and Project Management, I decided to attend one of the UA Solutions’ annual overview sessions on Lean Six Sigma. She insisted this would be a great learning opportunity even if I did not to continue forward with a Lean Six Sigma project. I attended the overview session in September of 2014, HONORS RESEARCH PROJECT 7 knowing knowledge in Lean may be applied to the Division’s departments later on in the fiscal year. The instructor, Brain Furlong, presented at the overview session on the topic of Lean Six Sigma. Furlong, the co-author of “The Exclusive Lean Enterprise,” is also the owner and creator of a Lean Six Sigma certification course offered on campus.

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