Five mistakes every new finance officer can avoid: identifying potential mistakes and taking steps to avoid or remedy them is critical to a successful start and a lasting career.

• Author: Austin, Kent
• Position: Management & Careers

After two decades working in a prosperous suburb, a finance officer was excited to move to a new job in the city It was a fresh start--a chance to expand his skill set and apply himself in a new setting with a new boss and new team. Yet within a year he found himself clinging tenuously to his job. Lacking his boss's confidence and struggling to keep pace with the workload, he suffered near constant stress and seemed far removed from the success he had enjoyed at his previous job. What went wrong?

Scenarios like this are both common and avoidable. Finance officers who step out of their comfort zones to test themselves in new settings may underestimate the challenge of adapting to new organizations' management regimes. Avoiding these five common missteps can make a finance officer's new job more productive, satisfying, and enduring.

1. DON'T ASSUME ALL WORKPLACES ARE ALIKE

Every new finance officer should recognize that no two organizations are identical. Habits and attitudes that were developed over years of working in one office might not readily convert to a new setting. Consider the following elements:

* Office Culture. Does the culture value and reward prompt arrival at work and in meetings each day, or are start times more relaxed? Do meetings have stated end times, or do they just expire naturally? Is every absence strictly accounted for and recorded for payroll, or are doctors' appointments and early departures accepted as offsets to late hours? Does the building clear out promptly at five o'clock, or do employees continue working past closing time? Is after-hours or weekend work the norm or the exception?

* Deadlines. Are deadlines provided and enforced? If so, is lateness accepted, tolerated, or punished?

* Travel Protocols. How closely is employee travel managed and monitored? Must a budget be approved in advance of each trip? Are advances common, or are procurement card purchases and reimbursements preferred? Are expense reports expected--and if so, when? Are all employees given the opportunity to travel to conferences or training classes, or just a select few?

* Budget Adherence. Are expenditure overages in line-item accounts permissible? May internal budget transfers be made within a department, between departments, or between funds? At what point is governing body approval required (versus manager signoff)? Are budget amendments considered routine and acceptable or abnormal and evidence of poor planning?

* Attention to Detail...