Accounting

Burning Man’s basic accounting and finance functions experienced only minor changes overall from 2012, including improvements in the seasonal hiring process. We engaged in a careful planning effort in order to anticipate our workloads, and as a result we hired a seasoned Payroll Specialist to support payroll operations.

The cornerstone of Burning Man’s operations is the budgeting process. Over the years, we have streamlined this process and improved the budgeting timeline, the key to which is our cash flow forecasting. We have managed it with precision and flexibility even in the face of large, spending requests that come late in the fiscal year.

Over the last five years, Burning Man’s Accounting & Finance operation has overseen 107% in budget growth, and a 74% increase in transactions. Thus far we have been able to manage this growth without having to add significant additional resources, due to BRC’s department structure, the scalability of our accounting software, and careful workload management.

In 2014, we will be building capacity to ensure we have resources to meet our long term needs and support the ongoing evolution of the Burning Man organization. In particular, this includes more support for Accounts Payable, and technology development efforts focused on asset management and purchase orders.

Overall 2013 was great year for the Accounting team. They are champions and pleasure to work with.
Submitted by,

Doug Roberts