Do entrepreneurs struggle with finance and accounting?

ronattpa

To what degree do entrepreneurs struggle with understanding and managing financial and accounting related issues?

MattThomas

I think to some degree it depends on the individual and their prior finance and successful entrepreneurial background.
On the other hand, finance and accounting when starting up can be very difficult to plan, and can also be difficult during early, post-start up years.
So yes, as craig said, to a large degree. But those with enough experience in the area probably have a decent handle on finance and accounting.

MattThomas

Also, with regard to Matt`s comments I don`t think it`s a bad idea to get a little help with budgeting, forecasting planning etc. Business owner`s time is better spent running their business but they do still need a good working knowledge of the numbers so that they have confidence in them.

Completely agree. Creating and developing are two big tasks business owners should concentrate on. And while a business owner doesn`t need to be a master accountant, they should absolutely have a good understanding of finance and accounting in order to make more informed decisions.

ChrisBenjamin

Agreed, with accounting & finance for sure, typically other areas as well.  I`ve found startups usually are great at one thing (web dev, sales, marketing) and suck at everything else.  As said above, thus the need for virtual CFO, although also the reason for a well rounded management team.  Also investors typically won`t entertain companies unless they do have a well rounded mgmt team with experience. 
Entrepreneurs aside, MOST people struggle with accounting, try explaining accounting in the corporate world. 

movingsoftware

Well, they won't if they start using softwares for handling finance and accounting. Yes, its true that with the help of accounting software one can easily speed up things which would be great for the growth of the business.