Accounting remains an essential element of business on a number of levels. First of all, accounting provides the financial basis for understanding what is happening in a business. If management works in tandem with their managerial accountant on a monthly basis they will understand sales and expense trends, where money is being made and spent, what effect the marketing and operations strategies are having toward increasing revenue and/or decreasing costs, etc. It enables a good manager head off catastrophes and make changes in strategy in a timely manner. If a business ever needs to obtain outside financing, good accounting records will provide the basis for putting together the proposals to obtain financing. Good accounting also provides information which can be utilized to manage relationships with customers and vendors. And finally, accounting ensures accurate compliance with government regulations. The mistake that small businesses often make is that they only utilize their accounting records once a year when they file their taxes.