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My passion is helping clients achieve the success they dream about.
My approach is to educate clients about the accounting world and how to make it work for them. I help clients understand their business from an accounting perspective and how to use their financial statements—essentially, historical documents written in a foreign language—as a tool to help make better business decisions.
I prefer a partnering relationship with clients because it allows for easy, open communication throughout the year. It’s critically important that clients feel comfortable talking over ideas and “what-if” scenarios. I encourage clients to call me before they make business decisions like buying a building, leasing a new machine, hiring more employees, expanding their location.
As a Certified Fraud Examiner, I am passionate about fraud prevention. In my experience, most small business owners don’t have the internal controls to prevent fraud because they don’t think it will happen to them. This is especially true in family owned enterprises. My message is that it can happen to you, and it costs far less to prevent fraud than to recover stolen assets.
I am as committed to the issue of ethics in business as to the necessity for fraud prevention. The two go hand in hand, in my view. If you don’t want people to steal from you, it’s important that you have a culture of honesty in your business. If a business owner lies, cheats and steals, more than likely the employees are doing the same thing.
If you believe in your business, you need honest records to chart the course for your future and a good relationship with your CPA. I appreciate the time you have spent to learn about Batten Accountancy and welcome your further inquiries.
Jere Batten, President of Batten Accountancy, is a graduate of San Diego State University, and has been a CPA and small business advisor for over 15 years. Before starting Batten Accountancy she was the audit manager and head of the fraud prevention and forensic accounting practice of a mid-size accounting firm in San Diego. She is a member of the National Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and President of the San Diego Chapter, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.
