Do Operations Managers usually have an accounting background?
Asked by Bob G
I'm considering making the leap from IT Engineer to Network or Operations manager. I'm seeing a lot of roles that speak heavily of P&L accountability which sounds like an accounting department issue. Is this normally expected of Operations Managers in non-technical companies?

Best Answer:
P&L accountability isn't accounting, it is management. Accounting gets the information and puts it into a form that the managers can use. All line positions (as opposed to staff positions) are heavily involved with P&L. In business school you get enough accounting to understand the theory of accounts but not enough to actually be an accountant. Accounting: widgets have 8 component parts, and cost us x. We book the expenses and revenue. Operations management: can we change a procedure so that we only use 7 parts? Can we make part #4 cheaper? Can we retool a machine to make 2 parts instead of just one? How much inventory do we need to satisfy customers yet not need a warehouse?