Balancing money coming in and money being spent is exceedingly difficult for individuals and companies. Therefore, managers of small and medium-sized enterprises generally hire tax accountants and certified public accountants to calculate all the monetary inflows and outflows. However, leaving matters to the discretion of other people in this manner is not conducive to good business management.

Accounts and accounting should be at the heart of management. If they are not, then business operations cannot improve, regardless of the company's proficiency in technological development. Even if accounting then becomes the axis of the company, you must not follow the so-called commonsense approach of “This is how accounting is always done.” It is vital that you understand the accounts, based on fundamental rules and principles of what is right.

A business leader must have thorough knowledge of accounting. Therefore, while learning accounting, I kept asking “why,” just as I did in research and development. As a result, my understanding of accounting grew to the point at which I was personally convinced of what accounting should be. When you examine matters right down to their essence, you can acquire a very clear understanding.

Kyocera Management Studies Course at Kagoshima University, Faculty of Engineering (December 11, 2002 & July 7, 2003)