Mary Latimore Consulting & Training Available

Mary Latimore Consulting & Training approaches accounting through systematic record reconstruction, internal control auditing, and routine ledger hygiene. Operating out of North Birmingham, the practice organizes financial data streams for independent business owners, converting disorganized receipts, pending disbursements, and bank feeds into standardized charts of accounts. Every engagement begins with structural validation, verifying that balance sheets mirror source bank documentation while categorizing revenue and expenditure lines in strict accordance with federal and state reporting classifications.

Technical execution centers on identifying systemic discrepancies before they skew financial summaries or trigger reporting penalties. The workflow involves three-way matching between bank registers, physical statements, and general ledger journals to capture unrecorded transactions, stale-dated checks, and recurring merchant charges. When handling catch-up bookkeeping for companies with backlogged records, the firm methodically isolates uncategorized expenses, separates co-mingled personal expenditures, and establishes proper amortization schedules for business assets. Payroll management follows similar precision protocols, verifying state unemployment tax rates, calculating accurate withholding tiers, and syncing direct deposits with quarterly filings.

Tax planning and financial reporting are treated as continuous operational cycles rather than end-of-year emergencies. Interim income statements and cash flow projections are compiled monthly or quarterly, giving business managers clear visibility into operating margins and estimated tax liabilities. Custom reporting structures are adapted to specific trade sectors, separating cost of goods sold from indirect administrative overhead so owners can assess true gross project profitability.

Client intake begins with a thorough documentation review, typically requiring three to five business days to assess back files and assign an accurate project scope. Prior to the introductory diagnostic assessment, prospective clients should assemble their two most recent federal tax returns, twelve months of complete bank and credit card statements, an active list of outstanding accounts receivable and accounts payable, and current payroll ledger summaries.