I've argued before that it's important to understand company regulations, and even included some advice from Brad Feld and myself about how to set up your accounting system.
My experiences are much more focused on UK accounting, since I'm based in the UK. I understand that the US system can be even more painful in many ways, depending on which state you register in. Tim Raybould, a former PWC accountant and now CFO at TicketLeap has published a series of articles explaining his view of how to set up an accounting system for a new startup. It's split into 4 parts:
From a UK point of view, this seems a tad heavy. I feel like most startups don't need to go into such depth (e.g. having a monthly close) to function. However, being aware of what will eventually be "business as usual" in your company's finances is certainly good, so have a read if you're US-based.
