Finance & Accounting

Outsourcing Accounting Services: Checklist and Significance

Today there are many entities offering accounting services to different businesses. Outsourcing the work of an accountant allows businesses to save a major chunk of time. There are various business entities that outsource their accounting operations to professionals for different reasons, such as to optimize cash flow, save time, and various other reasons. Keeping these things in mind, is it really beneficial for a company to opt for outsourced accounting services? In this article, we will find out all about Outsourcing accounting services.

What Do You Mean By Outsourced Accounting Services?

There are instances when a company hires a third-party organization to manage its business affairs rather than perform the tasks independently. This is called outsourcing.

Companies can outsource accounting services and enjoy the benefits associated with payroll, financial reporting, accounts receivable, etc. Such a function is not always connected to contracting a foreign entity, but it means that a business pays a contractor or a firm to manage the compliance of the business and accounts. This relieves the business or company from managing the tasks themselves.

Why Should A Business Opt For Outsourcing Accounting Services?

Due to a number of benefits associated with outsourcing accounting services, many businesses, including small businesses, have opted for this option. Some of the crucial reasons for opting for it have been mentioned below.

• Cost-effective

Outsourcing is cost-effective in many ways. It allows companies to save money as you don’t have to incur the cost of hiring a team of in-house professionals. It also allows you to save time, allowing you to focus on key aspects of your business that urgently require your attention.

While dealing with an in-house team, you will have to take care of onboarding, employee benefits, and much more. Such things can enhance the operating costs for businesses.

Such situations can be avoided by outsourcing the work to an accounting team. By outsourcing the work to trained professionals, you can concentrate on taking your business to the next level. A company can also hire professionals for their core businesses by outsourcing accounting work.

Thus, outsourced accounting is highly cost-effective, which helps you to save money that can be invested in other key areas of business.

• Saves Time

As outsourced accounting professionals manage and handle financial operations, one can save considerable time. The knowledge of these experts helps in the process of budgeting, payroll processing, management of debt, etc., thereby allowing you to have peace of mind. Business owners are mostly occupied during the entire day. Therefore, outsourcing the accounting responsibilities to a financial expert can help the business owner devote valuable time to business development and other crucial tasks.

• Avoid disruption

Disruption in business or in accounting operations can severely impact a company. Operations such as accounting rely upon timing, and disruption in its functioning can jeopardize the business. Disruptions can cause serious issues in an organization, including loss of records, delayed payments, penalties, etc. This can be caused due to poor infrastructure, shortage in human capital, and other factors.

Companies like start-ups need to avoid such interruptions in their business operations which can even lead to losing clients.  

With outsourced accounting services, companies can connect with highly advanced firms with cloud-based systems and automation. It allows them to provide constant services without any disruption.

Moreover, companies can request the service provider to provide time-bound services by incorporating a business continuity plan within their service contract.

• Get the services of expert accounting professionals

By outsourcing accounting services, a company can engage the services of a professional having a good standard of expertise at a fair cost. Outsourced accounting professionals constantly improve their abilities and certifications, intending to be competitive in the market.

Further, many accounting firms have access to training that imparts necessary skills to them. They attend these trainings regularly. Moreover, outsourcing also enables a company to work with a bunch of financial geeks who have significant experience and skill in providing quality services to their clients.

Thus, it allows a company to be assured and relaxed that the work has been assigned to a reliable firm. However, choosing a reliable provider is a crucial task that one must undertake wisely.

• Data protection

Internal and client-related data are sensitive and confidential that need to be safeguarded by the companies. As various finance and accounting procedures are now digital, it has created enormous amounts of data. Start-ups and small businesses may need more data protection measures and safeguards in place. However, they cannot leave it exposed to cyber thefts and attacks as it can harm the reputation of the business and cause further trouble. Without proper security measures in place, accounting systems can be exposed to data security breaches.

A professional accounting firm uses cloud servers that are secure and possess advanced abilities. They possess capabilities such as encrypted transactions, data storage on secure servers, recovery measures, disaster management options, etc.

These benefits lure businesses to outsource accounting work to professionals in this domain. However, proper research must be conducted before choosing the firm to get the maximum benefit.

• Alleviate the chances of errors

As a business owner, you may not be an expert in accounting. When you hire an in-house resource, you may need help to analyze their ability. However, when the work is outsourced, you gain access to a team that is dependent on accounting services for revenue generation. Therefore, such firms will hire only those people who have the requisite credentials. Thus, your accounting work will be administered by skilled and knowledgeable minds.

It will alleviate the risk of errors caused by an inexperienced accountant as now you will have a reliable team of accountants who are dedicatedly to working and focusing on your financial and accounting operations. They are aware of how they can connect digital bookkeeping software with your infrastructure, which can significantly help in the reduction of human errors.

How To Identify Whether Outsourcing Accounting Services Is Right For Your Business?

If you have not been able to decide whether outsourcing the accounting operations is a move in the right direction, then you should consider the following factors before making a choice-

• If you cannot handle a full-time in-house team, outsourcing the work can be a viable option for your business. By outsourcing the finance operations, the business can benefit from ensuring timely financial statements, which will improve financial visibility. It will also showcase the company’s progress without needing to manage multiple staff simultaneously. Outsourcing will also remove the requirements of managing leaves or other workplace issues and challenges.
• Outsourcing can be a viable option if your business needs to be equipped with technology. It will ensure that you possess a competitive advantage in the market. Investing in such an expensive technology can be challenging for your business, but outsourcing the task to a cloud-based financial team will allow you to access a variety of financial aspects such as ledger reports, financials in a mobile app, etc. The automation and mobility will also ensure that you have real-time and accurate financials at your disposal.
• If you are struggling with quality workers in your company, outsourcing the work can be a suitable and best option for you. Quality of work is crucial, especially in the financial department; therefore, you can’t take a chance. Quality drives companies to outsource the financial department. Therefore, without compromising on quality, you should consider outsourcing the task.
• If you need the required numbers to make the right business decisions, then it tells you that it’s time to outsource. However, it may be a challenging decision to make when your company’s financial situation is not satisfactory. To ensure your financial situation is under control, consider outsourcing to a team of professionals. If you have the numbers, you should still opt for outsourced financial assistance, as only some companies will be able to interpret and understand the figures. Thus, outsourcing accounting services can ensure that the company is moving on the right track.
• If there are multiple errors in your records, it is time to give the responsibility to the right person. Rectifying the errors can be time-consuming. It can also be an expensive affair. Thus, outsourcing can ensure that you make the most of the review layers built into your service provider’s processes. The layers of review detect the errors on time, and even if an error has been detected, you don’t have to spend time resolving it.

Outsourcing Accounting Services- Checklist

There are a few factors that you need to consider before moving ahead with the outsourcing plan. You should find a firm that suits your aims and can meet your demands and criteria. A few of the attributes that a firm must have includes quality and efficiency in service. There are a few more crucial aspects that you need to consider. They have been discussed below-

• Lay down the scope

A business owner should be clear regarding the business requirements and the scope of delivery before selecting an outsourcing^[1] service. The owner should peruse the business’s accounting system and understand its limitations. The business owner must also agree to the service provider’s scope of work. There are instances where outsourcing projects fall apart because of skewed vision about the needs and also due to poor specification of the scope.

• Choose wisely & not solely based on cost.

When business owners sit down to choose an appropriate outsourcing service provider, they must know that every accounting firm has a payment set-up. Some firms charge on the basis of an hour, whereas others charge every month. Therefore, the business owner should choose the payment duration as per their demands and budget. The selection should be made on more than cost-effectiveness.

• Expertise

The business owner should examine whether the firm they are looking to hire has the required expertise and professionalism. Further, their market reputation should be examined. Additionally, the business owner also needs to consider whether the firm has the ability to produce high-quality and consistent results.

• Never Compromise with Security

Business owners must be fully satisfied with the firm’s security arrangements before outsourcing. Many people are not willing to opt for outsourced accounting services due to security concerns regarding their accounting data. One should always ensure extreme caution with respect to the protection of their data. To avoid any future contingencies, examining and ensuring that the service providers comply with all basic security measures is advisable.

Conclusion

Outsourcing accounting services has quickly become a crucial growth strategy for many companies. Considering the advantages it provides, business owners have adopted this strategy time and again. Businesses have understood that they can save time and resources and gain valuable information on financial aspects, enabling the company to grow. By choosing a proper service provider, the company will obtain scalability and automation that will lead the company among its competitors. Thus, outsourcing accounting services is expected to be the new normal going forward.

Read Our Article: Why Outsourced Accounting Services are Beneficial for a Company?