Accounting Outsourcing… Leading the New Normal
We all believed that to ensure the productivity of our employees and to keep the business running smoothly, we had to do the hour commute, spend 8 to 10 hours tethered to our desks and participate in in-person meetings five days a week. You know, back in February. Rare were the companies that allowed employees to work from home more than once or twice each week.
Of course, that changed with COVID-19 and resulting stay-at-home orders. Suddenly, we found ourselves at our kitchen tables, collaborating on Slack and Zooming the day away. And the takeaway? Work still gets done. The business continues to run smoothly. Everything just keeps on keeping on.
With the traditional work environment shattered, businesses are reconsidering the necessity of having employees in the office full-time. The concept of allowing employees to work from home regularly suddenly seems possible. How much office space do we really need? What about setting up ‘hotel desks’ for employees to use part time when offices re-open? Everyone saves money, the employee saves time, and production level is maintained.
Embracing this mental shift creates an easy segue to considering outsourcing functions currently performed by employees, particularly those that are not mission critical. While some companies have been outsourcing their accounting for years, others have been hesitant to explore the idea. The benefits now are more clear and a lot more doable.
With that in mind, many companies who have reached a frustration point when it comes to the organization of their finances. Leadership requires data to make wise, growth-oriented decisions. Outsourcing accounting and finance functions makes a lot of sense for businesses wanting professional financials.
We Have The Tools Now for Accounting Outsourcing
And we know how to use them. Platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams were not widely adopted until March, when everyone you knew was suddenly on video calls all day, every day for both work and socialization. People are now comfortable with these tools and their use has normalized.
With so much of the workforce comfortable with these tools, the game has changed. There are a multitude of software options to monitor productivity and track remote performance. Meetings online have the same end result as meetings in person. This recognition is debunking the erroneous idea that businesses are more productive when all are present in one location.
We’re Looking for the Best Service for our Spend and Easy Scalability
We are in a period of economic uncertainty. It feels like half the country is unemployed, or partially employed, while the rest of us might be a little less likely to freely spend to prepare for the looming “second wave” or resulting economic downturn. Making drastic decisions in the name of saving money seems more tempting than ever.
As companies require additional talent, it can be faster and easier to outsource the work effort to a specialist, rather than hire a full-time resource internally with the skill set required. Companies needing to reduce budgets are able to quickly scale down services to meet work requirements if using an outsourced solution.
We Want the Confidence the Job Will Be Done Right
There is always risk when hiring a new member of an internal accounting team. This person will instantly be privy to confidential information and responsible for making decisions that directly impact the prosperity of the company.
When a company outsources their accounting department, they instantly gain a team of experts with a wide variety of experience. An outsourced accounting team is focused on delivering work product that meets the highest standard, on time, and up-to-date. Professional outsourced solutions aim to be proactive, addressing issues before they arise rather than reacting to situations after they have occurred.
For many companies, outsourced services provide needed guidance and expertise. While we are experts in all areas of accounting, CPA Department is a specialist when it comes to working with Government Contractors. Our time with the Defense Contractors Audit Agency (DCAA) has made us an invaluable resource to businesses who contract with the government.
As businesses become increasingly strapped for time, implementing accounting software, consistently enhancing accounting procedures, and maintaining internal controls can take a back seat to core business operations. Accounting outsourcing ensures a consistent focus and reliable performance of your accounting and finance team.
We Want All Information Accessible and Secure
Before the stay-at-home orders came into effect and WFH took a sudden rise, cloud-based accounting applications were already becoming more and more popular. This is largely due to their accessibility from any time in any location. Taking a queue from real-time access enjoyed with modern day accounting systems, outsourced accounting services provide easy, real-time access to files and data storage as well. This access, along with expert guidance, leads to sound, wise decision-making vital to the financial health of any company.
At times, the hesitancy to outsource comes from the lack of security while working with companies overseas. However, outsourcing to an off-site accounting service within the United States frequently comes with cloud security platforms that ensure information remains confidential. Even though those managing the money are not a walk down to the back office, the financial data is still kept very much in-house.
The coronavirus and its resulting WFH orders, taught us two major lessons about working remotely, and hence outsourcing: work can be done just as well and just as comfortably without everyone in the office, and the stability of a company is impossible to predict. What we do know is expecting all employees to be in-house and on-site every day are numbered and that accounting outsourcing has numerous and often necessary benefits. It’s hard to know, following these experiences and in these unpredictable times, what the future of outsourcing will be, but right now, the option seems more enticing than ever.
RESOURCES:
https://www.growthforce.com/blog/learn-when-and-why-you-should-outsource-your-accounting-0-0
https://www.myaccountingteam.com/assets/outsourced-accounting-fact-sheet_2.pdf
https://cpagovcon.com/government-contract-advising/dcaa-compliant-pricing-proposals/