5 Signs Your Company Might Need An Outsourced Accounting Partner

If you’re considering outsourcing any of your company’s financial management or accounting functions, you’re likely bursting at the seams with “so much to do in so little time.” But there are other reasons growing companies might need to hire outside, professional help. Let’s take a look at some common signs that it’s time to call out to a partner, “SOS!”

1. Things are Getting Complex—Fast

If your business is growing, every department gets affected at some point. New business requirements eventually take their toll. The finance and accounting areas may struggle under the strain of more transactions, more reporting requests, and more deadlines. Aside from the requirements, complexity in the work itself is often the culprit that drives financial teams to look for a partner to get them through to the next level.

What’s more, accounting and financial management may not be among the core competencies of your company—and executives want to invest outside of the “back office.” More than ever, you need guidance and support to navigate changes and set up systems that are ready for even more, and an outsourcing partner can be the ideal solution

2. Your Manual Processes Are Causing Delays

Manual inefficiencies in your department’s workflows might be holding you back. Invoices get sent out late, payments get paid late, reports don’t get delivered to managers on time, and the list goes on. If you’re mired in spreadsheets and duplicate entries, you’re aware of the amount of time you’re spending on tasks that can be automated—and that’s frustrating enough. But when these issues start impacting cash flow, they also start impacting your company’s ability to scale. Depend on a third-party to manage the time-sensitive tasks using up-to-date technology so you can stay on schedule and keep your cash flow flowing…and growing.

3. What Risk Management?

Privacy laws, data breaches, tax and compliance issues, reporting requirements…there are so many reasons for organizations to consistently scrutinize the fine print and hustle to keep up with the latest industry rules regulations. It’s always possible for something to get lost in translation, or for something to fall through the cracks. But if you don’t have the checks and balances in place to ensure security, safety, and compliance, you’re leaving your business at risk for any number of costly errors, omissions, or even fraud.

For instance, you may have a lack of internal controls—maybe there are multiple people handling payments transactions. On the other hand, maybe only one person has access to all the systems. Both scenarios leave your systems and cash vulnerable. Trusting a third-party to handle your tax compliance, payroll or or other back-office tasks is a great way to safeguard your assets and get on the path to better risk management.

4. You’re Facing A Skills Gap

When leaders in your C-suite start asking questions you’re not prepared to answer, or you don’t have time to answer quickly enough, you know it’s time to evaluate your team’s competencies. Maybe there’s not an analyst on your team—or someone who’s a “whiz” at reporting. Or perhaps there are not enough people on your team. If you’re not in the financial (or strategic) position to hire new employees, an outsourced accounting partner can easily fill in the gaps and add even more value.

Read Closing the Skills Gap with Outsourced Accounting to learn more.

5. Your Technology Simply Isn’t Keeping Up

It’s possible that some of the challenges described above can be met head-on through a technology upgrade. Moving over to a cloud-based financial management and accounting software solution is the answer for many growing companies who feel the pain points of growth. With the right technology, tools, and know-how to keep processes running smoothly across systems, your team will be coasting through tasks in no time.

Naturally, if your team isn’t ready to implement a new system—or if you need more time to assess your options—it might make sense to outsource some of your accounting tasks.

Contact us if you’d like help evaluating your current system or staffing needs. We offer both outsourced accounting and cloud technology solutions that can be customized for your growing business.