Are Client Accounting Services Right For You?

Written by Fawn Smith, BMSS Manager

If you are part of the management team of a company, you know how important the financial accounting function of your business can be. You may also know how difficult it is to find an employee who is efficient, trustworthy and dependable. There are people who have these characteristics but how do you find them and how many headaches does that create until you do find them? Once hired, how do you manage their workload if they are out of the office due to vacation, sickness, leave or other issues?

During the startup phase, the accounting side of a business may only represent a small portion of that person’s time. But, with business expansion, the accounting function requires additional time and internal controls. You could hire a team of accounting professionals or continue handling the work yourself. However, you may find you are spending more time working “in” the business rather than “on” the business.

Over the past 20 plus years, we have noticed that there comes a tipping point when it may make sense for a company to outsource its accounting department rather than keeping it in-house. This typically happens when business volume takes management away from its ability to focus its energy on maximizing sales and service. When this occurs, management is not able to utilize its skill sets and, additionally, the company is not getting accurate and timely accounting data because management is at full capacity.

If you find yourself in this situation, we can help.  Outsourcing your accounting services has several benefits.

• First, and the most obvious, you don’t have an internal employee that requires a salary, time off, benefits and the other costs that go with having an employee in your office. You can also save on office space and not have the worries of finding a dependable, trustworthy and efficient employee.  In an article in CPA Practice Advisor, according to a survey conducted by Northwest Staffing Resources, “an employee can cost approximately 57 percent more than the stated wage due to the cost of benefits and the amount of time they are actually focused and on task.” (How Outsourced Accounting…)
• By going with outsourced accounting services, you have a team of professionals that are available to you year-round. You no longer need to plan around vacations, holidays, sick days, etc. If your BMSS professional is away from the office, there is a whole team ready to step in and keep your services going without missing a beat.
• Hand-in-hand with the continuity of services, you have access to a wealth of knowledge. Because we are a full-service accounting firm, we have over 200 professionals who can help you with a variety of problems or issues. In addition, we have our BDO Alliance that provides access to accounting professionals in over 1500 offices in 162 countries in a variety of industries and specialties.
• Technology and software are not an issue. You don’t have to worry about what type of software or technology to use or buy. We live in an age where technology is changing at a rapid-fire pace. Outsourcing your accounting relieves the stress of trying to stay current with the ever-changing accounting software updates and technical resources.
• You can choose the level of services you want based on your needs. Outsourcing your accounting allows you to select which services best suit your needs rather than trying to hire someone who fills all requirements. In addition, as a CPA firm, our professionals are up to date on changes to accounting pronouncements and regulations, thereby helping your company identify risks that may need to be addressed quickly and efficiently.
• BMSS can suggest best practices that strengthen internal controls, provide financial data to your management team and help develop a growth strategy. The data is there, we can help you make sense of it and use it as a tool to determine where to focus your energy.

As with all big decisions, this requires thought and contemplation.  Is it right for you? Would you be comfortable not having “that” person right down the hall available to ask questions?  Our Client Accounting Services professionals try to stay in contact with our clients as often as the clients wish. For some, that may be checking in multiple times a week. For others, that may be only once a month. The level of service depends on you. Your financial data is available to you through our client portal as well, allowing you access any time.

This is a partnership between our firm and you. You choose the level of services to be provided. You determine if we do the work in your office or ours. You decide how often you would like to receive updates and communications. Our clients have noted that what sets us apart is that we have a client and firm team approach. Not only do we interact with our clients as if we are part of their team, we also utilize the firm as a team to offer the best support to our clients.

If this sounds like something you would like to explore further, please contact our Client Accounting Services department at (833) CPA-BMSS or visit our website at bmss.com.