Accounting is an industry that is moving at pace, with firms under constant pressure to deliver value to their clients, while staying on top of frequently changing regulations (and sometimes regulatory U-turns) to meet client expectations. In the context of a sector with a chronic shortage of qualified and experienced accounting talent, the challenge for accountants is even greater when it comes to business growth. How can you deliver high-quality services to your existing clients and also grow your services and capacity to meet your future goals, without risking what you already have?
Outsourcing has emerged as a powerful strategy to help accounting firms of all sizes achieve sustainable growth. In this guide, we explore how outsourcing can drive growth, the benefits it brings to your in-house team and what to consider when choosing the right outsourcing partner.
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A major driver for outsourcing is often the cost savings that this route offers, but there are other strategic advantages for accounting firms that go way beyond this. They include:
Outsourcing enables firms to quickly scale their operations in response to workload changes, without the commitment and cost of hiring permanent staff. This flexibility helps ensure that client deadlines are met even in the busiest periods, due to the increased specialist capacity that outsourcing brings.
Outsourcing partners often have teams dedicated to specific areas such as payroll, tax compliance or bookkeeping, providing a depth of expertise that can be difficult for smaller firms to build in-house, especially with the current talent gap.
With time-consuming processing handled externally, your team can focus on efficient reviewing and sign-off, helping you deliver faster results to clients. This is particularly valuable for time-sensitive work like payroll and VAT returns.
An experienced outsourcing partner keeps up to date with regulatory changes and compliance standards, reducing the risk of mistakes, giving outdated advice, or even incurring fines or penalties.
Recruiting and retaining great accounting staff has become harder and harder in recent years, especially for small accounting firms or those based outside of major cities and towns.
Outsourcing helps to bridge this gap because it gives you access to an experienced workforce without any of the delays and costs that recruitment brings. Partnering with an experienced and trusted outsourcing provider enables you to take on new clients and larger projects with confidence, as you know the back-office infrastructure is in place to deliver on promises and provide high levels of service.
Ironically, outsourcing can also help you attract and retain good accounting talent in the future as your firm grows, because rather than them spending all of their time doing the ‘nuts and bolts’ accounting tasks, they are able to fully utilise and expand their skillset by delivering value-added services to clients, such as advisory or consultancy work. Accountancy staff who feel fulfilled, useful and valued in their role are much more likely to buy into the long-term vision of your business and want to be part of things for years to come.
There are a wide range of accounting services that can be successfully outsourced, including, but not limited to:
By selectively outsourcing the tasks that take up most of your internal resource, you can instead focus on the high-margin services that will help your firm grow, whilst still delivering high-quality routine service to clients.
Accounting now is about so much more than filing tax returns and balancing books; clients value proactive advice, strategic insights for their business and a personalised approach. These are all things that need dedicated time and relationship building to achieve.
If you outsource labour-intensive processes and tasks such as bookkeeping, payroll management, VAT returns and year-end accounts preparation, this frees up your in-house team to focus on areas such as:
Not only does this mean that you can reshape your service proposition, it also means happier clients with a higher level of loyalty and helps you to reposition your accounting firm as a trusted partner rather than just a service provider. This can help you stand out from the competition.
If you’re new to outsourcing, it’s important to address the potential risks of moving some of your client work out of your direct control and mitigate these concerns. Choosing the right partner makes all the difference here. Some of the critical “green flags” to look for include:
Look for outsourcing partners with a history of serving global accounting firms, with demonstrable expertise in relevant service areas, so you know they can deliver what your clients need.
Ensure your outsourcing provider follows stringent data protection protocols aligned with the relevant regulations. Ask about their IT security infrastructure and regular audits to make sure that sensitive financial data is secure and properly managed.
A reputable outsourcing partner will have clear workflows, regular reporting schedules, and dedicated points of contact, providing visibility over all outsourced work. You can tailor this to your own KPIs, which align with the needs of your clients and your own business growth goals.
Your firm’s needs will evolve over time, especially during growth phases. The right outsourcing partner should be able to scale resources quickly and adapt to new service requirements as your practice develops further.
Strong communication is key to successful outsourcing. Choose a partner who offers regular updates, is responsive to queries, and works collaboratively with your team.
Find out more about choosing the right outsourcing partner.
If you want to explore how outsourcing could help your firm boost growth substantially, we’d love to talk. Book a call with our team today.
