One of the biggest obstacles facing any company, especially startups, is the need to balance staffing requirements with labor costs. Every company would love to fill the ranks with top talent, but hiring even an average employee on a part-time basis is expensive – not to mention time consuming in an era of widespread talent shortages.
The Covid-19 outbreak only exacerbated these issues. Some companies have lost staff they need to replace, others have had to pivot and need to recruit new professionals fast. In either case, trying to hire someone in the middle of a pandemic makes things more difficult for all involved. To put this into perspective, a recent survey showed that 20% of small businesses and 60% of mid sized businesses rank an internal skills gap as the hardest part of responding to Covid-19. Companies understand they need to make high-impact hires right now – but they don’t know how.
For many, the answer is to add talent to the organization through outsourcing rather than recruiting. With key business processes like accounting – which takes extensive resources to do correctly and has deep consequences for mistakes – outsourcing provides the best (and only) solution to common staffing challenges. When the budget and talent pool making hiring unrealistic or impossible, the only option is to look for accountants elsewhere. Outsourcing exists to supply those accountants on demand.
Benefits of Outsourced Accounting
More than just a replacement for recruiting, outsourcing helps companies turn accounting and finance into an asset for growth. Here’s how:
- Prepare for Anything – Outsourced accountants can handle ordinary accounting workloads or tackle high-level financial challenges. Either way, a company has access to all the accounting resources it needs in terms of both smarts and scale.
- Stay Compliant – One risk of operating without adequate accounting staff is becoming non-compliant and incurring fines/penalties. Outsourced accountants stay up to date on evolving regulations to ensure that clients remain compliant.
- Cut Accounting Costs – Outsourced accountants can provide all the same services as in-house accountants. But since clients only pay for the services they need – instead of paying for a salary plus benefits/perks – outsourced accountants cost less than their in-house equivalents. Over time, outsourcing becomes a cost-cutting measure.
- Gain Time and Focus – With outsourced accountants handling routine accounting requirements, in-house accountants or small startup teams can focus on more pressing matters. Outsourcing frees up a phenomenal amount of time for other things while ensuring that accounting mistakes don’t ever become a distraction.
You could try to build a world-class accounting department from the ground up. Or you could partner with one that already exists. Don’t let staffing challenges compromise the potential of your company, especially in its early stages. Rely on Edward Thomas Associates to supply exactly what you’re missing.
