Choosing an Accounting Outsourcing Partner

Accounting outsourcing has emerged as one of the most rapidly growing outsourcing sectors with cost reduction as its main driver. However, finding an outsourcing partner who really understands the needs of your accounting firm and allows you to have a competitive advantage is an important factor when you outsource accounts.

Choosing the right accounting outsourcing partner can help you generate cost savings through lower labor costs in outsourcing countries. Research on outsourcing accounting studies opines that it improves the effectiveness of finance and accounting processes and leads to improvement in your financial performance.

Tips to Choose a Reliable Accounting Outsourcing Partner

Choosing a reliable and professional accounting outsourcing partner would lead to getting services that are tailored as per your accounting needs, keeping in mind the compliance side of your business without compromising your data security. The following tips would help you in choosing the right accounting outsourcing partner-

Check their expertise pertaining to logistics and data security
The first and foremost criterion that needs to be considered before outsourcing your accounting is to find out the outsourcing partner’s infrastructure, especially in terms of security policy such as-

How do they protect data and comply with regulations?
Do they have data/quality processes duly accredited by internationally recognized organizations?
Do they comply with European Data Protection Frameworks?

Conducting background checks and asking for references

The next important checklist for outsourcing accounting is to find or research about how long the company or firm has been in business and whether they have worked on a project similar to yours in the past. Asking for references to know how long their clients have been with them and if they have referred them in the past would be helpful.

If necessary, you should contact their references to find out their levels of satisfaction. It is also important to review the outsourcing providers’ professional qualifications and experiences such as to check their membership of ICAEW, ICPA, or ACCPA. Look them up on social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google to know about their reputation.

Examine their pricing model

When it comes to pricing models – advanced (hybrid) pricing is gaining popularity that is based on a combination of FTE based pricing and transaction-based pricing. The outsourcing partner should focus on competitive pricing while maintaining high-quality services.

It is important to choose an accounting outsourcing partner who is transparent in pricing and has flexible pricing models. The partner should emphasize the cost savings that you can gain from outsourcing your finance and accounting services.

The use of latest technologies

The accounting outsourcing Partner should be aware of the latest technological innovations in the field of accounting and finance such as-