IN-HOUSE ACCOUNTING TEAM Vs. OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING

 

Are you all confused between hiring an in-house accounting team or outsource accounting services? 

When a business grows, its financial transactions, financial statements, and accounting load increase concurrently. As a result, owners have a tough time deciding whether they should hire an in-house accounting team or outsource accounting services.

Accounting is ranked #1 most important job for the success by the small business owners. Accountants rank above lawyers, bankers, IT managers, and all the other staff.

Why is it? Because they're entrusted with all the company's finances and are responsible for keeping everything on track. 

In-house bookkeeping is the traditional form of business, but companies are increasingly turning to outsource accounting services. Each has its pros and cons, so it can be hard to know which will better match your business.

Let's look at each one in more detail.

Work Quality

Having an in-house team of accountants bring numerous advantages. The in-house team might be a certified public accountant (CPA) with a thorough understanding of all the general accounting principles. The main advantage of an in-house team is you can meet them in person anytime, and in case of any urgent work, you can get it done immediately. 

Outsourcing service offers a consistently high quality of work. In outsourcing accounting services, you get a team of experts having the required skills, experience, and a keen eye for every detail. As a result, work done is of much higher quality.

The Cost factor

Due to some apparent reason, Cost has become a big concern when it comes to any business decision. Hiring an employee requires more funds and an assurance of getting justified returns. 

It's not about how much you pay an employee per year. If your in-house accountant is low paid but highly skilled, you're lucky. If not then, look into some outsourced accounting services, which typically charge all in one monthly fee structure or hourly charge rate.

Full-time accountant cost you even more. It is not only about the salary you pay, but also other additional benefits including, health insurance, sick leaves, pensions, etc. In this case, outsourcing may turn out to be a better option and cost-effective.

Also, as the market is full of companies with monthly package businesses, you can easily find quality service at an affordable price.

Work Hours

In-house accounting team generally work 9 to 5, exactly 40 hours per week. When they're available in the office, your work is in progress. But after working hours any urgent work is delayed to next morning. 

On the other hand, accounting outsourcing companies work 24 X 7 or at least for some extended hours. This factor work as a magnet to attract the companies where typical hours are more such as restaurants, web-based businesses, cinema halls, etc.

Loyalty

This is one of the most neglected factors in the business world.

It's an unfortunate fact that you're much more likely to experience fraud when you use in-house accounting rather than outsourcing.

The reason is that employees can be more tempted to "cook the books," or commit other types of fraud. Employees have full access to all the confidential data of the company and can more easily persuade others to go with the same.

As per one of the research, 22 to 28% of companies’ experience employee fraud. Moreover, corporate scams affect more to small businesses where the older the employee is, the more chances of fraud by him, and the bigger the fraud value will be. 

Such frauds are way less with outsourced accounting services due to multiple reasons. They have an experienced team with auditors to ensure no fraud activities are carried out. Their involvement in scams can make their complete business fall. 

Thus, loyalty and reliability are two big reasons to consider outsourcing a team over in-house staff.

Conclusion

Before choosing any one option, understand your business well and hire the perfect match.

Before deciding whether to get in-house staff or outsource service, it is vital to understand every business is different and every business has different issues than others. Thus, it is strongly recommended to assess your business and find out where you require outside help and take professional advice in considering any one of the options.