Virtual Assistant Business Outsourcing

Executives whose companies have been impacted by the current global financial crisis are urgently searching for ways to find greater efficiencies to lower operating costs.  Many of these executives are beginning to look at outsourcing finance and accounting (F & A) as a way of cutting costs.

As events of the current financial crisis have shown, a poorly-managed accounting department can cause irreparable harm to an organization.  By utilizing outsourced accounting services, a business can save a large amount of money on labor resources, have more accountability and transparency and better manage their overall manpower resources.  Thanks to advances in technology and accounting software, accounting tasks are one of the easiest business processes for a company to outsource.

Saving $

Depending on the type of service you use, outsourcing your accounting work can save a tremendous amount of overhead on payroll.  Just the savings on payroll taxes and benefits is staggering. “Outsourced finance & accounting allows companies to save 50-60% in headcount costs alone”, according to David Zahn, Chief Operating Officer for Consero Global Solutions.  “In addition to being a cost-effective solution, outsourced F & A gives executives greater control over their business through improved financial reporting and modeling empowering them to make more informed business decisions”, says Zahn.

Therefore it is not too surprising that many companies are outsourcing their accounting operations and especially to offshore destinations. Some studies show that the global market for outsourcing finance and accounting operations is expected to grow at a 9.6% compounded annual growth rate and exceed $47.6 billion in 2008.

Cost reduction is a major reason why companies consider outsourcing. The savings come from the need for fewer corporate employees… especially expensive accounting and IT specialists — less office space and no accounting software, servers, or phones.  A business owner is no longer dependent on key accounting personnel or bothered with turnover, absenteeism or other employee problems. Those responsibilities are turned over to the outsourcer.

Making Sense

Outsourcing your accounting work to outsourcing services or to a virtual assistant not only relieves your company of the tedious task of constantly updating transactions, but they can also offer assistance ineffective management of the accounting department.

Outsourcing the finance and accounting functions typically delivers more consistent, accurate and timely data, with greater control over the processes and improved policy enforcement for organizations…Managers and executives can focus on creating solutions and anticipating markets rather than compiling a patchwork of financial data generated from multiple sources at periodic intervals.

Bill Frech, Vice President, CGE&Y

Outsourced accounting tasks can include:

• Invoice generation
• Accounts payable/receivable
• Bank statement reconciliation
• Profit & loss statements
• Creating financial reports
• Internal audits
• General ledger maintenance

 
Although many large corporations are now outsourcing some of the financial and accounting services, small business can reap many benefits from outsourcing these services. Operating a small business requires the entrepreneur to wear many hats on a daily basis. In today’s volatile economic times, coping with accounting never has been more difficult or important.  Resourceful entrepreneurs today are considering alternatives such as business process outsourcing.