How Outsourced Accounting Can Help Save You Time and Money

“I just don’t have time” is a common phrase we hear from organizations that have fallen behind on monthly reconciliations. However, if you are willing to spare a little time now, you’ll learn about the unseen costs of lagging in your financials and how outsourced accounting can help solve the time scarcity dilemma.   

Organizations depend on accurate, timely financial data, but management can be more focused on the short term than the long term. At the same time, there is added pressure to deliver monthly financial reports by a set deadline, which can lead financial teams to provide inaccurate data due to limited time and resources. Relying on an outsourced accounting team has become a solution for many organizations dealing with these problems.   

Outsourced Accounting is Cheaper Long-Term  

Outsourced accounting is a more cost-effective resource for organizations in the long term. Hiring a full-time staff member internally includes costs for salary, insurance, retirement, paid time off, fees, and taxes. These expenses must be paid by the organization, regardless of whether the staff member has a full workload.   

There may also be additional organizational overhead costs related to training, technology, and office space when hiring a full-time employee. Outsourcing accounting can help organizations avoid large, fixed monthly costs.  

Outsourced Accounting is Scalable and Adaptable  

Organizations often have a busy schedule at the start of the month during the monthly close process. This causes large fluctuations in demand for internal resources, leading to the need for additional resources in the first half of the month but not enough work for a full-time staff member in the second half.   

An outsourced accounting team like Maner can step in during these busier times to assist with the month-end close, helping the organization avoid paying for unnecessary resources during slower periods.   

Outsourced Accounting Includes Expertise  

Organizations often have to deal with unique accounting situations, like implementing a new accounting standard or addressing an unexpected tax issue. This can pose problems for the organization’s internal accounting department if they don’t have the expertise or time to manage these issues.   

Utilizing an outsourced accounting solution gives organizations access to a wide network of experts and resources. For example, Maner is staffed with a variety of highly educated and experienced professionals. Our team can immediately jump in and assist with your organization’s complex situations that require a high level of expertise. This allows the organization’s internal team to focus on managing the daily aspects of their role.  

The Cost of Waiting to Switch to Outsourced Accounting  

Organizations sometimes believe they can “fix” accounting errors at year-end rather than implement consistent monthly procedures to verify data. This can lead to numerous long-term issues.  

Inaccurate Monthly Data

Waiting until the end of the year to record corrections makes the organization’s ongoing monthly financial reporting unreliable. Management depends on this data to make decisions that affect the entire organization. If the information is inaccurate, management cannot make data-driven decisions. This can also cause significant issues for organizations from a cash flow and forecasting perspective, due to the inability to accurately predict future financial activity.  

Repeated Errors

Waiting until the end of the year to review financials leads to the same errors recurring each month. Employees at the organization may be unaware that they are even making mistakes if they are not addressed immediately. If monthly reporting is consistently reviewed, human errors can be caught sooner and changes implemented in a timely manner.  

Wasted Time

Organizations that wait until the end of the year will need to review several months, if not an entire year, of activity. This amount of data is extremely difficult and time-consuming for the organization to review in a short period. This leads to burnout and staff turnover as teams try to manage daily responsibilities while also handling financial data cleanup.   

Penalties, Fees, Findings

If errors are not corrected in a timely manner and the monthly data is inaccurate, the organization may incur additional costs it is unaware of. This could come in the form of costly penalties, fees, fines, and findings against the organization. Maintaining records and cleaning financial data monthly can help the organization avoid these compliance issues.  

Explore Maner Costerisan’s Outsourced Accounting Solutions  

To summarize, it is vital that organizations maintain accurate monthly data. Organizations that find themselves agreeing with the earlier statement about lack of time should rephrase it to “I don’t have time to wait.”   

Maner’s outsourced accounting team is available to help implement monthly processes and procedures for your organization. Our experts provide a team that can scale and adapt to your organization’s needs, step in during an emergency, and support during times of permanent or temporary turnover. Let our experts help your organization work with accurate, timely data and avoid the potentially high costs of waiting. Contact us today to learn more about our outsourced accounting solutions.