Building Your Offshore Playbook: Crafting a Process Roadmap for Small CPA Practices

The choice of offshoring businesses is increasing at a rapid pace. IT, HR, marketing, legal, and accounting are some top sectors that have chosen offshoring as a standard business practice. Businesses dealing in finance and accounting are obsessed with cost reduction, and offshoring accounting & bookkeeping services is a strong mode to accommodate this need. As small CPA firms look to grow, and scale continuously, while providing impeccable services at a lower cost, they have been seeking solace in offshore partnerships.

In this complicated landscape, Finsmart Accounting – trusted globally for outsourced bookkeeping solutions – stands firm as a trusted partner for small CPA firms. We do not merely provide offshoring services, our solutions are designed to help your firm elevate efficiency and achieve excellence.

“Many firms drag their heels on offshoring staffing before March 2020 and have only grudgingly accepted or ignored offshore staffing. However, in my opinion, it is a long-term solution,” says CPA Melvin Caine, President of MC Accounting Services, Calgary, AL.

Although offshoring is most definitely a long-term solution, for small CPA firms, often, it is a trial-and-error. If things work out, they continue with it, but if it fails, they rarely delve deep into understanding what went wrong. Just like any other business process, offshoring is all about picking the right strategy. Finsmart Accounting helps these firms optimize operations, streamline workflows, and allocate resources to enhance productivity, reduce delivery time, and produce better quality by providing offshore bookkeeping and accounting services.

In this article, we will put forward a roadmap that is dedicated to helping small CPA firms navigate through the rocky terrain of offshoring. Let’s start by identifying when it makes sense for CPAs to go for offshore accounting and bookkeeping services.

Identifying when to outsource bookkeeping:

1. Overwhelming workload: For small CPA firms, with a limited workload, it is easy to feel burnt out, especially at a stage where they are growing. This can lead to missed deadlines and poor-quality work; consequently, reputational damage. This is a major sign that the firm might need some extra hands.

2. Seasonal peaks: Tax seasons and year ends can be extremely stressful for small CPA firms. With just a handful of people handling multiple responsibilities, the additional workload can appear like a nightmare. If the firm experiences significant fluctuations, the team might need an offshore accounting and bookkeeping team that can scale up or down as the situation demands.

3. Focus on core competencies: If your team has been spending a lot of time working on manual jobs, it might be time to consider offshoring. By choosing accounting offshoring services, the team can focus on core jobs, strategic activities, and the ones that bring revenue. With offshoring, the teams can even reap advisory benefits.

4. Reduce risk: Most small CPA firms do not have the means to be technologically sound, which might pose some security threats. Most offshoring partners come with the expertise and have a foolproof process in place for data security. This helps reduce data risk and stay compliant with the ever-changing regulations.

5. Freedom from hiring and re-hiring: Hiring and training is a time-consuming activity. Small CPA firms often run into the risk of losing good resources for better pay. With offshore bookkeeping and accounting services, these firms neither have to worry about the rising attrition rate in the market nor about bearing overhead costs during the off-season.

6. Stay ahead of time: When offshoring bookkeeping, there will always be a time difference. This can add to the list of benefits. This helps you stay ahead of time on a day-to-day basis as work gets done while you sleep. When you go for offshore bookkeeping and accounting services, work gets done round-the-clock, and there is better productivity and efficiency.

Why choose Finsmart Accounting for your accounting operations?

As a leading offshore bookkeeping and accounting services provider in India, Finsmart Accounting has been delivering top-notch services to its clients for over two decades. The team is experienced in understanding the client’s pain points and providing the most effective solutions. Choosing Finsmart Accounting for offshore accounting solutions is something you might want to consider for the following reasons:

1. Tailored processes for easy integration: At Finsmart Accounting, it is not just about providing generic offshore support. It is about creating a comprehensive roadmap – onboarding, consistent support, regular calls, and meeting sessions, review, and quick intervention of the senior members of the team if necessary. The team makes sure to stay aligned with the firm’s specific needs and objectives.

2. Collaborative onboarding: Here onboarding isn’t just about completing the paperwork. It is a thorough process of collaboration and innovation. At this stage, we understand what is expected of us and work together with the CPA firms to understand their approach, workflows, challenges, and goals, and deliver the best results.

3. Continuous review processes: Onboarding is just the beginning of a long-term partnership. At Finsmart Accounting, the team is focused on continuous improvement. And we believe feedback sessions and regular evaluations are the way to go. We have a solid mechanism to ensure that the team meets with the CPA firm to keep checking on the expectations and to stay on the same page.

4. Escalation protocols: At Finsmart Accounting, providing clients with the best possible solution and quick services lies at the heart of our belief system. To rectify any error or to handle a complex situation, we ensure that the senior teams intervene on priority when needed.

What are the tasks you can outsource to Finsmart Accounting?

Below are the top tasks that you can outsource to Finsmart Accounting or other offshore bookkeeping service providers in our league:

1. Bookkeeping: Bookkeeping involves long hours of repetitive work. The team at Finsmart Accounting takes pride in its years of expertise in bookkeeping. We help firms maintain general ledgers, reconciliation of bank accounts and credit cards, balance sheets, and invoices with our offshore bookkeeping services.

2. Tax preparation: Tax preparation for individuals, and different kinds of businesses is one of the top tasks that businesses outsource. Our team understands the complexities of tax regulations and compliance requirements and is well-versed in the changing laws.

3. Accounts Receivable and Payable: Matching the balances of receivable and payable is a long-drawn, tiring process, and requires undivided attention. When you outsource this task with Finsmart Accounting, our team helps in meticulous reconciliation of the payables and receivables, payment processing, and cross-checking the balances.

The Finsmart Accounting Advantage:

Outsourcing accounting, especially if your business is your brainchild, can be a daunting task. Concerns such as whether the offshore team will be able to manage the tasks and deliver quality are common. The team at Finsmart Accounting understands this concern and curates processes and systems to address them. By partnering with Finsmart Accounting, you reap multiple benefits, which go beyond the technical skills. These include:

1. Cultural and collaborative alignment: A harmonious work culture is our priority. We ensure that we align our values and work styles with those of our clients and that we are working together towards the same goal. Before the final engagement, we make sure to discuss our leadership style and provide insights on shared goals and vision.

2. Problem-solving approach: Even in the daily tasks, the team looks at problems with an innovative approach. With the continued partnership with our clients, our teams don’t shy away from providing proactive solutions. They also aim to address challenges unique to the firm’s needs and ensure that the end goal is achieved.

3. Adaptability and technological proficiency: At Finsmart Accounting, we take the use of technology and automation seriously. Our teams are equipped to embrace new software, leverage automation wherever possible, and focus on better productivity. With a proactive learning attitude, the team ensures optimal results for your firm.

4. Focus on continuous learning: We value growth and scalability and continuous training and learning is an enabler in that. We offer structured training programs and make sure that the team is equipped with both technical as well as in soft skills. Before the teams start working with clients, we make sure they are trained well and are ready.

A offshoring guide for small CPA firms: Conclusion

Offshoring accounting services is not just a decision, but an opportunity to innovate and transform your CPA practice. Finsmart Accounting’s offshore processes help CPA firms streamline their businesses and ease the burden on the in-house teams. We lay special emphasis on accuracy, compliance, efficiency, and cultural fit and our team always makes sure to walk the extra mile for the clients. The responsibility toward success is shared. While we bring tailored expertise and processes, CPA firms must work towards aligning with our culture and be willing to explore new horizons in shaping a successful collaborative journey.

Have more questions before offshoring with Finsmart Accounting? Talk to our team at connect@finsmartaccounting.com.