Accounting Service Provider Case Studies: How We Add Value for Clients

​Here at ASP, most of our clients are small-to-medium-sized businesses and nonprofits that need part-time accounting and bookkeeping help. After years of working with clients, we have noticed that many of them fall into the same few unfortunate patterns. But the good news is that we are uniquely able to help them break out of these patterns to find long-term success. Let’s look at some mini case studies that illustrate the types of scenarios where we can help!

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​Case Study 1: Long-Time Accountant Retires or Leaves
In scenario number one, our clients have had the same accountant for years. It’s comfortable and the needs of the organization don’t seem to require much more than simple bookkeeping and accounting tasks like balancing the bank account, reconciling credit accounts, and closing the books every month. However, when their long-time accountant finally does decide to make a change (usually related to retirement), the client discovers that they are woefully behind on being able to offer an attractive compensation package with benefits. As a result, they struggle to make a successful transition to their next finance professional.
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This is where our team at ASP can help them bridge the gap, often at a lower overall price point and without the complications of having a full-time internal employee. The focus here is on the tactical day-to-day accounting work required to keep the organization operating smoothly. Our goal is to help the organization continue performing as expected and to know its numbers in a timely fashion while they search for a replacement. We step in to relieve the pressure, so they don’t need to find someone immediately. That allows them to take more care in thinking about what they want regarding the roles and responsibilities for their next hire, setting them up for greater success down the road. 

What To Do When Your Accountant is Retiring

​Case Study 2: Keeping the Status Quo
The second scenario is a lot like the first, although the outcome is different. In this case, the organization has had a long-term bookkeeper on staff and never thought about whether the role truly needs to be internal and/or full-time. They are just doing things the way they have always been done. Does this sound familiar?

For many of our clients, ASP is brought in to bridge the gap while they look for their next bookkeeper or staff accountant, only to have them change their mind about what they need along the way. During the process of searching for a replacement, when they really dig deep and look at the role and its responsibilities, they come to the realization that the position doesn’t need to be full-time or even in-house. Many of these clients come to understand that the role can be outsourced ASP so that they can use their resources in other more productive ways. And in doing so, they don’t have to miss out on having an ongoing working relationship with a single point of contact who knows their company’s books. In fact, we have many clients who have been working with the same ASP team member for years on a fractional basis.

Would You Benefit from a Fractional Accountant?

​Case Study 3: Exploring the Opportunity to Modernize
Finally, the last scenario is about not knowing what you don’t know. Again, many of our clients have had a long-term finance professional and realize that the transition is an opportunity to make sure that they are following best practices and using the most up-to-date tools to help them work smarter, not harder.
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ASP can also help add value to this situation by bringing a team member into the client who has worn many hats, seen many tools, and can give advice on how to improve the client’s financial operations. In some cases, clients deliberately create a gap in the transition process so that they can have ASP come in and evaluate their processes and systems and make sure that they are doing things right to set themselves up well for the future. We can help clients take the time during this transitionary period to determine what their goals are for their accounting needs and develop a plan to get them there.

How to Analyze Whether to Upgrade your Accounting System

If you fall into one of these three patterns, think about how you can use your resources more effectively. Our team can help you to update your accounting systems, save on overhead, or outsource your accounting to a fractional firm that can meet you where you are and get you where you need to be. When you need a reliable outsourced accounting services provider, we can help! Contact us today for more information!

About the Author
Mark D. Emerson – The ASP Team

​Mark is an accomplished financial executive with broad experience in accounting, finance, HR, and operations. He has an entrepreneurial background with an all-hands on deck mentality that adds value and produces results.  With a strong ability to present high level analysis to executive teams and articulate complex financial concepts to help drive success, he builds effective teams and establishes strong relationships with banking, audit, and investor communities.
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Mark holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Santa Clara University, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Washington.

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