Whether your accounting team is employed in-house or outsourced to a third party, the question of whether it will return to the office or continue to work remotely is likely at the top of your mind. Nationwide many companies have returned the office, at least as part of a hybrid work model, but those changes have been the source of stress at various levels. With some workers wanting to go back, others desiring to stay home, and management tasked with keeping everyone happy and productive, this topic is causing friction across the board. But increasing employee satisfaction is not the only factor being considered.

More serious issues like financial integrity and risk management are also in jeopardy. Just like the concerns that arose when employees began working from home suddenly at the start of the pandemic, this transition to a permanent remote work pattern has many experts analyzing the implications for financial controls.

To understand how these internal controls can become compromised with remote workers, let’s examine the most important accounting controls in your business right now and discuss how you can strengthen them amid a remote work environment: 

The 2020 pandemic caused significant change across the business landscape. CEOs and business owners were put to the test as they decided how to strategically navigate the effects of the pandemic. As a result, many business owners have realized certain aspects of their company’s financial operations may shift indefinitely.

As the practice manager for an accounting firm, I’ve been in a unique position throughout the pandemic because I’ve witnessed our client pool expand to include companies that would never have considered using a third-party accounting company to handle their accounting needs before. However, these business owners were put in a difficult position when in-person work was shut down and some key employees had to take time off for sickness or family obligations. Some lost their accountants to virtual school responsibilities, while others were forced to upgrade their desktop accounting systems to cloud-based versions so employees could collaborate remotely.

As a result, business owners have now experienced first-hand that their bookkeeping and accounting work can be performed remotely without having to sacrifice quality and efficiency. In other words, the same value can be realized whether day to day accounting is being performed remotely or onsite.

Let’s look at what business owners are telling our accountants, and what this means for the future of accounting and finance. 

What is a fractional accountant and when do you need one?

​It may sound cliched, but fractional accountants are whatever you need whenever you need them.

Fractional accountants are the “a la carte” version of accounting professionals. These financial professionals can be hired to do any number of financial functions, handling everything from financial reporting and cash flow management to tax preparation and internal controls. They can do part-time work, project work, and interim assignments while working on-site, off-site, or a combination of the two. Essentially, a fractional accountant can provide as much or as little work as you need.
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Most often though, fractional accountants are brought in to assist existing accounting teams, work on special projects, and supplement software systems. 

We see a variety of circumstances in our practice at ASP, whether it be outsourced consulting needs, or an organization growing and needing to consider a fulltime resource. Our recruiting efforts are responding to those fulltime needs daily. The pandemic has shifted the business landscape significantly, making strong financial leadership universally important.
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Small companies that previously had their CEO at the helm of financial operations have realized that they need a fulltime controller to oversee their accounting operations and staff. With the increased demands of operating during financially uncertain times, CEOs need to focus on their core role of running the company overall (pivoting and shifting as needed), while entrusting another professional with the financial management of the company.

As a result, hiring a fulltime controller is no longer optional these days with the following business trends occurring:

Your accountant just gave notice, what do you do now?

Hopefully, your accountant gave you more than the obligatory two weeks, but regardless of what the timeframe looks like, the steps are the same:

1. Try to ascertain why they are leaving
2. Work on hiring a replacement
3. Handoff information
4. Part on good terms
5. Remove system access

​Time is of the essence in this situation, especially if it coincides with a closing period or tax season, so you should get started immediately!

When looking to hire management-level financial roles, it is crucial to understand the current recruiting trends that will affect your ability to hire the right candidates. So, what are we seeing so far this year?

Today’s employment market is like nothing we have seen before. Accounting and finance professionals continue to be in high demand despite unemployment figures being up in other professions, but recruiting has changed significantly over the last year. Effective recruiting right now hinges on utilizing digital tools, reimagining job requirements, prioritizing career growth, providing the right employment incentives, fostering a positive workplace culture, and utilizing a professional recruiting firm

Many business owners worry that their accountant may not be up to par. This is especially true when business owners do not have strong financial acumen themselves.

They wonder if their accountant is truly acting with the company’s best interests in mind and whether they have the skillset needed to do the job well. But without significant financial expertise, business owners often do not know what to look for to quell their concerns. Instead, many just focus on the day-to-day needs of the business and hope the financial leadership of their company is being handled effectively. This is a big mistake.

A lack of connection to the company’s financial operations can land a business owner in trouble quickly if an accountant has misrepresented their experience or lacks key financial knowledge. In other instances, an accountant may have all the requisite qualifications, but lacks the work ethic or integrity to do excellent work for their employer. So, how does a business owner know if their accountant is doing a good job? 

There are plenty of resources about the benefits of outsourcing, yet many business owners are still resistant to outsource their bookkeeping.

Even businesses that outsource other activities tend to keep a tight grasp on their financial functions. Because cash flow is so important to small businesses, bookkeeping and accounting tend to be some of the last functions that business owners are willing to relinquish control of when they formulate strategic growth plans.

But why? Why are some business owners still against outsourcing their bookkeeping? 

Cloud accounting is accounting software that allows you to keep the books online for your business. Financial data is encrypted and then hosted on a remote server instead of in-house for greater accessibility.
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With cloud accounting software (sometimes referred to as “online accounting software” or “web-based accounting software”) data is saved to the cloud and accessed by users on demand. In a nutshell,

Some accounting software companies, like QuickBooks, have both desktop and online versions, while other companies offer only cloud-based options. The QuickBooks cloud-based software, QuickBooks Online, remains one of the most widely used accounting platforms year after year. However, companies like Xero, Zoho, Wave, FreshBooks, GoDaddy, 17hats have been growing in popularity recently. 
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While widespread accessibility is the primary reason companies choose to use cloud accounting software, there are many benefits to consider when determining whether cloud accounting is right for you. 

Recent data shows that on average employees change jobs every 15 months. Contributing to this turnover is a lack of employee satisfaction in the workplace. Globally, 85% of employees are unhappy at work, resulting in diminished productivity and increased employee churn. Furthermore, survey data shows that 40% of dissatisfied employees change jobs as a result of their dissatisfaction.​
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Top employers understand that replacing employees is expensive and can thwart efforts to innovate and grow revenue. In fact, it can cost up to a third of an employee’s salary to find a replacement. And while employee turnover can cost a company greatly, employee retention can increase profits as well as provide a host of other benefits.

Reducing costs and boosting revenue makes employee retention a win-win. Improve employee retention rates this year by investing in your employees in six critical ways: