What does an Accounting Services Company Do Anyway?

​Usually, we discuss more specifically focused accounting and bookkeeping topics to share in-depth industry knowledge with our readers. However, today we’re going back to the basics to answer a fundamental question: “What does an accounting services provider do?”

​Simply put, an accounting provider does less than full-time work. This work can be either ongoing part-time work or short-term work (which includes interim engagements and project-based work). What does that entail exactly? 

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Of course, experienced accounting services providers, we could probably offer up thousands of words to describe everything our team is capable of doing for the organizations they serve. But, to keep it simple, we’re going to offer an overview of the most common types of work our team of accounting consultants does. (So, we would caution you not to view this list of activities as the full scope of what an accounting company can do, but rather the types of areas where they are most often brought in to have the biggest impact.) With that clarified, let’s get started!

Handling Routine Day-to-Day Work
Accounting companies can handle ongoing bookkeeping tasks or do part-time accounting work at either for-profit companies or nonprofit organizations. This includes the bookkeeping around recording financial transactions as well as accounting tasks like:

• Sending and following up on invoices
• Payroll processing
• Processing expense reimbursements
• Managing vendor contracts
• Preparing financial statements

Typically, an accounting services company is brought in after an organization has lost their bookkeeper or accountant or the organization’s accounting team is at capacity and cannot handle its expanding needs. A part-time accountant or bookkeeper can be brought in for as little as a few hours a month or as much as a few hours a day, freeing up small business owners and other staff to do the activities that they are better equipped to do.

Fixing Problems
If bookkeepers and accountants don’t have enough time to do everything that’s included in their role, errors will occur. This is the number one reason that accounting companies are brought in for short-term engagements. When mistakes are being made, accounting consultants can dig into the organization’s financial records to unwind these issues. They will fix past errors to clean up your books, creating the basis for accurate financial reporting. For leadership that hasn’t seen good financials in months (or ever!) this is critically important to offer increased visibility into the organization so it can be better managed and pave the way for future growth.

Improving Month-End Close
Month-end close is no one’s favorite activity, but when it’s being done inefficiently, it will be far more painful! An accounting company can formalize or fix an organization’s monthly close process as well as create an accounting policies manual to streamline month-end and year-end close procedures, making them easier to complete and more accurate to boot.
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Remember, the most beneficial kind of close procedure is not a one-size-fits-all QuickBooks module-type process, but a set of formal procedures that are customized to an organization’s unique needs.

Any organization with over $2M in annual revenue absolutely needs to have a formalized close process in place. However, 20% of the organizations that bring us in don’t have any form of a documented accounting process that they can utilize at month-end. This is a serious oversight because a close process not only aids in an organization’s ongoing financial management but also helps to mitigate fraud risk in the future. 

Get the Month-End Close Checklist Now!

​Assisting with Special Projects
When one-off projects arise, accounting services companies can assist in those areas as well. This can include things like internal or external audits as well as compliance/regulatory reporting as required by state or national regulatory authorities, industry guidelines, or contractual obligations from financers/funding sources. In instances such as these accounting providers can be brought in to assist either because they bring an expertise to the role or because they have the kind of availability that the organization’s existing staff does not.

Financial Advising
The best accounting companies will act as advisors as well by helping the leadership team to make sense of the numbers and knowing how to respond to KPI shifts. Regardless of leadership’s financial acumen, having a second set of eyes on the organization’s figures can prove to be extremely beneficial because an outsourced consultant will likely bring a different perspective to the analysis.
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They can also oversee the budgeting process and prepare financial forecasts to make recommendations regarding future investments. Their strategic financial advice will also include offering an informed financial analysis to provide insight into the company’s financial health, identify trends, and assess performance relative to efforts.

Should You Hire a Fractional Accountant?

When you need an accounting services company to come in and help your organization get back on track (or keep it from going off track to start with) give us a call! Our team of experienced consulting accountants can help in any areas where your team needs bookkeeping or accounting support. We are brought in to get organizations through a variety of difficult situations from cleaning up messy books to accounting systems migrations and everything in between. Contact us today to find out more!

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