Outsourcing: Surprising Ways To Solve Staffing Woes in Accounting

Raiza Kho

Director, Tax Services

Outsourcing: Surprising Ways To Solve Staffing Woes in Accounting
Globally, there is a shortage of accounting and finance professionals, and this has implications for businesses. In fact, according to Bloomberg Law, accountants “are leaving their jobs in record numbers, at both corporations and audit firms, joining the broad swath of workers reevaluating what they want from their careers.”
Additionally, fewer college graduates are entering accounting and finance careers. American Institute of CPAs data cited by Bloomberg Law reveals that the number accounting graduates as of 2018 dropped almost 7% since 2012.
Yet the accounting and finance demands for businesses—especially early-stage start-ups and other entrepreneurial companies—are only increasing. New regulations, more competitive global marketplaces, and the explosion of technologies available to invest in have made business accounting and finance more complex and challenging than ever before. As a business owner, outsourcing these services is one way to address these challenges, mitigate your regulatory risks, reduce costs, and ensure you have the professional resources needed to preserve your financial health. 

Check out how Scrubbed can help with your Accounting and Finance Staffing!

The Case for Outsourcing

There are many reasons to choose an outsourcing model over staffing full accounting and finance departments in-house. Like many businesses, you may have a CFO and a small staff of employees in support-level roles. These individuals may be wearing many hats and may not have all the expertise needed to address your financial needs holistically. 
Through an outsourcing model, you can hire people with the exact right credentials for the areas of accounting and finance you wish to address, whether that’s tax preparation, financial planning, budgeting, bookkeeping, or ESG reporting services. When you outsource these vitally important services, you don’t have to worry about investing time and financial resources into hiring and upskilling accounting and finance employees who are in demand and highly compensated.
An outsourcing model also allows you to right-size the accounting and finance staff supporting your business as workloads fluctuate. For example, during the busy season you can staff up to handle the extra work involved in tax preparation and filings. Then you can scale back your contracted accounting teams to save on costs during other times of the year.
Outsourcing finance and accounting services can also help you stay focused on your core business strategies, which is ultimately a better use of your internal resources, expertise, and funding. Plus, the experts you can access through an outsourcing model can serve as your eyes and ears related to regulatory issues governing your business, so you can confidently operate in full compliance with ever-changing tax laws and other regulations.

Also read: Outsourcing Accounting: 5 Tips to Generate Buy-In

Why Partner with Scrubbed

At Scrubbed, we employ more than 800 highly credentialed accounting and finance professionals who are there for you around the clock to handle everything from basic bookkeeping and accounting to financial planning, tax preparation, transaction advisory services, and more.
Our dedicated teams bring decades of financial services experience to your engagement, including with the Big 4 accounting firms, providing the knowledge and expertise you need to truly optimize all your financial resources. As an outsourced accounting team, we maintain a strong culture of learning, our U.S. GAAP- and IFRS-trained professionals are consistently updated on financial accounting methods and on the industry-specific requirements that are unique to your business.
Scrubbed professionals operate in the U.S., the Philippines, and globally, which means your business receives 24/7 support, a strategic advantage that allows you to expedite the processing of financial data, and more quickly gain the operational insights you need to drive innovation profitably.
And because we operate on the principles of integrity, empathy, excellence, openness, and communication, we share your own corporate values, are committed to helping you advance your mission, and treat your growing company as if it were our own. 
See how partnering with Scrubbed can help you achieve the financial advantages your business deserves. Contact us for a free consultation today.

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