Outsourcing has become a common topic in the accounting and finance industry, and it’s not hard to see why. Firms of all sizes are feeling the pressure of talent shortages, rising labor costs, and increasingly complex client demands.
At the same time, clients expect more strategic insight, faster turnaround, and seamless service delivery. To meet heightened client expectations without sacrificing quality, more and more accounting firms are outsourcing certain finance functions.
But while outsourcing can be advantageous for your business, rushing the decision risks misaligned expectations, added inefficiency, and strained client relationships.. Before you start exploring your options or signing contracts, it’s worth pausing to ask a few important questions of your own organization to help ensure that outsourcing is not only a temporary fix but also a long-term investment for your firm.
#1. What’s Driving Our Need to Outsource?
Before anything else, it’s important to know why you’re even considering outsourcing in the first place. Without clarity on the root causes, it’s easy to choose a solution that looks appealing in the short term but doesn’t truly address your firm’s long-term goals.
Start by looking closely at where your team feels the most pressure. For some firms, the challenge is the rising cost of talent – salaries and benefits have climbed, and there is increased difficulty in finding qualified staff. For others, the driver is more about freeing up internal resources so partners and managers can focus on higher-value client work.
- Is your team spending too much time on routine tasks like reconciliations, bookkeeping, or accounts payable?
- Is compliance work taking over and leaving little room for advisory services?
- Are you struggling to scale because staffing bottlenecks make it difficult to take on more clients?
Clarity at this stage prevents costly missteps later. Without it, you risk outsourcing the wrong work, hiring a partner that doesn’t align with your priorities, or creating inefficiencies that frustrate both your team and your clients.
#2. Which Functions Do We Need to Outsource?
Once you know why you’re outsourcing, the next step is deciding what to outsource. Keep in mind that not all accounting work is created equal.
Think about your accounting functions along a spectrum. On one end are the transactional, high-volume, and time-consuming tasks that consume significant bandwidth but don’t require deep client engagement. These include reconciliations, payroll processing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and data entry. Handing these responsibilities to an outsourcing partner can free your internal team to focus on higher-value work and reduce the day-to-day pressure that often leads to burnout.
In the middle of the spectrum are specialized but repeatable tasks that require technical knowledge but not necessarily your internal team’s direct involvement with clients. Examples include tax preparation, audit support, and certain areas of financial reporting. When outsourced to professionals with the right expertise, these functions can be completed with accuracy and efficiency while still aligning with your firm’s quality standards.
On the other end of the spectrum are the tasks that should almost always remain with your in-house team. These are the functions that directly impact client trust, shape strategic decision-making, or define your firm’s reputation—advisory services, consultative planning, and client relationship management. Keeping these responsibilities internal ensures that your firm maintains its distinctive voice and strengthens the personal connections that clients value most.
#3. How Much Control and Visibility Do We Need?
Deciding what to outsource naturally raises another question: how closely do you want to oversee that work? For some firms, outsourcing only works if they maintain detailed visibility into every step. Meanwhile, others are comfortable shifting all the execution to external professionals and focusing only on review and strategy.
When considering outsourcing, think about your comfort level with reporting, approvals, and communication. Do you need daily updates and real-time dashboards, or is a weekly check-in enough? Being clear about your expectations will help you choose an outsourcing model that provides the right level of transparency for your team.
#4. How Does Outsourcing Fit Into Our Growth Strategy?
Outsourcing should also align with where you want to take your firm tomorrow. When done right, it can become a crucial part of a firm’s long-term growth strategy. That means asking yourself how outsourcing aligns with where you want to take your firm in the next three to five years.
If your goal is rapid growth, outsourcing can add immediate capacity without the delays of recruiting and training. If you want to expand into new services like outsourced CFO support, shifting routine tasks externally can free your most experienced people to develop those offerings.
Even if your firm isn’t pursuing aggressive expansion, outsourcing can still play an important role. By streamlining routine work and reducing internal bottlenecks, it creates a leaner, more efficient operation that improves margins and client satisfaction. In these cases, the benefits may be more incremental than transformational, but they still contribute to a stronger, more resilient practice.
Either way, linking outsourcing to your long-term goals ensures it becomes a growth driver rather than just a short-term fix.
#5. Are We Ready to Manage Change Internally?
Outsourcing doesn’t just change how work gets done—it changes how your firm operates. For some firms, it means taking routine tasks off the plates of overextended staff. For others, it involves replacing certain roles entirely so resources can be redirected toward more strategic priorities. Either way, success depends on how well you prepare your team and manage the transition.
Clear, transparent communication is essential. Staff need to understand why the decision is being made, how their responsibilities may shift, and what opportunities outsourcing will create for the firm. Positioning the change around long-term goals—whether that’s growth, efficiency, or freeing capacity for higher-value work—helps reduce resistance and build buy-in.
With that in mind, leadership also needs to commit time to onboarding the outsourcing partner and adjusting processes as needed. Firms that treat outsourcing as a partnership, and not just a one-time transaction, tend to see the best results.
#6. What Budget Are We Comfortable Allocating?
Outsourcing isn’t just a staffing decision; it’s also a financial one. While outsourced teams are often more cost-effective compared to hiring full-time staff, it still requires careful planning. Think about what you’re currently spending on accounting functions and how that compares to outsourcing options. Are you prepared to reinvest any savings into growth initiatives like technology, marketing, or new hires?
Having a budget framework in place helps you avoid surprises and keeps expectations realistic. Remember that the cheapest option isn’t always the best. Value comes from finding a partner who can deliver quality, reliability, and scalability.
Why Partner With Scrubbed for Outsourced Accounting Solutions
If you’ve worked through these questions and feel ready to take the next step, Scrubbed can be your trusted partner in the process. We provide offshore, fractional accounting, tax, and finance solutions that give firms the scalability to take on more clients and projects without the constant stress of hiring and training.
Our professionals bring deep expertise across a wide range of industries and accounting functions, from routine bookkeeping to complex audit and tax support, so you can confidently offload work that doesn’t need to stay in-house. Whether you need extra bandwidth during peak seasons, support for specialized engagements, or ongoing day-to-day coverage, you can trust our team of certified professionals.
Just as importantly, we approach every engagement as a long-term collaboration, integrating seamlessly with your systems and processes so your team can stay focused on strategy, client relationships, and growth.
Outsourcing is a journey, and it starts with asking the right questions. When you’re ready to make outsourcing part of your growth strategy, Scrubbed is here to help. Schedule a free consultation with our professional team today and take the next step toward building a stronger, more scalable practice.
