Outsourcing Accounting Services

There are many options when it comes to outsourcing accounting functions in your company and that's the beauty of the service. You can get help in areas ranging from administering the accounts payable, paying the bills, to sending invoices to your customers, to handling payroll services, to temporary work while a business is between personnel.

Some businesses find that they don't need to pay a comptroller by having an employee performing data entry and relying on accounting professionals for just a few hours each month. In other cases, businesses don't wish to share proprietary information with other staff members – so they outsource the processing of this sensitive information. Some businesses outsource their payroll function and retain their other accounting responsibilities. And still others use in a transitional role to help train new staff members or provide back-up services during vacations.

Regardless of your accounting needs, you may be able to gain from our outsourcing accounting services – for less cost than you might imagine.

Finance and Accounting Outsourcing

With more than 7,000 Finance & Accounting professionals in over 15 F&A centers of excellence around the world, we manage the core, end-to-end process areas of finance, accounting and procurement for some of the world’s biggest brands.

Outsourcing Accounting Benefits: By Forbes
Finance and accounting (F&A) was one of the first processes that companies outsourced, and the practice continues to boom: Ed Thomas, an analyst for Ovum research, found the number of F&A outsourcing projects valued at $1 million or more increased in 2012 compared to the year before.

As the market matures, companies contracting for outcomes are exploring fresh ideas and seeking new answers to streamline F&A processes. They are expanding outsourcing to new areas of finance and accounting, new industries, and new sizes of companies than in the past.

“This is a wider trend in outsourcing as a whole,” Thomas explains. “Cost reductions are the table stakes, and companies want to know what else their outsourcers can do to make their processes and technology run more efficiently.”

The most commonly outsourced services within accounting are payroll accounting, accounts payable, and accounts receivable. The Ovum study found companies are “moving up the value chain” in the types of F&A functions they outsource.

“They are looking to move from relatively basic transactional processes, such as accounts payable to more strategic functions, like budgets, forecasts and internal audits,” Thomas says. “More than a third of respondents had outsourced internal auditing, which is a high-level function.”

Simplifying and standardizing F&A processes is a key characteristic of well-run companies, and by instilling good F&A processes these companies can achieve a variety of good outcomes—such as more information, more service and more cash. By simplifying their F&A processes, companies have found they can reduce the cycle it takes to close books, and they can develop better benchmark and baseline financial processes to help them meet regulatory requirements.

Expanding the scope of outsourcing can multiply such benefits, some experts say. “One simple example is accounts payable and receivables,” says Jag Dalal, managing director of thought leadership at the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP). “If you outsource only one function, you limit your benefits. If you outsource both, you get a value beyond improving the transactional component because the outsourcer can see when cash comes in and goes out. That can help the company take best advantage of the cash on-hand and optimize internal processes.”

As companies look to leverage the power of their data, they are turning to outsourcers with greater expertise and technology resources than they have in-house. 

Outsource Payroll Advantages

The Employment network comprises specialists in employment, social security and pensions law. Along with its sister network, Immigration, it covers all aspects of HR law.

These capabilities come together most notably when dealing with the legal implications of moving workers across borders. The global reach of our network allows us to provide an unparalleled service in this area, and ensures that the employment, social security and immigration procedures are compliant and consistent, as well as supporting the relevant tax laws.

The network also deals with other local and international HR legal assignments (including mergers, acquisitions and restructurings) alongside colleagues in the Corporate and commercial network, where HR issues can pay a very significant role in the success of the transaction. We also provide advice on the introduction of reward plans on a national or trans-national basis and support start-ups in new territories.

All of this is supported by local specialists who are able to provide ongoing compliance support and deal with disputes with employees, unions or regulatory authorities when required.

Corporate secretarial

The potential risks of ineffective global governance and compliance systems for multinational companies are often not recognized until failure occurs. An extensive global network providing access to corporate secretarial specialists 

The need for the implementation of internal controls to ensure effective management of legal entities on a global basis is one of the major challenges facing multinational companies. Our corporate secretarial service offering is based around two key principles, global governance and global compliance (legal entity risk assessment, legal entity management and corporate changes).

From the incorporation of a new company or branch, the ongoing compliance with local legislation requirements, to the restructuring of your global businesses, the PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal services network is in a unique position to assist you in ensuring the good standing of all of your legal entities in accordance with local legislation. We are also perfectly placed to assist you with the legal implementation of your tax planning needs and work with you to find the best solutions for your business.

Corporate changes

Legal Services network provides you with access to corporate secretarial specialists  This cross-border presence enables us to provide advice and solutions to you in multiple jurisdictions on complex corporate secretarial matters. Our in-country specialists can also assist you with the incorporation of new entities or the registration of overseas branches.

From assisting on corporate simplification or group restructuring projects to advising on the administration of your listed entities, organising and attending board meetings and providing updates on changes to in-country company law, our corporate secretarial network is perfectly placed to advise and assist in an unparalleled number of territories.

Working alongside our colleagues in the  member firms, we also have easy access to tax and accounting specialists who compliment the services we provide, meaning we can find the best fit solution for all of your business needs.