Hiring an accountant, whether in-house or outsourced, is inevitable for any business. Eventually, all businesses, whether startup companies or ones owned by accountants themselves, will find it harder to reject the reasons for needing an accountant. Business owners and CEOs rely heavily on accountants and bookkeepers to keep financial records straight and report any discrepancies or financial issues that a business may face. When you find yourself in need of accountants, there is one question to ask: Do you hire somebody for in-house accounting, or do you outsource your accounting needs to Xero accountants? The choice of which accountant to hire lies heavily on the kind of business you are running and the needs associated with managing it.
Compensation and Benefits
How much can you and are you willing to pay for accounting services? An in-house accounting team means benefits and bigger compensation. Not only would you have to pay their monthly salaries, but you are also mandated by law to provide benefits such as medical insurances, social security shares, and sick and vacation leaves. Do you have the resources for an in-house accounting team? You also need to provide for their own office space.
On the other hand, an outsourced accounting agency will only require you to pay a retainer’s fee (kind of like what you pay your on-call attorney), as well as the various charges your company will incur in the payments of taxes. There is no need to provide insurance benefits to an outsourced accounting team because their agencies are the ones who handle their compensation.
Access to Records
This goes both ways. An in-house accounting team will have easier and faster access to your banking and company records. They can be easily granted with access to pour over your balances and statements. It is harder for an outsourced accountant to do that because they won’t mostly be working in the same office as you. The information and records have to be sent to them in a secure network or through a trusted courier. They will take longer to “react” when a financial crisis happens.
Accountability
One of the most important features of any accounting team, whether in-house or outsourced, is its accountability. The series of checks and balances that an accounting team employs will prevent the client or employer (you) from being ripped off. In an in-house accounting team, there will only be one or two people who will handle your books. This heightens the risk of getting ripped off by your accounting team. They can adjust the books and cover their tracks. Finding out about it later will not only hurt your business, but it can also push you into a sea of legal disputes.
The kind of accountant you need depends on what you can afford and the type of service you need. You can get a mixture of these two—an in-house and outsourced accountant. The in-house accountant can prepare the books and keep a record of the business transactions, while an outsourced accountant can create the financial statement, as well as file the appropriate taxes.
In fact, when there are two teams working on your financial books, it will be easier to detect erroneous items in the transactions. They can also ensure that discrepancies will be detected even before they can make a huge dent on your company’s records.