Running a successful business is something of a juggling act, particularly for small and medium sized business owners. Alongside the day-to-day tasks there are sales pitches and presentations to prepare, staff to manage and accounts to keep track of. The latter is especially important to get right: finding out that you have underpaid an employee or miscalculated your tax can be both embarrassing and a headache to sort out. But what if you can’t afford a full time financial director to oversee financial operations?
Rather than overloading themselves or their staff, many business owners are seeking help from an outsourced finance director when it comes to ensuring the accounts are kept correctly. There are several benefits to this, which we will explore here.
A second pair of eyes
Just as a writer hires a proof reader to check for typos or grammatical oversights in their work, an outsourced finance director can act as a second pair of eyes on the work your accounts team is doing. This is particularly useful if you only have one or two people to handle the business accounts, or if support is needed when it comes to taxation processes and liaising with HMRC. Not only will the help of a finance director reduce stress on your internal team, it can also reassure you that things are being checked and all the relevant finance systems are in place for your needs.
Cost saving
You may find that, as your SME grows, you need to expand your finance team but can’t afford to employ somebody on a full-time basis. In such cases, outsourcing is a good option as it means you can call upon an experienced finance director as and when you need one. By outsourcing such a highly paid role to a chartered accountant, you can invest the money you may have spent on a director’s salary into research, materials or even create other roles within the business. What’s more, you would still be investing in the same level of service as you would expect to get from expanding your internal team.
Help with regulations and compliance
As anyone who has tackled accounts or finance for a business knows, there is a multitude of regulations that require compliance. When you or your accounts team is fully engaged in the daily tasks demanded by the business, there’s not always time to brush up on the changes and developments to these regulations, so it can be beneficial to have an external advisor do that for you. With a reliable, independent person to stay abreast of the industry for you, you can focus on running your business in the knowledge that they will inform you should any changes occur that may affect your organisation.
Outsourcing the duties of a finance director is becoming an increasingly popular solution for SMEs looking to grow while keeping costs down. Why not consider it for your business?
