Accounting, as a function and as a profession, has experienced a profound evolution in the past decade, surpassing its entire history. This transformation has been propelled by the monumental development in technology, which now underpins the entire accounting landscape. Â
Today’s CPAs and accountants, armed with a greater understanding of technology and data analysis, are more empowered than their predecessors, who relied on manual ledgers and repetitive data entry. While technology has been the primary catalyst for this monumental evolution, outsourcing for CPA firms has been the key enabler, further enhancing their capabilities and control. Â
Today’s CPAs and accountants like to unlock a world where they are leading the growth of their clients as opposed to handling mundane number crunching. Outsourcing for CPA firms enables it all for them, and as the popularity of outsourcing grows in stature, we are seeing more and more CPA firms unlock their treasure trove of benefits. Â
In this blog, we will take a closer look at various benefits that accounting offers CPA firms while highlighting some of the concrete data that establishes that outsourcing is one of the most powerful tools for success in the digital age. So, let us get started.Â
Unveiling the Quantifiable Benefits of Outsourcing for CPA Firms
Nothing does a better job of convincing an idea or a thought than concrete data. It’s the same when discussing the quantifiable benefits of outsourcing for CPA firms. While the data might have come from diverse sources, it all points towards a single direction: outsourcing helps CPA firms grow faster, increase their revenue margins, and expand their client portfolio. So, let’s delve deep and examine the quantifiable benefits of outsourcing for CPA firms.
• Cost Saving
CPA firms that have decided to partner with an outsourcing service provider for their business have seen their overhead costs come down by as much as 10%. This is a significant cost savings when you consider the current economic climate and what businesses have to endure to earn every single dollar on their services.
• Improved Efficiency
The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP), 2023 Global Outsourcing 100 List, establishes that businesses that outsource experience a 20% increase in efficiency. For CPA firms, this number can be even higher, considering how many value-added services CPAs can offer to their clients by just having an efficient outsourcing partner by their side.
• Ease of Scalability
Outsourcing enables businesses to scale up or down as needed. Eighty percent of CPA firms have confirmed that statement by scaling their business up or down to meet seasonal workload demand.
• Reduced Workload = Improved Work-Life Balance
According to a study by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), 62% of accounting professionals experience burnout. The sustained workloads and poor work-life balance result in poor mental health, which can lead to severe health issues. Outsourcing helps CPAs significantly reduce their workloads.
While the data we’ve discussed provides a solid foundation, the benefits of outsourcing for CPA firms extend far beyond cost savings and efficiency. Outsourcing has been shown to enhance client satisfaction, fortify data security, and even drive service innovation. These strategic advantages can position a CPA firm for long-term success and growth.
With outsourcing the future looks bright for the accounting industry. But what it exactly holds remains to be seen, for now, we have listed down some of the key predictions and trends that we believe will be shaping up the outsourcing and accounting industry in general. So, let us have a peak into the future.
Trends, Predictions, and the Future of Outsourcing for CPA Firms
The outsourcing industry is currently experiencing a surge of excitement, thanks to the rapid integration of advanced technologies such as AI, NLP, and RPA. This technological revolution is not limited to our industry, but is also making waves in the accounting sector. In this report, we will delve into the emerging trends and predictions that are not only fueling our optimism for the future, but also sparking our excitement for the possibilities ahead.
• Hyper-Specialization to Take Center Stage
As technology grows, it will easily surpass basic bookkeeping and data entry tasks. We will start to see more and more CPA firms outsource specialized jobs such as forensic accounting, international tax, or complex industry-specific regulations.
This will make outsourcing service providers focus on delivering hyper-specialized services rather than just handling mundane tasks. This will also consequently mean that more and more mundane and everyday tasks will be handled by automation and AI.
• More Strategic Partnership Than Transactional Outsourcing
Outsourcing as an industry has already moved toward offering more strategic partnerships to CPAs worldwide. The coming together of CPA firms and outsourcing service providers will develop more innovative services and significantly improve client offerings.
• Deep Integration with AI and Automation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation already have greatly impacted the overall outsourcing industry. It will make the jobs more accessible for the outsourced teams by automating many of their time-consuming tasks and freeing up ample time off of internal teams, enabling them to focus on higher-level strategic planning and grow the firm.
• Robust Cybersecurity and Data Safety
With increasing reliance on the Cloud and similar technologies in favor of better collaboration and real-time updates, CPA firms will prioritize cybersecurity and data privacy more and more. This will also mean that outsourcing partners with stringent data protection and cybersecurity measures in place will be highly in demand in the future. So, if you’re an outsourcing service provider, these are some of the trends that you must capitalize on.
The Future of Outsourcing for CPA Firms
We are in the middle of the most significant workforce transformation, with hybrid work becoming the norm. The future of outsourcing looks similar, too. In the future, we will see a workforce amalgamating in-house teams alongside freelancers, outsourced experts, and specialized talents. Diversification has always been the most vital point for outsourcing service providers.
The fact that they can offer so many different skill sets under one roof and tailored to individual clients is a testament to the incredible value they add to any business they partner with. If you are in the market for an outsourcing service provider for your CPA firm, we can help you get started. Just write to us at [email protected] and we will have our outsourcing expert reach out to you to get the ball rolling.
