7 Reasons to Get Off The Fence on Hiring an Accounting Firm | Frank Mastronuzzi

4 min readApr 27, 2020

While you may be apprehensive about spending money on accountant services so early in your business lifecycle, it’s important to consider that an accountant does more than create financial statements — A CPA takes your business’ bookkeeping data and uncovers insights that directly lead to smarter business decisions and business growth.

A joint survey by CPA.com and Bill.com asked 1,700 professionals who employ client accounting services on how they benefit their business. The results showcase the potential of transformative impact for companies of any size:

Saves Time: 80% of the respondents say that outsourced accounting services provide them more time to focus on their business.
Easier Accounting: 68% said implementing best practices from their outsourced accounting firm made their accounting easier.
Increased Profits: 28% report that following advice from their outsourced accountants resulted in increased profits.

Many small businesses look to Pilot or Bench to take care of their bookkeeping and finance needs, and that’s great early on when your finances are simple. However, they are not made to manage complex finances (think loans, tax credits etc.) and can’t provide the true analytical capabilities a CPA can.

Here are seven key reasons you should look to bring on the services of an accounting firm.

1. Saves You Time on Administrative Tasks

An accounting firm can oversee items that previously took up a chunk of your time including bills and payroll. This allows you to focus your attention where it really matters — on growing your business.

2. Provides Transformative Business Advice

Rather than hire someone fresh out of school, look to an accounting firm that collectively holds decades of accounting knowledge.

An accounting firm can provide you with powerful insights that help grow your business, including:

How to minimize expenses
Determine your most valuable clients/target market
Pivot on trends in your finances that help earn higher profits
Determine how much money to invest in a growth plan
Analyze the ROI of marketing strategies

3. Implementation of new accounting and reporting systems

Rather than having to invest time to train new finance staff and expect them to keep up with the latest developments in accounting technology, an accounting firm is already up-to-date with best practices in the field. The implementation of time and expense tracking and labor cost allocation will allow you to make smarter decisions without having to put as much work in.

Reporting systems make it easier to identify both positive and negative trends that allow you to optimize for peak efficiency, and easily share numbers with stakeholders in a digestible format.

4. Tax planning and financial statements

Tax regulations are shifting all the time, and it’s easy for business owners to make mistakes. An accountant will ensure you are tax compliant and works to avoid an audit and tax fines.

An accountant will also draw up your annual tax return and financial reports that your business needs to submit by law.

5. Financial Strategy and Forecasting

Your accounting firm provides direction and oversight for financial forecasting that projects your profitability cash requirements so you can intelligently control expenses. The accountants will also help you develop your internal financial processes including accounting controls as well as checks & balances to ensure you stay on track to meet your financial goals.

6. Scale Your Business

When you’re ready to scale your business, an accountant or CFO Consultant will help you make the right moves to do so with a strong game plan.

An accounting firm can support the scaling of your business by:

Ensuring your financial infrastructure is ready
Determining the most cost-efficient tax structure
Applying for multi-state registrations if applicable
Helping obtain financing and apply for loans
Performing financial forecasts and financial risk assessment

7. Assess and tackle financial challenges

Finally, it can be helpful to bring in an accounting firm when you are struggling financially and need help righting the ship. The earlier you bring in expert help, the easier it will be to get back on the path to financial health.

Issues an accounting firm can help remedy include:

Poor cash flow and profitability
High business overhead
High client churn
Inability to raise capital
Debt management and loan repayment

California Businesses Trust GCG With Their Accounting Needs

Greenough Consulting Group’s client accounting services are highly sought by both small businesses and rapid-growth tech startups alike.

GCG is the preferred accounting services firm of executive Tom Rowley, who has utilized GCG’s services in several of his ventures: “I’ve brought GCG into my last four startups. Getting finance running smoothly, as quickly as possible, allows me to focus on building the business. Hiring GCG is one the first things I do.”

Our reputation for accuracy, senior attention, and exceptional client service has made us one of the financial community’s most highly recommended back-office services firms. Contact us today for a free consultation and learn how we can help you focus on growing your business.

Originally published at https://www.greenoughgroup.com on April 27, 2020.