The Pros And Cons Of Outsourcing To An International Accounting Service
In recent years, international accounting services have become fairly widespread. Based in a variety of countries, international accounting services are third-party services which handle everything from general bookkeeping to payroll calculations. There are both benefits and drawbacks to outsourcing services to a global business.
Pros: Affordable, Reliable, and Diverse
The primary reason businesses outsource their accounting operations is down to cost. An outsourced bookkeeping service will be able to perform data entry and routine tasks very quickly. These outsourced companies will also often be very reliable and easy to access; they will have individuals available to answer questions at all times. This can be far more convenient than outsourcing to a smaller local company, which may not have the staff needed for individualized, one-on-one care.
Due to the GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), nearly every country produces the same type of income and expense reports, including the balance sheet statements and asset and debt statements that are required for loans, grants, and investors. Though a company will still need to work through local tax preparers, many of their other documents can be easily run through their outsourced team. Because these companies are large, they may have experts in many different fields, including the procurement of investors, creation of business plans, and consulting services for better risk management.
Cons: Security, Specialization, and Accountability
The majority of the cons regarding an international accounting service come down to reliability and reputation. An international accounting service may not be well-versed in your country of origin, and consequently may not catch issues with taxation or regulation that you would need them to. Further more, they won't be regulated in the same way that a domestic company would be. This could lead to potential security issues.
Thus, in order to be safe, organizations need to work with accountants who are specialized in their country or even state. They also need to ensure that the accounting firm follows their domestic regulations. For companies in special industries, such as medical industries, they may need to avoid outsourcing entirely. They will also need to look up the reputation and reviews of a company in advance to make sure that they don't have outstanding issues.
Outsourcing doesn't have to be done through a global company. There are many domestic companies that also offer these services. But a global company will often be far more affordable and accessible -- as long as you ensure that they have a solid reputation.
For more information or tips, seek help from a service such as Herman & Cormany.