System link - Working Smarter with Outsourced Accounting

Editor's Notes

• #2: Outsourced Accounting is a very broad topic, and there are many different outsourcing options and outsourcing service providers to choose from. Companies need a clear picture of outsourcing and what benefits it provides. They want advice on whether outsourcing is right for them. This presentation will answer those questions.  
• #3: Start with the VisionThe core of your business is your vision. You must focus on where you’re going and the ongoing needs of your customers in a continually evolving marketplace. You must also keep your attention on you unique value proposition and your ability to deliver.  
• #4: Your Core Business is made up of two key areas, the Front-Office and the Back-Office. The Front Office is the fuel that propels the vision and is comprised of marketing, sales, business development and customer service.These are the business drivers that move your vision forward.
• #5: The Back-Office, including HR, payroll, benefits, accounting, finance, IT and tax are the foundation that supports your vision. These supporting business functions stabilize the vision and create a platform for growth.
• #6: Core Business vs. Back-OfficeThe front-office is the Core Business. It’s a profit center requiring core competencies that are usually natural to the team. The more time the management team can use to focus on the core business, the better off the business is. The back-office supports the vision. It’s a cost center, typically needing outside expertise to effectively accomplish its purpose. The back-office can inhibit or enable grown and is the primary place to look for business process improvements and cost reduction. Outsourcing back-office processes can reduce costs while significantly increasing quality and efficiency.  Business owners acting as CFO, CFO’s acting as bookkeepers, Accountants acting as HR managers, all create inefficiencies and risks. When business owners wear multiple hats and handle lower level tasks, they can’t focus on growing their business. Often the answer is hiring people over qualified to handle basic needs which increases the cost of doing business. Worse yet is asking under qualified staff to take on tasks which they are not trained to handle which increases the time to accomplish tasks and provides delayed, inadequate or inaccurate results. 
• #7: Developing Business vs. Managing ProcessesMany companies do not need a full-time Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or Controller. What companies often do is place the CFO/Controller responsibilities with the CEO/owner or with the most senior finance/accounting executive on staff. The problem with this approach is that the person placed in charge may not have the right skill set or experience to fulfill the role of CFO.  Outsourcing the accounting functions bridges the gap from the back-office to the front office without having to hire over qualified or under qualified people. Outsourcing back-office processes can reduce your cost for back-office, while significantly increasing quality and efficiency.
• #8: Reducing Costs through Business Process Optimization (BPO)The financial accounting outsourcing value proposition shifts with BPO. With a thorough assessment and analysis of your back-office operations and the reengineering of how processes are transacted, costs will be reduced. Additionally, service levels of your accounting functions will be increased by improving the quality of the people handling each part of the back-office.
• #9: Resources and Skills Properly Leveraged to Economies of ScaleMany small businesses don’t have access to a CFO and a CFO level function might only be 5-10 hours per month. They don’t have a Controller to do the Controllership functions which might only be 10 hours a month. What happens is that the company spreads these functions out all over the organization to either under or over qualified personnel. The typical small business back-office no longer leverages the economies of scale.  In order to justify having a full time Controller and CFO the company must be much larger. these specific positions. By outsourcing these functions companies are able to tap into all of the CFO and Controller skill sets that is tailor fit the amount they need them. The outsourced accounting firm can scale these functions across their business, passing on the value to their clients.  
• #18: About SystemLink’sTotalAccounting ServiceSystemLink’sTotalAccounting Service provides back office accounting resources with proper qualifications and skills to reduce your cost and free up your time. TotalAccounting means that the details of your company will be overseen by a qualified CFO level professional. Your CFO will meet with you at appropriate times to review financial statements, attend board meetings, and talk to you about strategic issues and budgeting. Additionally, experienced corporate Controller’s will oversee all of the details of the monthly close and transactional processing and a team of transaction processors will process all of the day-to-day accounting. Back office accounting resources equipped with the proper skills makes SystemLink the RIGHT choice providing businesses with the ability to focus on what makes their organization unique and valuable to clients by reducing the cost and effort to maintain their necessary back office processing.  SystemLink is able to provide the right resources to do the right job at the right time, at a scalable cost based on the ever changing requirements.  SystemLink’sTotalAccounting service offers lower cost bundled with higher quality of service leveraging economies of scale.