March 5, 2025 - Accounting team used to sit in a corner of your office, churning through reams of paper receipts under the glow of the incandescent lights. Today, when many teams are hybrid or even fully remote, that is far from the case. Now, accounting teams can perform advanced finance and accounting tasks from anywhere with a secure Wi-Fi connection.

This modernization of accounting and finance has led to new efficiencies — including the ability to seamlessly outsource your accounting and finance functions entirely. As challenges like the finance and accounting talent shortage, staff or management level turnovers, and rising compliance demands compound, many savvy companies turn to outsourcing to stay competitive in the market. According to a recent Robert Half report, 68% of finance organizations in the United States plan to increase their use of contract professionals.

In this article, we explore which financial processes are most suitable for strategic outsourcing, how an outsourced service provider can help, and the benefits of using an outsourced approach.

6 Financial Processes Worth Outsourcing

Bookkeeping and Accounting

Bookkeeping and accounting are the fundamentals of financial management, ensuring that a company’s financial records are timely, accurate, organized, and compliant with regulations.

These are some of the easiest tasks to outsource because they can involve routine, time-consuming, and tedious work. Outsourced bookkeepers will balance your books, record accounts payable and receivable transactions, reconcile cash and provide you with a standard balance sheet and profit and loss (P&L) reports. Automating this process can free up your accounting staff to focus on higher-order tasks, which can strategically impact your business.

Financial Planning and Analysis

Unlike accounting, which looks at past financial results and ensures regulatory compliance, financial planning and analysis (FP&A) is forward-looking. It helps businesses evaluate their current position, forecast performance, and make informed decisions to improve profitability and stability.

FP&A teams analyze cash flow, build financial models, and assess different strategies to determine the best path forward. They monitor key metrics, identify risks, and guide leadership on budget allocations and investment opportunities. Without FP&A, you risk poor financial planning, missed opportunities, and unexpected cash flow problems.

Many companies outsource FP&A because it requires specialized expertise and advanced technologies. Hiring an in-house team can be costly, and smaller companies may not need full-time analysts. These talents are highly sought-after and may be difficult to find on a full-time basis, making outsourcing a great option for any company looking to grow and compete.

Revenue Recognition

The introduction of ASC 606 in the U.S. and IFRS 15 globally standardized revenue recognition in 2014, ensuring consistency across industries. Businesses following GAAP or IFRS must comply with this standard to avoid regulatory penalties.

Adhering to these standards can be complex. Companies must follow the five steps of revenue recognition:

• Identify contracts with customers
• Identify performance obligations
• Determine transaction price
• Allocate transactions to performance obligations
• Recognize revenue when each performance obligation is satisfied

Many also face challenges with collecting the data. In 2019, 88% of 300 companies shared that they found it challenging to obtain the required data for the new financial disclosures under the standard.

Fortunately, revenue recognition is an outsourceable task. External professionals can handle this complex accounting and ensure compliance, freeing your internal team to focus on other strategic tasks.

Month-End Close and Reporting

Completing the month-end close is a time-consuming, detail-oriented process with little margin for error — small mistakes can lead to significant financial and compliance issues. With people resources in short supply due to the finance and accounting talent shortage, many businesses struggle to complete this essential task in a timely fashion.

That is why many small to mid-market companies choose to outsource it. A study on small firms found that outsourcing financial statement preparation improves reporting quality, as external accountants provide independent oversight, specialized expertise, and added credibility — which matters in the stock and audit market.

Here is an example of how powerful outsourcing this function can be: At Citrin Cooperman, we had a client stuck on a “perpetual” close — never truly able to close their books within the set timeframe. This left the management without timely financial insights and caused audit delays with internal control issues. So, we assigned experienced senior staff to establish a structured close process. After this, they were able to achieve reliable reporting and regular audits with no reportable control deficiencies.

Tax Preparation

The U.S. tax code is famously one of the most complex in the world and always evolving. Forbes reports that from 2001-2012 alone, there were 4,600 changes to this code, translating to more than one a day. And since 1773, there have been several major tax reforms in the U.S. that have affected businesses and individuals alike.

Small or middle-market companies often employ generalists or small finance teams that do not have the time or expertise to keep up with these changes. That is why they seek outside help from professionals who know and understand the relevant details of this complex tax code. These outsourced specialists know about tax credits and deductions you are eligible for and can ensure you remain compliant. They are also on top of any new relevant regulations, allowing your company to take swift action and adapt quickly.

Payroll Processing

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, payroll compliance has only become more challenging, with many companies struggling to keep up. In a recent PwC study, 56% of respondents say payroll has become more complex with more people working remotely.

Payroll is not just about paying employees — it involves tax compliance, benefits administration, and accurate reporting. Managing payroll in-house can present challenges such as system limitations, frequent errors (reported by 33% of the PwC survey respondents), slow processing, and compliance risks. Mistakes can lead to penalties, tax issues, and employee dissatisfaction.

Unsurprisingly, 22% of participants in the survey have already outsourced payroll, while 59% are considering it. Outsourcing provides access to payroll specialists, advanced software, secure data storage, and dedicated support — reducing the administrative burden on companies.

Implement Full-Service Outsourcing

Instead of outsourcing only bookkeeping or one of the other financial processes, consider fully outsourcing all financial operations. The full-service outsourcing model is more custom-tailored to your company’s needs. Engaging in this outsourcing solution can help you build better processes, achieve a deeper and more insightful level of financial decision-making, and select and integrate the right technology to help you achieve faster, more accurate reporting.

Our Citrin Cooperman Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Practice can bring in industry specialists as needed to support or augment your team, stay current on the latest changes to both GAAP accounting standards and operating best practices, and help train and upskill your existing finance staff. Working with our team allows you to scale up or down your service package as needed.

If you are interested in implementing full-service outsourcing, please reach out to your Citrin Cooperman representative at info@citrincooperman.com.

Want to learn more about full-service outsourcing? Download our free guide to outsourcing finance.