Outsourcing finance. Outsourced accounting services Accounting services by an outsourcing company

Outsourcing accounting services: a good alternative for small businesses

Accounting outsourcing: cost

Accounting outsourcing in Moscow

The advantages of outsourcing are obvious, but what about the disadvantages?

Advantages of outsourcing accounting in Moscow

Not only the practice of outsourcing simple courier or logistics work to specialized companies is becoming increasingly popular, but also attracting super-professionals, for example, for accounting services. Many companies choose to outsource this process because it is often cheaper than hiring in-house accountants. There is no need to worry about accommodating employees or equipping their workplaces, and you can also save on salary taxes. At the same time, the quality of work does not suffer; agencies even claim that the qualifications of their employees exceed the level of training of specialists that small businesses can afford. In any case, the accounting company undertakes to fully compensate the client for losses associated with the collection government agencies sanctions (fines, penalties), the reason for the accrual of which was the dishonest performance of obligations under the concluded agreement. But whether the company’s own accountant who committed the crime will be punished depends on the decision of senior management.

Cost of accounting services

Standard set accounting services provided by agencies includes staging accounting or its restoration, accounting, personalized accounting (a system for recording information about the insurance and funded parts of pensions), personnel and salary accounting. In this case, service tariffs are determined by the number of necessary business transactions. The cost of services also depends on the taxation scheme, the degree of accounting automation, the number of company employees, the presence of branches and the type of activity. For example, the cost zero reporting different companies vary from 1.5 thousand to 3 thousand per quarter. Therefore, the real benefits of outsourcing accounting functions should be carefully calculated before concluding an agreement for accounting services. Since a small company employing a dozen people engaged in one type of activity can get by with independent accounting, which is easy to do with the help of special programs.

Choosing a service company

When choosing a company for accounting services, one of the main evaluation criteria should be reliability. An unreliable company can bring many problems, from errors in documents or failure to meet deadlines specified in the accounting service agreement, up to the disclosure of confidential information. Therefore, you should make sure that the company can be trusted before contacting it. This parameter can be assessed by client recommendations, the firm's membership in professional societies (such as the Chamber of Tax Advisors) and certifications. The reliability of a company can also be judged by its age: high quality services ensure a long life for the company. The field began to develop in the early 2000s, when many companies were founded that are now considered leaders in their activities.

Contract for accounting services

Price lists can also tell you a lot about an accounting company. Sometimes an offer that is more expensive at first glance already includes important services that companies with lower tariffs provide for an additional fee. For example, some companies pay separately for such “little things” as the presentation of documentation to the client by courier or the representation of an accountant. Therefore, when concluding an agreement for accounting services with an office that will know all the financial ins and outs of the company, it is worth carefully studying all the terms of the transaction so that visible savings do not lead to ruin.

Why don't we buy our own instead? freight car, hire a driver, forwarder, programmer, without a shadow of a doubt and without the slightest hesitation, we enter into contracts with specialized transport, logistics and IT companies? This is the transfer of some of the functions of our company to outsourcing?!

Moreover this type outsourcing has been practiced in our country since socialist times. Only the name “outsourcing” itself came to us from the “progressive West” relatively recently.

Why do we at the same time categorically say “no” to accounting outsourcing? We tried to find the answer to this question in the process of communicating with the owners and managers of small and large companies in our vast business power. As a result, a list was obtained of the Fears that haunt us, the Dangers that lie in wait for us, at the slightest mention or when thoughts arise about such a terrible phenomenon modern business, as “accounting outsourcing”.

As you know, fear does not arise without a reason, and if you eradicate this reason, maybe the fear will go away. Let's try …

To begin with, we suggest going back 15-25 years. We think everyone remembers the system of urban housing and communal services that existed at that time. The system was an extensive network of REUs (in case anyone has forgotten, this is a repair and maintenance section, also known as a housing office, also known as a housing department, etc.) headed by the main housing and communal services department of the city. Each REU had its own accounting service. However, some of the functions of the REU accounting departments were already outsourced. Yes, yes, exactly for outsourcing, just under a different name. It's about about the calculation wages. In the housing and communal services system, there was a Computer Center, where REU accountants transferred primary documents (timesheets, orders, certificates of incapacity for work, etc., in general, everything that was necessary for the employee to receive “their honestly earned money”), and the Computer Center, all this having successfully processed it on his computers, he returned the ready-made payslips, statements and records to the accountants. Note that there are a lot of examples similar to the one given above. But you and I can’t be fooled...

We know that in those days the salaries of most citizens were calculated based on a single state salary scale (we will not delve into regional coefficients, northern ones, etc.). Therefore, even without wanting to, we could very quickly “count other people’s money,” that is, find out how much our colleague received, and besides, when receiving a salary, everyone signed on the same sheet. There was no question of any confidentiality in those days. That's why they outsourced the calculation function.

Now it’s a completely different matter... Our wages are a big secret for the rest!!!
Here he is Fear #1"accounting outsourcing" - " They (Accounting companies) for surewill tell everyone about the income of our employees".

We know this absolutely precisely and, characteristically, in advance. At the same time, we don’t even think that the inspector of the Tax Service (or the Pension Fund), to whom we annually submit reports on our personal income and the income of our employees, is already the owner of “secret information” and can use it for any purpose. We are not worried about the fact that an accountant working in our company, “out of friendship”, “out of spite” or because “we need to talk about something”, can tell someone both within the company and outside them about a colleague’s income. We believe that our accountant is reliable only because he is “OUR”. And this is just an illusion, because reliability is determined not by the word “OUR”, but by a specific person, his decency and conscience.

What is the probability that the accountant of the Accounting Company has friendly (hostile) relations with one of our employees and will divulge to him the “salary secrets” of another of our employees, or will transfer the data to someone else? Obviously, the probability is very small, and there is no point in such actions. In addition, if the agreement with the Accounting company regulates in detail the procedure for working with confidential information and provides for responsibility for its disclosure, and the employees of the Accounting company are properly instructed and familiarized with the information security regulations (by the way, such an obligation of the Accounting company can also be specified in the agreement) , then our risks are minimized. And if there are no risks, there are no reasons for Fear.

p.s. By the way, all of the above applies not only to the concept of “salary”, but also to any other financial information that constitutes a trade secret of any company.

Now that we accept that it is unlikely that the data will be disclosed intentionally by the Accounting Company, it is time to deal with another danger, which is also related to confidentiality. As you know, the fastest and most convenient way to transfer data today is Email. And where there is e-mail, there is the Internet, there are hackers, viruses, etc. So, Fear #2 - "When transmitting data via email, the data may be freely available on the Internet or be attacked by hackers."

What should we do about this? Let's start a little from afar. Surely, each of us has at least once paid for goods or services with a bank card via the Internet. And if you haven’t paid, then, most likely, you know about the Bank-client systems, with the help of which the accountant sends payments to the bank, again via the Internet. We are not afraid, because we know that these operations are completely safe, because... there is an information security system in place, i.e. special electronic keys, as well as secure systems electronic document management, allowing you to encrypt incoming and outgoing messages. These systems are already used not only by banks, but also by many other companies when working with e-mail, including accounting ones. Why don’t we join their ranks?!

Now, it seems that we have dealt with fears related to confidentiality. Now it’s time to think about the quality of services provided by Accounting companies.

For every mother, every father, it is their child who is the smartest, most talented, most beautiful. In general, the very best... And no one can or has the right to convince them of this. Also, any manager or owner, not without reason, considers his company and its activities to be unique. And accordingly, just like parents, they want others to treat this uniqueness properly. Therefore, when choosing an accountant, the vacancy description must contain a phrase that focuses on experience in a specific field of activity, for example, in wholesale or retail trade, in construction, in an insurance company, in the oil and gas sector, etc. For some reason, it is believed that an accountant who worked, for example, in the service sector, cannot keep records in production. Is it really?!

We present Fear No. 3 - “My company has specific activities, but do they have specialists who can properly take into account these specifics?”

First of all, I would like to say that this fear is to some extent justified. However, the point here is not likely to be a lack of experience in a particular field, but rather the accountant’s attitude to changing direction, to mastering something new. For example, our company decided, in addition to trading, to start building its own shopping complex. It is unlikely that we will immediately have the idea that the chief accountant should be replaced by someone who knows construction accounting. If our accountant is a professional with capital letters, then, most likely, he will either independently study all the nuances of accounting in construction, or attend specialized accounting courses in this area. Well, if he decides to leave, then there is no need to keep him - this is not the specialist we need to develop your business.

Accounting companies usually employ very mobile specialists in terms of mastering something new. And this is due primarily to the fact that Accounting companies serve many companies, each of which is unique in its activities, in its own specifics. There are always methodological materials accumulated in the process of work that regulate the maintenance of records of most types economic activity, because Accounting companies are also unique in their specificity, namely, in accounting. In addition, specialists, when they are gathered in one place, can always exchange their opinions, knowledge, and accumulated experience. And the collective mind, as we know, is always better than the individual mind.

Therefore, while our accountant spends time studying independently or searching for and attending the necessary seminar, and we spend money on paying for this seminar, the specialists of the Accounting company will already begin to keep accounting records of our company’s activities. And all because the necessary methodological materials have already been selected, problematic issues that have already arisen in companies with similar specifics have been identified and resolved, and one of the Accounting Company specialists has already attended specialized seminars and shared knowledge with their colleagues. Is this scary? On the contrary, it's wonderful.

But why do we always say Accounting companies, specialists of accounting companies? After all, all this is somewhat impersonal. We are accustomed to the fact that the accounting records of our company are kept by a specific person whom we know, with a specific name and surname. And here is just the name of the Accounting company. Here he is, Fear No. 4 - “It is unknown who will keep the records, but I know Marya Ivanovna.”

When we buy a product, such as a TV, what factors influence our decision to buy this particular product? Perhaps this is the brand of the product, the reputation of the manufacturer, the quality of the product, its price or warranty service. Do we really care who exactly made this TV - Petya Ivanov or Vasya Smirnov. Of course not. Let's look at accounting as a commodity. If our company’s reports are submitted to the tax office on time, if there are no errors in accounting, if regulatory authorities have no complaints against us, if our counterparties do not complain about delays in payments on our part, then does it matter who exactly is behind all this: Marya Ivanovna or Accounting company? It's probably not that important anymore. The main thing is that we are calm, because we are no longer worried about such problems as: what will happen if Marya Ivanovna gets sick, and if she is going on vacation, and suddenly decides to quit? Illnesses, vacations or dismissals of the Accounting Company specialists do not concern us, because the company provides us with services and the company is also responsible for the quality of these services, because it is with them that we have concluded an agreement, and not with a specific Marya Ivanovna.

Well, if we still want to get acquainted with a specific specialist, we can always do this by simply driving up to the office of the Accounting company. In addition, now on the websites of most accounting companies there is a section with photographs and resumes of both management staff and accounting specialists. And one more nuance: if we suddenly quarrel with Marya Ivanovna, it will not be so easy to replace her with a new accountant, and even to get high-quality transfer of affairs from her. It is much easier for an accounting company to replace a specialist working with us, because meeting the needs and wishes of the client is the law of any business that wants to maintain its reputation and is responsible for the quality of its product.

Okay, we seem to have sorted out the personalities, but we need to somehow build our communication with the Accounting company. But we don’t understand how to do it, how to overcome it Fear #5 - “II can’t imagine how to interact with them. Here, he summoned a person and gave him a task, but there it is not clear who will do what.”

Any good undertaking can easily be nullified if you do not initially approach it with all seriousness. Let's say we decide to produce a product. First, we will find out what raw materials we need and, together with the supplier, we will develop a delivery schedule for these raw materials. Then we will determine the production cycle within our company, for example, the movement of semi-finished products from workshop No. 1 to workshop No. 2, we will find buyers and set the time frame within which the product will be delivered to the buyer, as well as a delivery location convenient for the buyer.

In the same way, when building a relationship with an Accounting company, we must think through all the nuances of our communication in order to ultimately receive a product, namely an accounting service, highest quality. And this must be done at the stage of concluding the contract. First of all, we must determine what specific services we want to receive, be it full accounting, payroll or invoicing. The more detailed the contract specifies which specific actions (documents to be created) are included in the service provided, the easier it will be for both us and the Accounting Company.

Then we can, together with the Accounting company, develop a document flow schedule that will record approximately the following:

• information and documents that we must provide to the Accounting Company, as well as the timing of their provision;
• information and documents that we will receive from the Accounting Company, and accordingly the timing of their receipt;
• information and documents that the Accounting company will provide to regulatory authorities, etc.

Having completed the above steps, we will thereby receive a cure for fear, namely the regulations for relations with the Accounting company, from which we can always understand who should do what and when.

By the way, the above regulations, which include a document flow schedule and a list of responsible persons, will provide us with invaluable assistance in the fight against Fear No. 6 - “How will I control what is done and what is not?” After all, you can understand what has been done only when you know exactly what should have been done.

So, we already have one control tool. The second tool can be a report from the Accounting company on the work done. We can provide for the obligation to provide it together with the acceptance certificate for the services provided in the contract. The report must contain information about all the actions of the Accounting Company performed in the process of providing services to our company, for example, the number of invoices issued for our clients, invoices processed, received from our suppliers, cash documents created reflecting the movement of our cash flows, etc. . Having received such a report and comparing it with the document flow schedule, we will not only be able to monitor the implementation of all necessary actions, but also to understand what we pay money for.

Companies that are subject to a mandatory audit (or conduct a voluntary audit) receive another control tool - the conclusion of an audit company.

Agree that the issue of control turned out to be not so scary, because even without going too deep into it, we found three of many possible options answer to it.

At the same time, we analyzed only one side of control - quantitative, so to speak, and what to do with quality. Yes, our VAT return was submitted on time, but was the tax calculated correctly? This Fear No. 7 - “They will make a lot of mistakes, but who will be responsible, me?!”

As they say, no one is immune from mistakes. He who does not work is not mistaken. But this doesn’t make it any easier for us. Whoever does the accounting in our company, be it our Chief Accountant or an Accounting company, the responsibility still lies with the manager, and ultimately affects the owner of the company, since mistakes mainly lead to losses. Therefore, we need to, if not completely get rid of the risks of accounting errors, then at least try to minimize the losses associated with them. Let’s say the tax inspectorate conducted an audit and charged our company with additional amounts of taxes, as well as penalties and fines, and all because our accountant made a mistake in the calculations. We, of course, can demand compensation for damages from our accountant, but only within the limits Labor Code, because you and I are law-abiding. What to do if the amounts of taxes, penalties and fines go far beyond the limits established labor legislation or the accountant suddenly quit?! So it turns out that all losses fall on the leader. Let's consider the same situation, only we change one condition: mistakes were made by the Accounting company. Can we compensate for damages in this case? Not only can we, but we will also compensate. However, for this, we again need to approach the conclusion of an agreement for accounting services with all seriousness, stipulate in it the responsibility of the Accounting company for the inadequate quality of the services provided, as well as the obligation to compensate us for the damage that we suffer due to this inadequate quality. And if, in addition to this, the liability of the Accounting company is insured by a reliable insurance company, then the risks of our losses will be significantly reduced, which means another fear will go away.

For a snack, we left something that is unlikely to leave anyone indifferent, namely Fear No. 8 - “It’s expensive! I will have to pay not only the accountant, but also the “profit” of the outsourcing company.”

Of course, the goal of any commercial endeavor is to make a profit. And in order to get it, we need, in particular, to minimize costs. Let's see how much it costs us to maintain one accountant. In addition to salaries, we spend money on:

• taxes on an accountant's salary;
• vacation and sick leave for accountants (i.e. time when work is not actually done);
• personnel selection services (when hiring an accountant);
• health insurance
• office rental;
• computer, stationery, accounting program, seminars, special literature, etc.

We should not forget that the amount of work an accountant does depends entirely on business activity companies. But what if the company’s activities are characterized by seasonality? Our revenue falls in certain months, but the accountant’s salary and expenses for his maintenance remain at the same level. And we can easily make a loss. So isn’t it better to conclude an agreement with an accounting company, with the condition that payment is made only for the amount of work performed, for example, for the number of processed transactions, documents, etc.?!

And the last thing I would like to say.

The author of this article in no way wanted to question the professionalism, integrity and dedication of accountants working in any manufacturing, trading, construction or any other companies other than those that specialize only in providing accounting services.

When writing this article, I wanted only one thing - to debunk the fears of accounting outsourcing. How successful this was is for you, dear readers, to judge.

Anyone who does entrepreneurial activity, knows that financial reporting is an important part of business. It does not affect what form of ownership the enterprise has. Nowadays it has appeared great amount companies whose main activity is the provision of accounting services. Their appearance on the market was due to the increased demand for remote maintenance of accounting documentation.
The transfer of accounting functions to third-party companies has recently caused confusion and mistrust among many. How could you entrust the maintenance of almost all financial documentation to people who were not part of the company’s staff? But, our time dictates transparent business practices, and, therefore, there is no need to hide your financial indicators from outsiders, especially if they are fiscal authorities. Accounting outsourcing is a situation where a company “shifts” the tasks and day-to-day functions of its own accounting department to a third-party accounting company.
Accounting outsourcing does not just prepare a report for someone else to the tax office. This is his complete protection and legal support in the fiscal authorities. The head of the company and founders do not need to worry about paperwork; they can focus on running the main business. But, most importantly, these are the economic benefits of ordering such services. The fact is that modern financial statements is constantly changing and different fiscal authorities systematically make changes and additions.
In order to avoid any sanctions for the slightest discrepancy, it is necessary to maintain a whole staff of accountants, lawyers and financial analysts. In this case, the preparation of financial statements becomes a quarterly oval task, in which the head of the company is necessarily involved. By transferring accounting to specialized firms, the company immediately optimizes its costs. After all, the reduction of such a huge apparatus is immediately reflected in the wage fund.
This frees up a fairly colossal amount of space, which can be used more profitably. Well, and accordingly there are no costs for mandatory office equipment and software. You can calculate the indirect benefits from such services after the first quarterly report. Indeed, in this case, the costs of accounting are transferred to the cost of production, as payment for services third party organization.
The company receives not just accounting, but a whole staff of qualified specialists who, in addition to accounting, can provide services in the field of monitoring the movement of material and financial resources, perform the functions of a human resources department, and much more. It doesn't matter when this accounting transition occurs. Even if the company has been operating for a fairly long period, the company’s primary documentation will be presented in accordance with the law, right down to registration documents.
You can, of course, order a one-time service, but only a full subscription service provides a guarantee of stability and the possibility of developing the company. In this case, the cost of accounting services will reflect the entire range of assistance provided to the enterprise. The staff of specialized companies always includes financial analysts and audit specialists. More advanced functions transferred to the management of such companies make it possible to receive not only quarterly reports, but also operational information of a monthly or even weekly nature. Moreover, it will be accompanied by analytical notes characterizing the real position of the company in a given period of time, an assessment of its short-term development prospects, as well as an analysis of possible plans for a longer period.

1.Outsourcing in Russia.

Accounting outsourcing as a service appeared in Russia relatively recently. Accounting outsourcing is a situation where a company “shifts” the tasks and day-to-day functions of its own accounting department to a third-party accounting company. It should be noted that cooperation with a company providing outsourcing services has a number of undeniable advantages before the staff accountant. According to the DISCOVERY Research Group agency (www.drgroup.ru), the expert estimate of its volume ranges from $50 million to $100 million. Such a significant spread in estimates is due to the presence of many small players working with one or two customers, whose services are difficult to take into account when assessment of the total market volume. Large players, having entered the market relatively recently, have not yet managed to take a significant share. However, according to the forecasts of market participants, in the future there should be a redistribution of market shares in favor of large companies.
According to estimates by a number of experts, today approximately 5% of all Russian companies use the services of outsourcers (excluding individual entrepreneurs or very small companies that use the services of individual accountants).
The market is just beginning to form and is still far from the saturation stage; annual growth reaches 50-60%. For example, the number of clients wishing to receive payroll services increases by 70% annually.
In Russia, according to Unistaff Payroll Services, in 2007, about 250,000-500,000 workers received salaries calculated by outsourcing companies. Experts suggest that market growth in the next 2–3 years will be avalanche-like, the number of “calculated” employees will increase to 1–1.5 million people. The largest market in Russia is the Moscow market: according to participants in the accounting services market, there are more than 100 firms specializing in this type of service in Moscow, while only in some of the largest regional centers their number can reach 30-40.
According to experts, the largest companies operating in the accounting services outsourcing market are: Intercomp, Unistaff, UCMS Group and BDO UBS - large and mid-Western and Russian firms consider them as the main suppliers of outsourcing services.
First of all, outsourcing is relevant when the turnover is not yet enough to support a full staff of employees, when the volume of work provides only partial employment. For operating companies, this is a period of transition or crisis, when changes to the current structure are necessary to continue operations.
Another incentive may be business growth, as a result of which the workload and costs of non-core processes increase significantly, as well as difficulties in hiring professional employees. When deciding to switch to outsourcing, you should understand that the transition is effective when the overall positive effect of the innovation exceeds the costs of its creation

2. Modern tendencies application of accounting outsourcing.

Recently, accounting outsourcing has become increasingly popular abroad and in Russia. Transfer of accounting and tax accounting management of a specialized company occurs either entirely or partially, depending on a number of factors. The main point of outsourcing is the transfer of routine and non-core processes to a third party, which allows you to save your own labor resources for more important business tasks. Until recently, this concept was applicable only to production processes. The largest Western manufacturers of equipment, clothing and other goods transferred their production lines to countries with cheap labor force, focusing on solving strategic and innovative problems. Recently, not only abroad, but also in Russia, this type of outsourcing such as accounting has become increasingly popular. The transfer of accounting and tax accounting to a specialized company for management occurs either entirely or partially, depending on the specifics of the company’s activities, tasks, quantity and quality of specialists, and budget.
By becoming a consumer of outsourcing services, the customer organization gets the opportunity to focus on its core business, since the outsourcing agreement is concluded specifically for non-core areas of the organization’s activities. Transferring part of the work to outsourcing allows you to reduce costs, since often the services of an outsourcer are much cheaper than maintaining your own staff. Accounting outsourcing was mainly used by foreign organizations operating in Russia, as well as joint ventures. This is rather a necessary measure: after all, foreign businessmen are not always well versed in all the intricacies of Russian legislation. However, now more and more Russian businessmen use accounting outsourcing, which offers services for restoration, maintenance of accounting and tax records, optimization of tax payments, preparation of interim and annual reporting, as well as dealing with tax authorities.
The advantages of transferring functions for transforming reporting to a third party or maintaining accounting by professionals are obvious. As a result of this type of financial outsourcing, a company can:
- increase the investment attractiveness of the company by increasing transparency
- transform the accounting departments of the group companies into a single, smoothly working mechanism
- free yourself from individual labor-intensive accounting processes and devote your time to business
- ensure confidentiality when calculating wages
- receive advice on the tax consequences of transactions and their execution
- receive legal support in a tax dispute
- do not worry about the private change of accountants in the company
Easy to switch to accounting on our own, having received methodological and technical support from the outsourcer
The cost of service is comparable to the labor costs of a chief accountant or a small accounting department. At the same time, organizing accounting at an enterprise with the involvement of a specialized company has a number of advantages.
The customer does not spend money on maintaining accountants’ workplaces (office equipment, documentation, Consumables, special literature, seminars, etc.);
The customer will not face a problem when his only accountant is not on site at the right time, since in an accounting organization he deals not with one accountant, but with a team - the accounting department, headed by a senior accountant;
The customer has access to professional lawyers and auditors with whom he can consult on the optimal performance of a particular transaction from the point of view of taxation, civil law, etc.;
The customer does not worry about delivering the necessary documents (this is the task of the outsourcer’s couriers);
The outsourcer is responsible for late submission of reports (if the customer provided everything on time Required documents for its preparation);
The customer can deduct VAT on the services of an accounting company;
The customer is not concerned about issues of turnover and workload of accounting personnel.
Unlike accounting services provided by external providers, accounting outsourcing is a form of interaction in which an external company is included in the working business processes of the customer company as an integral functional unit, while remaining organizationally and legally independent. Foreign experts in the field of outsourcing note that along with the transfer of certain financial functions, which are often performed by an outsourcer on a daily basis, control of these functions and processes is usually also transferred.
According to experts from the Outsourcing Institute, USA, the greatest growth in outsourcing, as an unusually dynamically developing type of optimization of enterprise activities, is shown by outsourcing of business processes in the field of finance and accounting. A study of 600 firms by the American Management Association showed that by that time, 1/5 of the surveyed firms had outsourced at least some of their financial and accounting operations, and 4/5 of the firms had outsourced some of their administrative functions.

Conclusion

Unlike accounting services, which are often episodic in nature, accounting outsourcing is a long-term strategy that entails a major restructuring of business processes within the company. Experts from various companies disagree on how serious this restructuring of business processes can be. However, most of them agree that setting up interaction processes and document flow is an important component of the success of outsourcing in an enterprise. Accounting outsourcing should not be classified as a service. Any enterprise can have hundreds of suppliers, but there is only one outsourcer for each transferred function.

Another common form of accounting support in an enterprise - the involvement of a freelance accountant - cannot be classified as outsourcing of accounting, since the service provider in this case is an individual and objectively cannot have its own infrastructure necessary to ensure and support business interaction processes, and is also deprived of a number of other capabilities of a specialized company. Even with equal workload and comparable quality of work, specialized companies have an advantage over individual professionals. Due to the advantages of accounting outsourcing listed above, we can conclude that outsourcing is a very relevant solution to the problems that an entrepreneur may face.

This article is so unique, that we couldn't find any services related to it!

Accounting outsourcing – the opportunity to organize financial activities companies most efficiently, without overpaying regular employees, whose work productivity is not always high. The head of the Bi-Consulting project, Maya Zinovieva, spoke about the specifics of the financial services market in Russia, the specifics of business development, the management system and the nuances of working with clients of the outsourcing company “Zhazhde”.

Start-up investments and development dynamics

The idea of ​​starting a business came to Maya back in the 90s, when she started working in accounting. In 1991, after specialized three-month courses, the future leader of the Bi-Consulting project took the position of chief accountant in a small enterprise. During my studies, it became clear that accounting can be very interesting thing and it’s worth continuing to do so.

Career began with a very intense professional activity. After 6 months of work, she found another place of employment, and at the end of the first year of work as an accountant, she provided her services to 5 different companies. However, all this did not entirely correspond to the interests and priorities of the young ambitious woman - she sought to implement new ideas and projects.

At that time, the idea of ​​​​creating an accounting company, working simultaneously for several organizations and being an independent enterprise, had already begun to emerge. With experience came a strategic vision for business development - the possibilities of distributing the responsibilities of future employees and organizing the company’s work were considered. So the idea gradually took shape into a specific business plan.

However, at that time to open own company there was no opportunity yet. At different stages of her life, the future entrepreneur held the positions of chief accountant and financial director in a food holding company. In 2000, opportunities and desires finally coincided, and our own accounting company was created.

The service business is not capital intensive, so start-up capital was a little more than 50 thousand rubles. Even at that time this amount was quite affordable. But for quite a long time the company's profits had to be invested in development - the acquisition of programs, information systems, security systems, computer and server equipment.

Maya Zinovieva: “The first clients had a very poor understanding of the principles of attracting an outsourcing company, many things had to be explained point by point, and something had to be adjusted in the process. But business is business - if you want to be effective, you have to learn and teach others. At first I worked like individual entrepreneur, then the opportunity arose to design legal entity. My brother Dmitry worked with me on the project. This is how Bi-Consulting LLC came into being – our joint brainchild, a family business, one might say.”

At that time, no one knew how to run an outsourcing business; in fact, Maya created her own service delivery system through trial and error. And no one is immune from mistakes at the beginning of the journey.

Maya Zinovieva: “This or that situation with the client arose - and this was reflected in the following agreement, in the internal rules for employees. So, over several years, every mistake we made in communicating with clients and in our work changed the contract. As a result, we created a 22-page agreement that answers almost all the client’s possible questions. We haven’t changed the document for the last 4 years.”

Profitability and financial efficiency

If the accounting outsourcing business is structured correctly, then you can achieve payback quite quickly: in about six months. The payback period for such projects is even shorter than in other types of business, since work with clients is on a regular basis. For example, many clients have been working with Bi-Consulting for more than 15 years, almost since its opening.

Maya Zinovieva: “At the beginning of our journey, we didn’t know a lot and made mistakes. Not in accounting itself, but in relations with clients - they could not quickly respond to requests, they did not agree, so to speak, “on shore” on many details of the work. As a result, they lost such clients, and therefore profit. By 2005, we managed to form an audience regular customers, which ensured profitable uninterrupted operations without delays in wages, without debts to suppliers and with stable profits.”

Now the Bi-Consulting company has 140 regular clients. During reporting periods, there are also those who apply only for reporting or other one-time services. The average bill is 7-8 thousand rubles.

Team formation

Specialists working at Bi-Consulting are a valuable asset professional knowledge and experience. However, the company's corporate policy is focused on team building. Only in it can one achieve what a lone specialist can never achieve. This includes combined knowledge, support for each other, and joint solving of complex problems. And, of course, very important factor is the activity of the manager as a managerial link and a kind of axis around which the structure of the company is built.

Maya Zinovieva: “At the very beginning, I was the only specialist. She ran her first companies herself. She hired only assistants who, at best, could enter documents into the program. But for the most part, they were needed only to go to the tax authorities, banks, pick up and deliver documents. Now these procedures have been digitized, we hardly see clients, even if we are nearby. Client-bank, operators electronic reporting, scans, cloud programs - we could only dream of this at the beginning of the business.”

Gradually the number of clients increased, the company began to recruit qualified accountants. But hiring ready-made specialists turned out to be a bad idea.

Maya Zinovieva: “There are many ambitions, great demands, but the work leaves much to be desired. I prefer to teach the work of a chief accountant to girls who came to us after colleges or institutes without work experience. They made the best specialists. They still work in our friendly team.”

Management system: methods, techniques, techniques

In the process of financial growth and structuring of the Bi-Consulting company, a special unique system of internal rules and standards was created, which allows us to work without failures and errors, without sick leave and vacations.

In the course of the company’s work, all available means of communication are used - e-mail, instant messengers, telephones - for prompt communication with clients. The company’s goal is to ensure that the client does not feel discomfort because the accountant works remotely.

Bi-Consulting actively implements all technical means available in the modern world: programs and documents in cloud solutions, remote work with banks, automated reporting.

The accounting industry has become a high-tech industry. And, of course, this requires the manager to have skills and knowledge in automation. The still frequently changing legislation forces you to keep your finger on the pulse - you can’t let a month pass without tracking changes in documents at various levels. So the head of an accounting company simply must be an accountant, a tax specialist, a lawyer, a programmer, an IT specialist, and a knowledge worker. And, of course, the choice of special techniques and management methods, the search for your own optimal way of interaction with a team of employees is important.

Maya Zinovieva: “It seems to me that I have one trick - to take into account the abilities and needs of each employee. This creates an atmosphere of trust in the organization and the opportunity for each employee to realize their potential within the company. And, of course, support from colleagues. Work should be pleasant and easy, you need to see the results of your activities, understand what you are doing and how it relates to the work of others. Then efficiency will increase.”

Features of the competitive environment and working with clients

When Bi-Consulting began operating as a company providing accounting outsourcing services, there were practically no competitors in this area. And it was extremely difficult task– work in an environment where there is no supply, and therefore no demand. Now the market has the exact opposite problem - there are too many companies, and not all of them provide high-quality services. And, as a result, a bad reputation is formed for accounting outsourcing in general. Now one of the main tasks of marketing promotion is not to explain what an accounting company is, but to prove that Bi-Consulting’s services are fundamentally different from others.

Outsourcing is a special system of work. Simply hiring an experienced chief accountant and taking documents to the office to enter into the database does not mean providing accounting services. The work of the Bi-Consulting company is to completely replace the entire business process with all the ensuing consequences: responsibility, organization of remote work, solution difficult situations with an individual approach, but also compliance with the law. The main feature of the company is knowledge asset management. Because the most valuable thing is the knowledge of specialists and knowledge gained as a result of extensive experience working with a wide variety of companies.

The specifics of market conditions in the industry dictate the need to modernize and constantly develop. At the same time, the main factor is the formation of the right competencies and the accumulation of business experience.

The industry is developing slowly, the market is currently literally flooded with small companies that are simply not able to provide quality service. Partly due to limited resources, but mainly due to a lack of understanding of how outsourcing should work in principle. Therefore it appears a large number of clients dissatisfied with the services of outsourcers and forced to return to hired accountants who have already become obsolete. And if large companies can still afford to find a decent specialist, then for small and medium-sized businesses outsourcing is the only civilized solution to organizing accounting.

But the problems of developing an accounting company do not end there. Along with industry difficulties and high competition, one of the main development priorities is attracting new clients. This is the problem of the complexity of switching to outsourcing.

The client can evaluate the quality of accounting services only over time, because the product is designed for the long term. In addition, the transition to service in the company seems potential client a complex procedure, although Bi-Consulting reduced it to a few hours.

Another nuance of working with an outsourcing company is that it is quite difficult for clients to control the quality of the services received during the process of their provision. You can only focus on the final result.

Maya Zinovieva: “How do you know that the service is of poor quality? The company may find out about this after six months or a year. And even then if they find a fine or block the account. You can control the work of an accountant only if you understand it yourself. But if you understand, then why do you need an outsourcer? So it turns out that you just have to trust the words of the head of the outsourcing company.”

Achievements, results, development plans

The main achievement of the company is the creation of its own effective work organization system. In 2005, Bi-Consulting employed 25 people. These included accountants, couriers, and IT specialists. They served about 40 companies. Currently there are 9 people on staff, including management, and there are 140 companies in service. “Bi-Consulting” works without rush jobs and “night gatherings”, in a calm and regular manner.

However, the company does not plan to stop there. The plans include further expansion of the geography of activity. Now the geography of the project is not limited to Moscow and Tula, where the company’s offices are located. Bi-Consulting works with companies in different regions - clients include Kaliningrad, Izhevsk, and many others.

Efficient and convenient distant work allows the company to work efficiently at any distance - all work is carried out via the Internet. Geographic expansion is hampered, rather, by a psychological barrier among businessmen themselves. They think that an accounting company should be within walking distance; some are afraid of long distances.

The crisis slightly slowed down the company's economic progress. Some of the clients reduced their activities, others were completely liquidated. But “the bottom line” (the arrival of new clients minus the dumps) every year “Bi-Consulting” acquires new clients and increases its turnover.

Maya Zinovieva: “In fact, I think that our development is possible not only through regional expansion. Even in Moscow, not all companies work with outsourcers, much less receive such services High Quality, like ours. As for the non-Russian market, this is probably not for us yet. Firstly, we specialize in Russian legislation. So we are more likely to see foreign companies operating in Russia among our clients than to enter the markets of other countries. Secondly, no matter how pretentious it may sound, our mission is to organize civilized accounting for Russian companies. I want business in Russia to become a world-class business.”

Bi-Consulting company in facts and figures

Year of foundation

Start-up capital

50 thousand rubles.

Payback period

6 months.

Turnover today

12 million rub.

Profitability

Number of regular customers

140 companies.

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