Tag Archives: Outsourcing

Beyond the Basics: Finance and Accounting Outsourcing

There are numerous tasks of a company that are being outsourced today, from a company’s main services offered to the market to a company’s human resources duties. However, there is one that has been around since the birth of the concept of outsourcing as it is one of the internal corporate tasks that need expert attention and this is none other than finance and accounting outsourcing. It would be permissible for the general public to assume that accounting is one of the major solutions being outsourced today.

Most people would only think about accounts receivable, accounts payable and general accounting upon hearing the words finance and accounting outsourcing but it seems that there is another degree to it that is on the rise, which is financial planning & analysis. This particular branch has been present for the past few years but it is outsourced less frequently as it has not yet penetrated the market compared to the more popular ones.

A recent study by Everest Research Institute suggests that financial planning & analysis has a significant movement in terms of finance and accounting outsourcing contracts. The market research firm reported that between the years 2005 to 2009, the sealed contract renewals included a financial planning & analysis scope. In addition to this, it was also mentioned that the key players in the contract signing are from the manufacturing and retail industries.

Global leaders in outsourcing offering this kind of service, such as Genpact (NYSE:G), Wipro (NYSE:WIT), Infosys (NASDAQ:INFY), and Accenture (NYSE:ACN), are now enhancing their Financial Planning & Analysis capabilities since they are seeing that there is still room for improvement and there is a great possibility that this specific degree of outsourcing will see a boom in the coming years. Vengroff, Williams & Associates, a global service provider for order to cash processes, predicts that finance and accounting outsourcing will gain higher value this 2011. Accenture (NYSE:ACN), which is one of the companies mentioned above, has added another set of services to offer the market, to be delivered through their facilities in Cebu, Philippines. These services are focused on non-voice solutions which consist of finance and accounting solutions, among others.

However, as great as the idea of outsourcing financial planning & analysis may sound, it seems that not all countries are capable of extending their services yet, since there is a certain level of expertise needed to perform such tasks. This particular branch of finance and accounting outsourcing requires a higher level of expertise and training, compared to that of the other offerings under the same category. Taking into account the Philippines, the country may be regarded as one of the top destinations for outsourcing, especially for contact center solutions, but still financial planning & analysis outsourcing is still at its infancy in the country.

In the coming months and years, we may expect that the popularity for this degree of finance and accounting outsourcing service will increase and that the countries that promote outsourcing will be fully capable of extending their services to companies around the globe.

Audrey B is a member of Infinit Outsourcing content writing department, one of the leading accounting outsourcing companies in the BPO sector with offices in US, UK, and Asia.

Finance And Accounting Outsourcing Update: New And Old Players, Destinations

Prospects for finance and accounting outsourcing have been high as more businesses seek to focus more on core processes to grow their business. As research firm Everest, predicted early this year, finance and accounting outsourcing, which includes processing of accounts receivable services, accounts receivable follow-up, as well as general accounting and back-up, will grow steadily this year.

In the Everest Research report which came out last February, it was predicted that the Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) market would revert back to pre-recession levels by the end of the year. As Katrina Menzigian, VP of Research for Forrester stated, as the global economy continues its path towards recovery, we expect to see the FAO market regain traction, driven by new deals and scope expansions, as well as more than 45 contracts up for extension this year. We foresee increased adoption across industries and geographies to continue. Beyond the United States, we expect contract signings in the domestic Asia-Pacific market as well as Rest of Europe to rise. The company predicted growth of as much as 20% up from the 11% growth in 2009. A second report from Everest on the 9th of June was also released wherein Saurabh Gupta, Everest Research Director, stated that, the mature FAO market is getting increasingly competitive with players vying to carve out unique value propositions to differentiate themselves.

While the FAO market in 2009 saw massive deals among large players such as Genpact (NYSE:G), Accenture (NYSE:ACN) and IBM (NYSE:IBM), given the increasing demand for FAO in the past few months, new players in the FAO market have emerged or are emerging in order to take advantage of the growth in the market.

One such company is private equity firm, Huntsman Gay Global Capital, who announced on the 30th of September that they have made a majority investment in iQor Holdings Inc. The investment by Huntsman Gay in iQor, the second largest accounts receivable services provider in the world, will allow iQor to increase its share in the accounts receivable (A/R) outsourcing market, while introducing Huntsman Gay into the A/R outsourcing market.

Regional growth meanwhile in the FAO sector has seen expansions, notably in key areas including the Latin Americas and the Philippines.

Latin American countries such as Guatemala, has been pinpointed by outsourcer, Genpact, as a key area where finance and accounting talent can be found. The company announced plans of expanding its workforce in the city of Guatemala by opening a second facility. Aside from that, the company also advised that they are looking into other Latin American countries, Colombia and Brazil, who, along with Guatemala, were previously unknown in the FAO market.

Meanwhile the WNS (NYSE:WNS) reaffirmed its confidence in the Philippines when the company announced expansion plans in the country following increased demands for its services. WNS Global Services CEO Keshav Murugesh, cited that their Philippine site will serve as a hub for its clients in the banking and financial industry for the APAC region. He further states that, considering the quality of talent available in the country and the demand for our services, we believe that 10 percent of WNS workforce could be based in the Philippines over the next few years.

While Everest seems to have predicted the finance and accounting outsourcing (FAO) market accurately so far, it will be interesting to see whether the market will continue to grow as predicted as the year nears its conclusion.

Audrey B is a member of the content writing department of Infinit -O, a finance and accounting outsourcing firm that puts together a boutique approach to provide accounts receivable outsourcing services, accounts payable and general bookkeeping outsourcing services giving small and medium-sized companies a long-term competitive advantage.

Finance and Accounting Outsourcing- A Healthy Practice

In the modern world, as the global economy goes on integrating, the competition of an open market is increasing day by day. In this environment, only such types of companies are able to survive, which have streamlined their operations and focus on their core competencies. In such type of business environment, where size does matter and so does flexibility, being a bulky organization with no scope for change leaves them open to extinction. With the emphasis to reduce costs and increase productivity, outsourcing has emerged as one of the best options to focus on the core competencies while reduces the burden of other departments that don’t directly contribute towards the growth of the company. Hence, outsourcing such kind of activities makes sense and thus finance and accounting outsourcing is a healthy practice which should be followed by small and medium sized businesses.

Finance and accounting outsourcing is an emerging market trend nowadays. Most of the finance and accounting procedures are bulky and are most often repetitive in nature and also voluminous. In order for small and medium scale businesses to concentrate on their core competencies, it becomes imperative for them to choose finance and accounting outsourcing. It enables the top and middle management to focus on innovation and thus leads to better decision making and helps in the overall growth of the company. Finance and accounting outsourcing involves outsourcing of accounts payable, accounts receivable, client billing, general ledger coding and management, travel and expense auditing, bank and other reconciliation,  financial reporting and analysis, management reporting and analysis, vendor management, procurement management and purchase order processing, etc.

All these above mentioned tasks if outsourced to a third party vendor which has specialization in these areas, could help the small and medium business to prosper. It not only helps the middle and top management of the company to focus on more pertinent issues such as innovation and future scoping of business, but it also helps the companies to downsize themselves making them more leaner and thus more flexible and prone to change. This lets them to achieve whatever goals they have set for themselves and finance and accounting outsourcing helps them to focus on their core areas of interests, rather than the mundane task of calculating the travel bill of an employee.

Finance and accounting outsourcing is a trend which is going to rise with the globalization being the norm in the present times. Since competition is increasing with the opening up of the markets, it becomes necessary for the companies to brace for such competition and where being cost effective matters a lot. Thus, being a lean natured and flexible company helps and finance and accounting outsourcing helps the companies to achieve this. Finance and accounting functions, if left to professionals, can help the company to get better results and on top of it cost savings are also incurred since whole department of finance and accounting is outsourced. Thus, finance and accounting outsourcing helps the companies to keep track of their size and flexibility, making them more cost effective in the competitive market and thus helping them survive the cut throat competition. Finance and accounting outsourcing is thus a healthy practice which would lead to better innovation and a win-win situation for all.
 

Accelcia business process outsourcing provides finance and accounting outsourcing,financial accounting services,human resource business process outsourcing,human resource outsourcing,recruitment process outsourcing
 

Finance and Accounting Outsourcing India

In today’s economic pressures and competitive demands companies are required to more aggressively evaluate options to reduce costs and increase value from their back office functions. To stay competitive and specially during the economic recession business executives have to aggressively pursue cost savings and productivity enhancement options and stay ahead. The pressure of the current market forces and the price wars have seen many companies to reduce cost by outsourcing its non-core activities to low wage service providers. A cost cut of any manner can change the company’s position in the market. Companies with low cost leadership are able to gain the potential market share. Business process outsourcing as a strategic tool has been accepted as one of the most effective means to achieve these twin goals.  Most companies now consider finance and accounting outsourcing as an important part of their outsourcing strategy.

Accounting Outsourcing and other back office activities allows firms to focus on the activities they do best and improve their overall performance and, transferring the responsibilities of accounting activities to specialized vendors can help reduce the cost and improve the performance of such activities. Accounting Outsourcing is generally considered as a very powerful tool to cut costs and improve performance. The principal idea behind accounting outsourcing is to obtain services of specialist who will perform the function better at a lower cost.

Accounting Outsourcing and India

A large number of companies are outsourcing their accounting functions to India. Fortune 500 companies such as: GE, Bank of America and American Express for example have formed partnerships with Indian firms. A recent survey found that almost two out of five Fortune 500 companies currently outsource some of their back office requirements to India. The reason for this according to most research is that it saves time, money, and better work ethics; thus, India is ahead of competitors such as China. There are many reasons for India getting the Lion share of outsourcing. Cost is the chief reason for sending business to India. But the country’s abundant manpower has made India a target destination for companies to back end their operations in India.

Other reasons for companies outsourcing to India are:

– Labor Pool – graduating 75,000 English speaking accounting professionals annually

– Cost advantage – US – $ 2500 a month versus India – $ 800-$ 1000

– Time difference – 10 hour time difference allows 24-hour service

– Thus because of its labor pool, lower cost, friendly government policies, infrastructure investment, and expertise, India is on a fast track to become a developed country.

Conclusion

Hence, hiring outsourced accounting firm is a good idea, as it not only provides effective work but also decreases the burden on the person dealing with the accounts and can focus on high end activities like consulting and tax advisory services. In fact, many small and large companies have visualized the importance and need of outsourcing accounting as it cuts down the money and time, both simultaneously. Outsourcing accounting has become a vital part of various companies for profitable reasons. With the help of outsourced accounting, business owner will be able to get a clearer picture of his business in the terms of profits and losses. Moreover, he will be able to have details on the position of business in the market.

http://www.outsourcinghubindia.com/

Ravi Shankar Singh, is a Associate: Corporate Communications & Internet Marketing in Magnon Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Delhi.

Finance and Accounting Outsourcing India

Finance and Accounting Outsourcing India

In today’s economic pressures and competitive demands companies are required to more aggressively evaluate options to reduce costs and increase value from their back office functions. To stay competitive and specially during the economic recession business executives have to aggressively pursue cost savings and productivity enhancement options and stay ahead. The pressure of the current market forces and the price wars have seen many companies to reduce cost by outsourcing its non-core activities to low wage service providers. A cost cut of any manner can change the company’s position in the market. Companies with low cost leadership are able to gain the potential market share. Business process outsourcing as a strategic tool has been accepted as one of the most effective means to achieve these twin goals.  Most companies now consider finance and accounting outsourcing as an important part of their outsourcing strategy.

Accounting Outsourcing and other back office activities allows firms to focus on the activities they do best and improve their overall performance and, transferring the responsibilities of accounting activities to specialized vendors can help reduce the cost and improve the performance of such activities. Accounting Outsourcing is generally considered as a very powerful tool to cut costs and improve performance. The principal idea behind accounting outsourcing is to obtain services of specialist who will perform the function better at a lower cost.

Accounting Outsourcing and India

A large number of companies are outsourcing their accounting functions to India. Fortune 500 companies such as: GE, Bank of America and American Express for example have formed partnerships with Indian firms. A recent survey found that almost two out of five Fortune 500 companies currently outsource some of their back office requirements to India. The reason for this according to most research is that it saves time, money, and better work ethics; thus, India is ahead of competitors such as China. There are many reasons for India getting the Lion share of outsourcing. Cost is the chief reason for sending business to India. But the country’s abundant manpower has made India a target destination for companies to back end their operations in India.

Other reasons for companies outsourcing to India are:

– Labor Pool – graduating 75,000 English speaking accounting professionals annually

– Cost advantage – US – $ 2500 a month versus India – $ 800-$ 1000

– Time difference – 10 hour time difference allows 24-hour service

– Thus because of its labor pool, lower cost, friendly government policies, infrastructure investment, and expertise, India is on a fast track to become a developed country.

Conclusion

Hence, hiring outsourced accounting firm is a good idea, as it not only provides effective work but also decreases the burden on the person dealing with the accounts and can focus on high end activities like consulting and tax advisory services. In fact, many small and large companies have visualized the importance and need of outsourcing accounting as it cuts down the money and time, both simultaneously. Outsourcing accounting has become a vital part of various companies for profitable reasons. With the help of outsourced accounting, business owner will be able to get a clearer picture of his business in the terms of profits and losses. Moreover, he will be able to have details on the position of business in the market.

http://www.outsourcinghubindia.com/

Ravi Shankar Singh, is a Associate: Corporate Communications & Internet Marketing in Magnon Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Delhi.

Channelize a Company Finance Function by Finance Accounting Outsourcing

Finance accounting is the field of accountancy which deals the preparation of financial records which forms the base for decision makers for taking strategic decisions.Financial records consist of profit and loss account which shows the profit earned by the company in the financial year and the balance sheet which shows the net value of the assets, capital and liabilities of the company or the organization. Finance Accounting principally assists to prepare financial statements which are to be put forth in front of the people outside a particular organization who are not concerned with the day-to-day activities of the company. The basic need of the finance accounting arises in order to strengthen the relationship between the owners of the business and human resources recruited in it.It also helps in monitoring the performance of the employees of the company and reporting the results to the top authorities. The diverse services made available by accounting outsourcing service providers are intended to cater to the accounting, bookkeeping, taxation consultancy, management accounts, and property accounts and counseling needs of enterprises. They can execute your monthly, quarterly and yearly finance accounting jobs. This allows a company to give attention to on its core operations.

Cost lessening anxieties, growing authoritarian conformity and burden of a closer alignment to the business are motivating the call for engaging finance accounting outsourcing services.Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of businesses are suggesting financial accounting outsourcing as a solution to change the status of their businesses.

In a viable worldwide atmosphere, the finance accounting job is the most vital job to be carried by any firm. It promises efficient operations abiding to the laws and regulations, controls, matching expenditure incurred with growth, sinking the cash cycle and maximizing return on investment. That’s why; companies are employing accounts outsourcing solutions. The diverse services made available by accounting outsourcing service providers are intended to cater to the accounting, bookkeeping, taxation consultancy, management accounts, and property accounts and counseling needs of enterprises. They can execute your monthly, quarterly and yearly finance accounting jobs. This allows a company to give attention to on its core operations.

The responsibilities of financial accounting department are being commonly outsourced to obtain the advantages of reducing both revenue expenses plus capital expenses. The business also gets favorable results in the form of greater efficiency levels. Nowadays, finance accounting outsourcing is truly acknowledged as a valuable managerial means. Companies are currently integrating accounts outsourcing as a strategy so as to give complete accounting information to various decision makers.

Author of this article is a Strategic Solutions Specialist in the organization which is a one of the well-known provider of finance accounting outsourcing services to small and medium enterprises.