Scaling Up Your Accounting Microservices

While most CPA firms typically offer tax, bookkeeping, and review services, according to a 2020 Deloitte survey coupled micro-services are disrupting the classic financial vendor ecosystem. As evolving technology and automation become necessary industry adapters, outsourcing financial management services is more and more common. Accountants are being called on for advisory services such as account analysis and cash flow reporting in order to help clients make informed financial decisions and position their business to succeed down the road. So what outsourced roles are accountants taking on that add value to your clients’ assets?

We’ve compiled a list of popular accounting micro-services that your firm should consider offering in order to build your existing client relationships and produce additional income.

CFO Advisory Services

It’s tough to hire a CFO who can put the financial pieces together without sifting through years of data and documentation. It takes months of onboarding and expenses to train an external hire. Since you have a hand in your clients' daily financial statements, it only makes sense that as your clients’ trusted financial advisor you offer outsourced chief financial officer services. Although this service could take up a major portion of your time, it would also offer the biggest bang for your buck. Not every client will be a good fit for this service, so do your due diligence before committing to such an undertaking. 

Weekly Payroll Services

Payroll services are a great way to enhance your year-round income. It’s a common area to grow into if your firm has the necessary in-house technology and knowledge. The service has to fit into your business model, of course, as you will need to provide the software to handle this service for your select clients that fit your payroll mold. 

Outsourcing payroll services is a huge time saver for your clients. They can pass along the complex calculations and pay-related functions to you, taking the stressor of deductions, rates and leaves off their plate and putting it in your firm’s capable hands. Managing your clients’ payroll also alleviates their pain of maintaining government compliance, which is an added marketing benefit if you can add this micro-service to your offerings. 

Consistent Financial Reporting

If your staff has the capacity to support client financial reporting, you could be bringing in extra income on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Help your clients reduce manual entry liability by improving their financial reporting accuracy. Of course, this service also requires the proper technology infrastructure to be able to pull data and sort through analytics while determining your client’s financial health. Security also comes into play here. You can market this service to your clients as an additional measure of data security best left in your expert hands as a way to minimize vulnerabilities or internal fraud.

Guided Audit Support

Audit is a dirty word in the industry, as we all know. This process can be complicated for business owners to navigate on their own, and that’s where you come in. Providing audit support as a micro-service is an intrinsic offering with immense value added. Your ability to mitigate risk associated with regulatory processes and audit methodology is another beneficial financial advisory role to your client base. 

Nowadays, a successful client accounting partner plays the role of a business financial advisor. And clients are looking for a broader range of customizable services that they need to grow their business. The client cost and time savings associated with outsourcing accounting micro-services versus hiring someone internally are huge. And with automation and technology allowing accountants to access so many different platforms these days and simultaneously eliminating manual data entry, you can market your skillset year round and increase your firm’s competitiveness along the way.  

For more information on expanding your accounting services, read up on how to choose the pricing strategy that works for your firm.