49 Questions to Ask Your Accounting Services Provider

The accuracy and frequency of accounting are vital in tracking the business’s financial position and cash flow. While accounting is critical, it is a time-consuming and complicated task that requires skilled personnel. Expert accountants and state-of-the-art accounting software are required to fulfill the accounting function of the business. Skilled accounting personnel can be found in an accounting firm, either in-house or outsourced. These days, outsourcing is one of the most popular accounting management techniques. Though there are numerous accounting outsourcing firms, you should assess the prospective partner carefully to ensure compatibility. Before making final decisions, a company should ask all the right and necessary questions. Let us see some of the most important questions you should ask your prospective accounting outsourcing partner.

Top Questions to Ask an Outsourcing Accounting Services Provider

Once you have decided to switch from manual or in-house accounting to hiring an outsourcing accounting service provider, it is important to consider all the critical factors to get the best benefits. It would help if you asked questions about the accounting outsourcing service providers’ profile, capability, culture fit, communication, quality control, and their clients. These questions help you understand whether a particular service provider is suitable for you or not. Following are some of the questions that you can ask an outsourcing accounting service provider:

1. What is the size of the service provider firm?
2. How familiar is the service provider with your industry?
3. What is the niche of the service provider, and how much have they grown?
4. What is the experience of the service provider firm?
5. What are the costs charged by the accounting service provider?
6. Does the accounting outsourcing service provider have the required qualifications?
7. What is the delivery and response time of the accounting service provider?
8. Is the accounting outsourcing service provider up-to-date with the latest information?
9. What are the data encryption protocols to protect online assets?
10. What type of services do they provide?
11. What are the components of the service provided by outsourcing services providers?
12. Who will be handling your accounting?
13. Will you have 24*7 access to your accounting records?
14. What are the firm’s references and previous clients?
15. What are some examples of problems they have solved?
16. How do they calculate their pricing and fees?
17. Do they have any licenses and certifications?
18. What are their tax specialties?
19. What information do they need from you throughout the year?
20. Will the accounting outsourcing companies be able to scale as the business’s transactions increase?
21. Can they represent your business in the event of a tax audit?
22. What was the length of the accounting service provider’s longest partnership?
23. How many clients does the accounting outsourcing service provider have currently?
24. Has the accounting outsourcing services provider handled any processes similar to your business?
25. Will you need to make changes to your in-house processes after outsourcing
26. How long does it take to implement the outsourcing system?
27. Does the accounting outsourcing service provider insist on signing a contract?
28. When can you expect to see the monthly reports?
29. Does the service provider use any technology? If yes, what?
30. Are the services offered by the outsourcing service provider customizable or ready-made?
31. Has the outsourcing company ever been publicly recognized for its work?
32. What is the onboarding process like for the new clients?
33. Which platforms can the accounting outsourcing companies be found on (Clutch, Comparably, Glassdoor, etc.).
34. What destination country and city is the service provider based?
35. Will you have to make scheduling changes to accommodate teams in a different time zone?
36. Will your in-house team be able to collaborate with the outsourcing team?
37. What collaboration and communication tools or software does the outsourcing firm uses?
38. Can you or your point of contact communicate directly with the outsourcing team?
39. How often can you communicate with the outsourcing company?
40. Does the accounting outsourcing firm have any quality or process improvement certifications?
41. How does the service provider ensure accuracy and quality?
42. When are KPIs and quality metrics determined?
43. How often are the business KPIs assessed?
44. What happens if the business’s KPIs aren’t met?
45. What are the industry standards followed by the accounting outsourcing company?
46. What happens if the business needs to implement any change in the processes or technology?
47. Will the team working on your accounting be assigned to other clients?
48. Will your business be able to scale up with the assigned team?
49. Does the outsourcing accounting outsourcing services provider offer a test run or pilot program?

When selecting an accounting and bookkeeping services provider for a business, asking the right questions at the right time is crucial. The technology they use, the price they charge, and the team’s experience and expertise are all important in deciding whether a company should outsource its accountancy work. Though all the questions listed above are important to ask when outsourcing to a firm, the answers to some of them are more crucial.

Knowing whether a company can provide accurate financial analysis and reporting is invaluable. Accounting outsourcing companies with appropriate knowledge of accounting standards and principles like GAAP can prepare your financial statements and reports accurately and on time. You must contact the outsourcing firm’s current and previous clients if they share the links or permission for the same. It will help me learn about the client’s experience working for a particular outsourcing services provider.

When searching for an accounting outsourcing firm, it is important to determine your priorities first. Before asking them about the activities, they will perform, establish what the company needs, how much work they will be doing, and how much they will charge for their services. Having a clear goal and requirement list before selecting an accounting outsourcing partner helps you ask the right questions to get the best outsourcing services provider firm.