In today’s fast-moving business world, it’s more important than ever for organizations to have a firm grasp of their financial position. Knowing your numbers is central to making the right business decisions: whether that’s deciding where to invest for growth, figuring out recruiting plans, or triaging performance issues.
Many businesses, however, lack that level of understanding. Accounting and bookkeeping is an area that many businesses underinvest in, often operating with a bare-bones set up. This might be enough for your business to squeak by at tax season, but if you have more ambitious goals, it’s unlikely a basic approach to accounting will help you accomplish them.
Reliable accounting provides business leaders with precise financial information in real time, helping busy executives make decisions with higher levels of confidence. That puts your business in a better place for all manner of activities: whether that’s raising external capital, expanding into new markets, or preparing for a sale.
Building those types of accounting capabilities internally can be a challenge. Recruiting, resourcing, and staffing a fully-fledged accounting and finance department is an investment that’s beyond the reach of many businesses.
The answer lies in working with an outsourced accounting firm. For Kentucky-based businesses, there are many benefits in finding a local partner who understands your business and the wider environment in Kentucky.
At LBMC, our Louisville, Kentucky accounting firm is proud to provide outsourced accounting services to many of Kentucky’s top businesses. Read on to learn more about outsourced accounting in Kentucky and discover the benefits that partnering with a KY-based outsourced accounting firm can deliver for your business.
What is an Outsourced Accounting Firm?
An outsourced accounting firm is a third-party service provider that businesses can delegate their finance and accounting tasks to. These services are typically provided by CPA firms and often include a wide range of services that can include:
- Bookkeeping: outsourced bookkeepers maintain business ledgers, reconcile bank accounts, prepare invoices, monitor accounts payable, and more.
- Controller Services: outsourced controllers manage the day-to-day financial operations of businesses, handling tasks like month-end financial statements, updating forecasts, and running payroll.
- Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Services: these advanced-level service providers assist with strategic tasks including raising capital, advising on M&A activities, and designing financial infrastructure.
It’s important to note that these services may also be called Client Accounting Services (CAS).
Many outsourced accounting firms, including LBMC, offer clients their choice of any or all of these services. Many outsourced accounting relationships start with a relatively small scope and expand over time as the business grows. Relationships typically span multiple years, with an outsourced accountant entrusted to handle all accounting tasks on an ongoing basis.
As you evaluate outsourced accounting firms, prioritize those that allow you to create a customized engagement based on the needs of your business.
It’s also worthwhile to consider the benefits of partnering with a CPA firm that’s already established in Kentucky. Having a service provider you know and trust that can also work on other financial tasks, such as tax preparation or wealth management, can make your life significantly easier.
Benefits of Working with a Kentucky-Based Outsourced Accountant
Outsourcing your business’s accounting needs to a third-party with proven accounting expertise is almost always a good move. Ordinarily, these relationships are digital-first. Your outsourced accounting firm could be based anywhere. However, that can sometimes cause issues: an outsourced team might be in a different timezone to yours or lack expertise in Kentucky tax regulations.
By partnering with a Kentucky-based outsourced accountant, you can overcome all of those challenges and experience a wide variety of benefits. These include:
- Close Working Relationship
- Access to Local Networks
- Knowledge of KY-Specific Tax Regulations
Let’s look at each of these benefits in a little more detail.
Building a Close Working Relationship
As we already mentioned, many outsourced accounting relationships are entirely remote. And with the right technology and approach, there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re the type of business leader that likes to shake someone’s hand and look them in the eye, those types of relationships might not be the best fit.
By partnering with a firm like LBMC that’s based in Kentucky, you can form those relationships. We welcome clients into our office all of the time and are always excited to show new partners around. That way, you know where we are when you need us and get to form closer working relationships that can often be extremely productive.
Access to Local Networks
Accountants are far from the only professionals you need to run a business: other members of your advisory team include attorneys, bankers, and more. It’s unlikely that a remote outsourced accounting firm is going to be able to help make those introductions, but a business firmly rooted in the Kentucky business community can.
At LBMC, we’re proud to be an active member of our local business community. Since our inception back in 1984, we’ve served thousands of businesses across Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and beyond.
Knowledge of KY Specific Tax Regulations
As an accounting and tax advisory firm based in Kentucky, the team at LBMC brings an in-depth knowledge of the best way to navigate Kentucky tax regulations. From Kentucky SALT changes in 2023 to new state tax credits, it’s our team’s responsibility to stay on top of changes to tax laws that affect your business.
That’s one less thing for you to worry about, and something that many out-of-state firms simply cannot provide in the same level of detail as a local firm.
LBMC: Outsourced Accountant in Kentucky
If you’re ready to explore hiring an outsourced accountant in Kentucky, the team at LBMC is here to help.
Our Kentucky-based accounting firm has decades of experience serving the accounting needs of local businesses. Today, our focus is on helping the next generation of Kentucky businesses grow and prosper with the support of our first-class outsourced accounting services.
Interested in learning more about outsourcing your accounting needs to one of Kentucky’s leading accounting firms? Contact an advisor today – we can’t wait to meet you.