Many small business owners often juggle between financial and business operations as the need for accounting related to payments, invoicing, payroll and other financial activities is pretty basic in the early stages. But the volume and complexity of these financial transaction and accounting processes only increase over time. As the financial activities and accounting needs shoot-up, businesses need expert accounting services to perfectly cater to these financial needs and help run their operations smoothly.
Does that mean every business needs a full-service accounting department? At some point, yes. But most small and medium businesses with budget constraints can perfectly meet their accounting needs with a dedicated or even remote team of bookkeepers and accountants.
Roles and Responsibilities of Full-service Accounting Department:
Laying a strong foundation for accounting functions is essential for the smooth functioning of a business. So every entrepreneur must be aware of the roles and responsibilities of an accounting department to have complete awareness and choose the right accounting services to meet their accounting requirements.
In this brief guide, we go through the basic roles and responsibilities of general full-service accounting departments to help you zero-in on the accounting services your business needs. If you are limited by your budget, we also help you find the most affordable way to enjoy expert accounting services for your businesses, in the end. So here’s are various positions that make a full-service accounting department and their common roles and responsibilities:
Bookkeeper: Accurate, efficient and organized financial record lay the foundation for the smooth functioning of any business. Be it for, budgeting, furnishing data for an external audit, tracking profit, loss and cash flow, analysis of financial performance and planning or tax preparation, a business must have accurate financial data at all times and a bookkeeper helps you accomplish it.
A bookkeeper tracks and records all the day-to-day financial – sales, expenses, receipts, payments and all the cash and bank transactions of the business, also handling additional responsibilities like payroll, invoicing, deposits, sales tax financial reports, bank reconciliation and more. Though the role of bookkeeper in a full-scale accounting team is limited to recording and assessing basic accounting data his/her roles and responsibilities may vary based on the size, scale and needs of the business.
Accountant: While the bookkeepers essentially track record and chronicle the financial data, the responsibility of the accountant is to analyse, process, interpret and communicate the data to optimize the financial health of the business. An accountant oversees the bookkeeping functions, ensure the accuracy of the financial statement, computes and prepares tax returns, organized the financial records, and recommended best financial practices to improve revenue, reap tax benefits and reduce costs. In a full-scale accounting department, accountants interpret the financial data, ensures compliance and makes the ground ready for financial strategies.
The roles and responsibilities of the accountant also vary based on the size and scale of the business. While large businesses employees multiple teams for accomplishing accounting functions, small business lump all the accounting needs on a dedicated accountant who may also be entrusted with bookkeeping functions.
Accounting Manager: An Accounting Manager in a full-scale accounting department is to oversee and evaluate the day-to-day operations of the accounting department. Monitoring and analysing the accounting data, producing financial reports, enforcing standard accounting principles methods, policies to meet financial objectives are some of the common roles of an Accounting Manager in a full-service accounting department.
Financial Controller: A controller is a key player in the accounting department who plays a crucial role in accounting, reporting, budgeting, analysis and project management and more, with a focus on improving financial accountability. The controller oversees the financial processes, reports, timelines, reviews the accuracy and integrity of the data and accounting records, procedures and policies of the department.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO): As the head of the financial department, a CFO is responsible for optimizing the financial performance of the business by strategizing planning, implementing, and running all financial activities of the business. He oversees financial planning, financial forecasting budgeting, auditing, cash and risk management short and long term business strategy and provides strategical recommendations for the executive management team.
Back Office Accounting Services for Small & Medium Businesses:
Every business needs all the strategic, operational and technological help provided by full-service accounting department to gain an edge over their competition. However, the majority of small and medium businesses are predominantly limited by the lack of budget and impending financial risks.
But outsourced bookkeeping and accounting services provide a perfect solution for this impediment.
With a team of expert accountants and bookkeepers, remote accounting firms like Back Office Accountants can help small and medium businesses meet all the accounting requirement without having to build a full-scale accounting department from scratch.
In addition to offering dedicated accounting services like Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Bank & Credit Card Reconciliation Services that plug the gaps in your accounting department, we offer full-scale back-office accounting services that provide complete accounting functions to improve profits and reduce costs and optimize the overall financial performance of the business.
Having a fully functional and resourceful back-office helps lay the foundation for strong and stable financial operations for the smooth functioning of the business. And hiring our full-service back-office accounting services is the most affordable and efficient way to accomplish it. You can find all the information about our full-service back-office accounting services here: https://www.backofficeaccountants.com/full-service-accounting-back-office/
