Contracted Accounting Services: Tailormade bookkeeping options.

AuthorBarbour, Tracy
PositionPROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Contracted accounting is a viable-and oftentimes indispensable--option for organizations that lack the appropriate expertise in-house to meet ongoing or specialized accounting needs. Contract accounting services are wide and varied, and fortunately providers are willing and able to tailor their services to meet clients' individual requirements.

Becoming Accountable

BDO USA's Anchorage office, for instance, provides a wide array of accounting, auditing, and tax services. The firm's bookkeeping department offers full-service accounting and assists many clients with payroll tax returns, including end of year W-2s and 1099s. "We do full general ledger accounting to help clients produce a more accurate financial representation of their business," says Senior Tax Associate Brittney Flowers, CPA. "Our auditing department offers compilations, reviews, and audits for more assurance related to financial statements. Our tax department prepares a wide variety of tax returns including for profit, not-for-profit, individual, foreign, estate, and gift tax returns."

At Altman, Rogers & Co., clients are offered "cradle to grave" services from the initial account set up through the final tax return filing and all of the services in between. The firm offers services on an a la carte basis, allowing clients to specify what they need. From that, the firm can determine if there are any gaps in what clients are requesting to ensure all aspects of their accounting needs are addressed. "Some clients only utilize us for payroll, while other clients use us for their day-to-day accounting, financial statement preparation, and tax return processing," says Firm Administrator Heather Savery, who manages contract accounting services for the company.

Smaller companies tend to engage contract accountants more often than larger organizations. These are the entities that are not so small that the business owner wants to do the accounting to keep costs down but are not so large as to need one or more employees in-house dedicated to the accounting function. "Reasons for contracting can include having a need for some accounting assistance without having enough day-to-day accounting needs to warrant hiring an employee to perform those functions; the desire to have an expert handle the accounting; or it's a matter of not having the time or resources to oversee that function, thus allowing an outside firm or individual to have that responsibility instead," Savery says.

Companies employ various tactics when it comes to using contracted accounting. Some businesses outsource everything to contract accountants while others adopt a more limited approach. "Some will bring in all their records to their tax preparer at the end of the year and allow that person to piece together the year's financial situation," Savery says. "The benefit to using a CPA firm is that it offers a one-stop shop for...

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