Scalable Accounting for Your Mid-Market Business
Table of Contents
- How to Manage Your Finances as You Scale
- The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Accounting Needs
- Hiring the Right People
- Putting the Right Processes in Place
- Evaluating Your Technology
- Optimizing Your Reporting Structure
How to Manage Your Accounting as You Scale
Your business is booming. Sales and demand are increasing, and you may be asking yourself, “How can my company keep up?” To meet growth demands, you must transition your back-office operations away from outdated methods and align with best-in-class practices that successful mid-market businesses use.
As your sales and revenue increase, the complexity of your business grows. To scale effectively, areas such as inventory management, staffing, and technology must be enhanced to match your expansion. But before you determine how to scale and add additional resources, ask yourself, “Do I have the right people in place?”
For mid-market companies experiencing rapid growth, current accounting processes, systems, and teams often struggle to keep pace due to insufficient expertise or outdated infrastructure. While simple accounting tasks may be manageable, scaling your operations requires expert support to elevate your financial capabilities and provide accurate, strategic reporting.
Options for Managing Your Accounting and Financial Reporting
As your company expands, you have a few options for managing your accounting needs:
- Continue with Your Current Process
The problem with this approach is that “what got you here will not get you there.” - Rely on Your Tax CPA
Your tax CPA might offer solid advice for tax-related matters, but scaling a business requires specialized expertise beyond tax services. - Outsource to a Bookkeeping Firm
Bookkeeping firms are well-suited for smaller businesses but rarely have the capacity or expertise to support complex mid-market operations. - Outsource Your Accounting and Finance Needs
By outsourcing, you gain access to a team of specialists who go beyond basic accounting to help you meet your growth targets. - Hire an In-House Team
Growing companies often face two pitfalls here: hiring junior employees and expecting senior-level results, or hiring senior employees who end up doing entry-level work. Both result in frustrated staff and subpar performance.
Focus on Your Core Business
As an executive, your focus should be on strategic operations and growth opportunities. Let a team of financial experts manage and optimize your accounting functions and reporting so you can concentrate on steering your company forward.
The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Accounting Needs
Top-tier outsourcing firms don’t just perform tasks; they create processes that enhance your business’s operations and align with your strategic goals. Outsourcing typically involves partnering with experts who:
- Create an effective and efficient plan tailored to your business.
- Assess your current team’s capabilities and fill any skill gaps.
- Review your existing financial information and reporting structures.
- Perform data clean-up and optimization when necessary.
- Validate current processes and technology, suggesting new efficiencies.
- Develop robust financial reports and metrics aligned with your goals.
The Four Essential Components: People, Process, Technology, and Reporting
Your accounting strategy should be seen as a four-piece puzzle. Each piece—people, process, technology, and reporting—must be correctly aligned for scalable growth. Outsourcing allows you to connect these pieces seamlessly, providing scalable, expert solutions that reduce risk and enhance your business understanding.
Hiring the Right People
Bringing in external expertise ensures your company stays updated on the latest processes, technologies, and strategic approaches. Leveraging specialists provides a comprehensive view of your financial strategy and aligns it with your business objectives.
In today’s competitive landscape, business complexity is increasing, and the most successful mid-market firms are those that recognize potential gaps early and bring in expert support. Outsourcing components of your finance operations can transform a potential disadvantage into a strong advantage, equipping your company with the tools to scale efficiently.
A Full-Service Outsourced Team
Outsourcing provides access to a comprehensive team, including:
- Accountants
- Controllers
- VPs of Finance
- CFOs
This team integrates with your existing accounting staff, managing day-to-day functions while offering advisory support for strategic activities. The collective expertise and networks of an outsourcing firm often provide insights that in-house teams alone cannot match.
Putting the Right Processes in Place
Staffing firms may provide workers, but the best outsourcing firms begin by understanding your current operations and then enhance them for better efficiency. Key processes evaluated may include:
- Expense management
- P&L statements
- Accounts receivable and payable
- Cash flow management and reporting
- Month-end close procedures
- Financial metrics and KPIs
- Business analysis
Outsourced professionals offer an unbiased perspective, helping you re-evaluate and refine processes as your company scales. Automating manual tasks and ensuring processes align with your strategic goals reduces risk and increases operational efficiency.
Evaluating Your Technology
Choosing a technology is complex. Having an experienced and unbiased partner to evaluate your technology needs means you’ll get it right the first time. Taking the time to assess and define what technology makes the most sense for your business and your goals means you’ll get the right functionality integration between your accounting technology and you existing systems. Since accounting touches every part of your business, from revenue to payroll to inventory, the right choice will need to be able to work with your existing tech stack to create a more integrated system.
Choosing the right technology strategy aligned with clear and efficient processes will give your company the foundation to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Once you have the right technology, processes and people in place, you’re ready to generate sophisticated reporting.
Optimizing Your Financial Reporting
An outsourced team will first review your current reporting structure and gather feedback on any perceived gaps. This step ensures a comprehensive reporting package is developed, providing data-driven insights that enable faster, strategic decision-making. Comprehensive reporting helps identify challenges and opportunities, accompanied by actionable commentary.
Key Reports Include:
- P&L statements
- Balance sheets
- Cash flow statements
- Monthly management reports
- AR/AP aging reports
- KPIs tailored to your industry
- Board meeting support
Beyond Accounting: Strategic Advisory Services
Outsourcing can extend beyond accounting functions to offer strategic services, such as:
- Preparing for a Capital raise
- Succession planning and M&A readiness
- Risk management, fraud prevention, and scenario planning
- Strategic development and industry pivots
- Pricing and profitability analysis
These advisory services empower you to make informed, forward-thinking decisions while your competitors rely solely on in-house teams for retrospective analysis.
Conclusion
With the right outsourced accounting partner, your mid-market company gains deeper insights into its financial health and a strategic partner for growth. To move forward with confidence, consider outsourcing your finance and accounting functions to access the expertise that supports sustainable, scalable growth.
