The Struggle To Keep Up With Rising Demands
The accounting industry is rapidly changing due to the advent of new technologies and the increased demand for services. Accounting firms are finding it challenging to keep up with the demand for their services, particularly during peak seasons. This was the challenge faced by XYZ Accounting, a mid-sized accounting firm based in Melbourne.
The Challenge
XYZ Accounting had been experiencing rapid growth in recent years, and the firm was struggling to keep up with the demand for its services. During peak seasons, the firm’s staff was frequently overwhelmed with work, resulting in long hours and a high staff turnover rate. To create a sustainable business model, the firm’s leadership recognised they needed to find a way to address these issues in scalability, keep up with demand for their services and maintain a healthy work-life balance for its employees.
The Solution
After conducting a thorough analysis of their operations, the leadership team at XYZ Accounting decided to explore outsourcing as a solution to their scalability and employee work-life issues. They chose Brisca because of their industry and business experience, onshore support from qualified Accountants, New Zealand accounting trained offshore staff, and their track record of delivering high-quality services.
Brisca included an entire team of experienced accountants who were both onshore and offshore and trained in all accounting software from Xero, MYOB, Quickbooks, NetSuite and many more. They had a thorough understanding of the New Zealand tax framework and could provide a range of services, including bookkeeping, tax preparation and management reporting. Onboarding of the XYZ accounting firm was overseen by an onboarding consultant, who was a New Zealand based Registered Tax Agent and it was deemed seamless.
The Brisca team worked remotely and they were available on-demand to handle tasks during peak seasons or when the firm’s staff was overwhelmed. Brisca’s team worked closely with the firm’s staff to ensure that all tasks were completed to the firm’s high standards and met the clients’ expectations.
The Results
Outsourcing to Brisca had several positive outcomes for XYZ Accounting, including:
- Increased Capacity: The Brisca team handled tax preparation and bookkeeping tasks for a select group of clients, as well as making improvements to the workflow and the reporting templates. This enabled the firm to take on 20% more clients without overburdening its in-house staff.
- Cost Savings: The outsourcing solution was cost-effective for XYZ Accounting. Brisca worked with XYZ on a fixed fee resource personnel, which was agreed upon before the partnership was established. The resource personnels were engaged based on the volume of work and the complexity of the tasks. The firm estimated that it saved over 60% in staff costs by partnering with Brisca.
- Improved Client Satisfaction: The outsourcing solution led to improved client satisfaction. Brisca delivered high-quality work and met tight deadlines, which pleased the firm’s clients. The firm’s client satisfaction survey scores increased by 10% following the implementation of the outsourcing solution.
- Retained and Attracted Clients: As a result of the improved service, XYZ Accounting was able to retain its existing clients and attract new ones. The firm estimated that it retained 95% of its existing clients and attracted 15% more new clients in the first year of the partnership.
- Job Satisfaction: The outsourcing solution also had a positive impact on the job satisfaction of XYZ Accounting’s staff. The firm’s staff reported an increase in job satisfaction of 45% after the outsourcing solution was implemented.
Conclusion
In conclusion, XYZ Accounting benefited greatly from the outsourcing solution, which allowed it to deal with its scalability issues, expand its capacity and maintain a balanced work-life for its employees. The positive outcomes, including increased capacity, cost savings, improved client satisfaction and job satisfaction, made it a viable long-term solution for the firm.
As the accounting industry continues to evolve, outsourcing will continue to become an essential tool for firms looking to stay competitive and meet the demand.
Significant Talent Shortage
What was the challenge?
ABC, a mid-sized accounting firm located in Auckland, had experienced rapid growth in the past few years, which led to an increased demand for its services. However, the firm faced a significant talent shortage, making it difficult to find enough qualified staff to meet the demand. With a diverse client base including small businesses, nonprofits and individuals, the firm provided a wide range of services, including tax preparation, bookkeeping and financial planning to name a few.
What was the solution?
The firm’s leadership decided to explore outsourcing as a solution to tackle the talent shortage. After some research, they identified Brisca as a reputable outsourcing provider that specialised in accounting services. Brisca had a team of experienced and New Zealand-qualified accountants who could provide a range of services, including tax preparation, bookkeeping and financial planning. More importantly Brisca has separate institution (Brisca Education) to train offshore staff on New Zealand Accounting and Taxation.
How does it work?
The implementation of the outsourcing solution was straightforward. Brisca’s team was integrated seamlessly into the firm’s operations and became responsible for handling tax preparation and bookkeeping tasks for a select group of clients.
The firm’s staff was responsible for managing the client relationship, reviewing the provider’s work and communicating with clients. As part of the process, Brisca sourced and trained all support staff, so firm staff only needed to provide instructions and delegate tasks to Brisca’s team members to ensure they understood the firm’s processes.
Brisca’s team worked on a fixed fee basis, which was agreed upon before the partnership was established. The fee structure was based on skills required from the offshore team, the volume of work and the complexity of the tasks. The fee was competitive (cost savings of nearly 60%) and allowed the firm to expand its capacity without incurring any additional overhead costs.
What were the results?
The outsourcing solution was successful for the accounting firm, and had several benefits:
- Increased productivity: Brisca team was able to handle a significant portion of the firm’s workload, which allowed the firm’s staff to focus on more complex tasks and strategic projects. As a result, the firm’s productivity increased by 25%, and the staff was able to complete tasks on time and more efficiently.
- Cost savings: Brisca’’s fixed fee structure was competitive and allowed the firm to expand its capacity without incurring significant overhead costs. The firm was able to save $200,000 annually by partnering with Brisca instead of hiring additional staff.
- Improved quality of service: Brisca’s team had a proven track record of delivering high-quality work and meeting tight deadlines. The firm’s clients were pleased with the quality of the work and the responsiveness of the provider’s team. This resulted in increased client satisfaction, retention and referral rates.
- Scalability: The outsourcing solution allowed the firm to scale its operations quickly and efficiently. As the firm continued to grow, Brisca was able to take on additional tasks, which helped the firm to expand its capacity without sacrificing the quality of its services.
- Business growth: By outsourcing a portion of its workload, the firm was able to focus on expanding its client base and increasing revenue. The firm was able to acquire 25% more clients in the first year of the partnership, resulting in an additional $620,000 in revenue.
- Employee retention: As a result of the outsourcing solution, ABC firm increased its retention rate by eliminating repetitive tasks. A study conducted by the firm found that employee satisfaction increased by 56% and work life balance increased by 61%.
Overall, the outsourcing solution was a smart and effective way for ABC firm to address its scalability issues. By partnering with Brisca the firm was able to expand its capacity, increase productivity, save costs, improve the quality of its services, scale its operations quickly, improve employee retention and thereby grow its business.
The accounting firm was pleased with the outsourcing solution and decided to expand the partnership with the provider. Brisca’s team took on additional tasks, and the partnership continued to grow. ABC firm now has 6 Brisca staff members on board their team.
Conclusion
The accounting firm originally used outsourcing as a solution to tackle the issues in scalability however, the partnership led to much more. The firm’s leadership identified a reputable outsourcing provider that specialised in accounting services and partnered with them to handle a portion of its workload. The implementation of the outsourcing solution was straightforward, and Brisca team was integrated seamlessly into the firm’s operations.
The outsourcing solution proved to be a success for the accounting firm, enabling it to expand its capacity, meet the demand for its services, and increase client satisfaction.
Let's Talk
Are you ready to grow and diversify your team at a fraction of the cost?