Outsourced Accounting

The cost comparison heavily favors outsourced accounting for most small to mid-sized companies.

BPM provides this breakdown:

Full-time controller costs:

• Base salary: $100,000-$150,000 depending on location and experience
• Benefits and payroll taxes: $30,000-$50,000 (30-35% of salary)
• Overhead (space, equipment, software): $5,000-$10,000
• Recruiting costs (if you hire a search firm): $20,000-$40,000
• Total annual cost: $155,000-$250,000
• Plus: Training time, turnover risk, single point of failure, vacation coverage, sick days

What’s included in outsourced accounting:

• Accounts payable and receivable management
• Bank and credit card reconciliations
• Monthly financial close
• Financial statement preparation
• Cash flow management and forecasting
• Board and investor reporting packages
• Budgeting support
• Accounting system management
• Controller-level oversight

When outsourced makes sense:

• Rapid growth requiring scalability
• Want to focus on core business
• Need senior-level expertise without full-time cost
• Preparing for audit, fundraising, or sale

BPM’s unique advantage: As your CPA firm, we can also provide audit, tax, and technical accounting services, creating efficiency across your entire finance function. Many clients find this integrated approach more valuable than separate vendors for each function.

Outsourced accounting typically handles your day-to-day accounting operations and financial reporting. Here’s what’s usually included:

Core Accounting (the essentials):

• Accounts payable and receivable
• Bank reconciliations
• Monthly financial close
• Financial statements (balance sheet, P&L, cash flow)
• General ledger management

Financial Reporting:

• Monthly financial packages
• Board and investor reporting
• KPI tracking and dashboards
• Budget vs. actual analysis

Controller-Level Work:

• Technical accounting guidance
• Audit preparation
• Internal controls
• Process improvement
• System administration (QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage Intacct)

Planning Support:

• Budgeting assistance
• Forecasting
• Financial modeling

What’s typically separate:

• Payroll processing
• Tax return preparation
• CFO-level strategy work

BPM’s advantage: As a full-service CPA firm serving clients nationwide, we integrate your outsourced accounting with audit, tax, and technology services—so you’re not coordinating multiple providers.

This is one of the most common questions growing companies face. The right answer depends on your specific situation.

BPM provides this decision framework:

Consider hiring full-time controller if:

• Need daily on-site accounting presence for operations
• Already have 3+ accounting staff needing supervision
• Complex industry-specific accounting requiring dedicated expertise
• Strong preference for in-house team culture
• Achieved operational maturity with consistent processes

Consider outsourcing accounting if:

• Experiencing rapid growth requiring scalability
• Want flexibility to scale up/down with business
• Need senior-level expertise without full-time cost
• Preparing for audit, fundraising, or exit
• Can’t afford or don’t want recruiting/retention risk
• Want team coverage (no single point of failure)
• Prefer to focus on core business vs. managing accounting team

BPM’s unique advantage: As a CPA firm, we can provide:

• Outsourced accounting services
• Fractional CFO for strategic guidance
• Audit services (understanding what auditors need)
• Tax planning and preparation
• Technical accounting for complex transactions

This integrated approach means you get “controller-plus” capabilities (accounting + technical accounting + audit readiness + tax) from one provider, which is often more valuable than just a single in-house controller.

Many BPM clients maintain outsourced accounting even as they grow because the integrated CPA firm model provides more value than solely in-house options.

If your books are messy or you’re significantly behind, several firms specialize in accounting cleanup and remediation.

BPM regularly rescues companies with accounting problems. Common scenarios they encounter:

• Haven’t closed books in 3-6+ months
• Unreconciled bank and credit card accounts
• Cash basis when should be accrual
• Multiple quarters of transactions to catch up
• Unknown balances on balance sheet
• Missing or incomplete documentation
• Prior bookkeeper left abruptly
• DIY accounting that became overwhelming
• Rapid growth outpaced accounting capabilities
• Multiple disconnected systems creating chaos

BPM’s unique advantage: As a CPA firm, they understand what auditors and investors need to see. They clean up books to audit standards, not just “good enough.”