Are you feeling time-starved while looking at all areas of business, and therefore toying with the idea of hiring a financial controller or outsourcing financial controller services? No, you need not feel guilty about it. In fact, as your business grows, you should delegate, and trying to gather information before doing so is a welcome move.
Also, be assured that you are at the right place, and we will soon offer you a complete overview of everything you need to know about financial controllers. But before that, we want you to understand why it is important to hire specialists or outsource financial controller services.
See, the fact is, managing finance is tough. Not simply because of the voluminous calculations, number crunching, and tedious data processing.
You may or may not be good at number crunching. That doesn’t really matter, as there are several tools to handle that. But the real issue for a business owner like you is time.
There are several things that demand your attention as a business owner. Now, if you dedicate all your time to activities like operations and financial number crunching, you won’t have time to focus on things that matter most, like customer service and strategic decision-making. And this is where you end up losing the plot to your competitors who are acing those areas.
The solution lies in hiring specialized talent to handle these tasks or embracing finance and accounting outsourcing. Since you’ve been searching about outsourcing financial controller services, it seems that you already agree about the need for delegation. But before talking about outsourcing, let’s start with the role of financial controllers.
What Does a financial controller Do?
Financial controllers are responsible for providing management with financial information that supports decision-making. Hence, when you avail financial controller services from Remote Resource, we provide you with experts who dig deep to uncover financial insights and help with strategic decisions. Here, the main focus is management accounting, as opposed to financial accounting, which deals with providing financial information to external stakeholders.
For example, our expert financial controllers calculate the true cost of producing a product, not necessarily adhering to reporting standards. Instead, they dig deep to allocate shared costs between multiple product lines and analyze all resources a product uses to give management an accurate picture of the economic cost of the company’s products. With this information, you can make better pricing and strategic decisions.
Besides cost and performance management activities, financial controllers are also involved in budgeting and business efficiency initiatives. In short, they help your business operate efficiently through sound financial decision-making.
Through outsourced financial controller services, you can always access experts to handle a wide range of activities for you. But the key role of a financial controller is to help you uncover the true cost of economic activities and operate your business more efficiently.
How to Hire the Right Financial Controller for Your Company
Now that you know what a financial controller can do for your business, the question arises about how to hire the right financial controller. Choosing the right person for the job is important because it can make or break your company’s financial health. Here are a few steps that can help you make the right choice:
- Define your Needs: Remember, every business is different. So, do not hire a financial controller just because your competitor has one or it is fashionable to do so. Instead, before hiring, carefully review your requirements and then decide whether you need a full-time hire or if you can manage by outsourcing your requirements. Most SMBs can actually do well with outsourced financial controller services.
- Look for a strategic thinker: The right candidate is not simply one who is good at number crunching. Instead, the ideal candidate should be well aware of your business goals and able to connect your financial data with those goals and offer actionable insights.
- Check Industry Experience: Look for a candidate with relevant industry experience who has served similar-sized businesses in the past with expertise.
- Check Tech Proficiency: Financial management, like every other field, is changing, and much of the work today is done through automation and software tools. Therefore, the right candidate should not only be an expert in their domain but also have expertise in handling relevant tools.
- Communication: The right financial controller must be good at communication. They should be able to explain financial findings clearly, even to someone from a non-financial background.
Benefits of Outsourcing Financial Controller Services
As you have understood by now, hiring a full-time financial controller locally isn’t easy. That’s why the best alternative for an SMB owner is outsourcing financial controller services. Here are some of the top benefits that outsourced financial controller services offer:
- Access to Top Talents: Currently, the US market is facing a serious undersupply of accountants. The problem is expected to worsen in the coming years, as 75% of today’s public accounting CPAs approach retirement. And as per basic economics, when demand outpaces supply, prices rise. So, you have to pay a premium to onboard top talent locally. In comparison, India has a huge talent pool of qualified accountants—over 400,000 Chartered Accountants and around 10,000 Chartered Financial Analysts. By choosing to outsource financial controller services to a top firm based in India, you can get your work done by top professionals without breaking a sweat.
- Cost Advantage: We’ve already touched on the cost angle in our earlier point. In addition to premium salaries for local hires, you also have to bear overhead expenses. In comparison, you can outsource the work to a company like Remote Resource at a fraction of local hiring costs, saving significantly and redirecting those funds toward strategic growth areas for your business.
- Increased Core-Competency Focus: When you outsource, you let experts handle specialized areas, allowing you to focus your time and energy on what truly matters—your core business. This improves productivity and helps your team excel in areas that drive real growth.
- Scaling Freedom: Businesses are cyclical by nature. There might be times when you need fewer financial controllers, and other times when you need more. However, scaling down full-time staff involves legal and financial costs, while scaling up requires time and effort. Outsourcing gives you the flexibility to scale your team up or down easily based on business demand.
- Business Continuity: When your entire operation is concentrated in one country, it becomes vulnerable to financial, natural, or economic disruptions. This can impact your ability to deliver consistent services. Outsourcing provides resilience by diversifying operations, helping you maintain business continuity and high-quality service even during unforeseen events.
Final Words
Financial controllers are an essential resource for any business as they help management by uncovering the true cost of economic activities and operate your business more efficiently. Although you need the services of financial controllers, you need not hire someone full-time. Outsourcing financial controller services to a trusted partner like Remote Resource often makes more sense and offers countless benefits. So, before making a move and judge carefully while considering your business needs.
