Financial statement processing is something businesses have to get right. It’s foundational to success.

Why Financial Statements Matter

It may seem obvious, but it’s worth recounting. First, processing is important because financial statements are often the catalysts for strategic business moves. In order to make the best decisions, you need to have accurate and relevant data. That’s what financial statements provide.

Income statements. Cash flow statements. Balance sheets. Statements of retained earnings. They’re your business’ vital signs.

The crucial financial statements for your business will illuminate where you are and what you need to do to move forward – and, if they’re lacking or inaccurate, you’ll be shooting in the dark.

Second, financial statement processing is important because financial statements are nearly always necessary for compliance – both legally and, for franchise businesses, organizationally.

So, given the importance of sound financial statement processing, how can you optimize it for your business?

The answer may surprise you: outsource it. Here’s why outsourcing financial statements processing makes sense.

1. Outsourcing to a trusted team ensures accuracy of financial statement processing.

First, outsourcing financial statement processing to a trusted team helps to promote accuracy in financial statements.

Problems in financial statement processing often arise when the responsibility falls to a party with limited experience or bandwidth – a relative with some bookkeeping skills, or an internal team member who’s also being asked to fill additional roles. These kinds of stop-gap solutions lead to inaccuracies.

It’s worth noting that hiring an internal staff to process financial statements can provide the data for sound decisions – but, ironically, considering the expense of doing so, it’s generally not a wise financial decision itself.

Outsourced teams are more affordable, and they grant access to built-up expertise and talent that can minimize inaccuracies in statements.

Of course, the key is to find a team you can trust. There are a variety of providers offering finance services that, contrary to their claims, don’t provide high-accuracy solutions. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to weed inaccurate firms out by doing a bit of background research.

And when you find an accurate firm, the benefit is huge.

2. Choosing the right provider can ensure promptness.

The reality is that delegating financial statement processing in-house or allowing it to fall to a role by default means trusting promptness to chance.

Internal roles can struggle to find the bandwidth to process statements on deadline – depending on the responsibilities involved in such a role, there can be bottle necks as other priorities take precedence. Delays are even more likely if, upon processing, there are inaccuracies that need to be fixed or other corrections that need to be made. There are many variables that can slow down processing if it’s managed internally

An outsourced team, on the other hand, is dedicated solely to finance and accounting services, and is easily scalable to process statements as needed according to deadlines. And of course, if you can trust them to be accurate, promptness is improved, too.

The result is that to outsource financial statement processing means receiving financial statements more promptly.

3. Outsourcing can grant access to expert-level insight.

Finally, outsourcing financial statement processing can grant access to expert-level insight that can drive better decision making.

This isn’t necessarily true for all providers. Many financial service providers simply offer base-level skills – they can process data, but they may not comprehend its meaning.

The best (and most valuable) outsourced accounting providers, though, combine skill with expert-level insight. They can process data and they understand it, likely based on experience in industry.

This is valuable in two ways. First, expertise serves as another check on accuracy, as providers are more likely to produce the right outcomes if they understand why they’re being asked to do so. Secondly, with expertise, they can even provide insight into the decision-making process. Ideally, they could provide real-world input into strategic business paths such as equity opportunities or mergers and acquisitions.

Again, this is a rarer, top-level value add – but, as an offering, it can have huge benefits for firms that otherwise would feel out-of-depth navigating certain financial scenarios.

Are you ready to optimize your financial statement processing?

Successful business growth hinges on having the full context of data (and remaining compliant doesn’t hurt, either). The most efficient way to do that is to outsource financial statement processing to a trusted team.

Don’t settle for financial statements that you can’t fully trust or that arrive days after the deadline. Work with a trusted team to get access to statements that drive better decisions.

At Global Shared Services, we’re focused on restaurant accounting and franchise accounting. We offer comprehensive financial and accounting services, including financial statement processing. We’re accurate and prompt – and we even offer access to top-level expertise that can help to unlock the next level of growth for your company.

If you’re ready to optimize your financial statement processing or other financial functions, get in touch with us today.