Member Article

SMEs can benefit from outsourcing finance and accounting functions says Waltons Clark Whitehill

With 23% of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) having problems dealing with cash-flow issues, Tees Valley-based accountants and business advisors, believe that SMEs can benefit from outsourcing some or all of the finance and accounting functions.

This comes after a study of 450 SMEs by Exact, the business and software provider, revealed that financial worry is a key issue for their business. 31% of those questioned are struggling to find new business and 45% have had to defer payments.

HSBC has also called for more access to export tax credits for SMEs, which will allow small businesses to make joint bids for new contracts, creating more potential business opportunities.

Heather O’Driscoll, managing partner at Hartlepool Chartered Accountants and Busienss Advisers, Waltons Clark Whitehill, believes that engaging with finance and accounting experts to conduct non-core operations can help SMEs avoid such problems. Having a dedicated team of skilled individuals to support the business will save the business employment costs and free up the business owners’ time to develop and expand the business.

She said: “Businesses want to focus on their core work and bringing in new business, so ancillary practices can often be the first to suffer.”

Another variable for SMEs is the introduction of pension’s auto-enrolment, where businesses with between 160 and 250 employees will have to be prepared for auto-enrolment from next year. This will also affect the way in which SMEs operate, so it is essential to look down every avenue in terms of balancing the books.

Heather added: “By using the services of external financial professionals, this will allow for more money to be invested into SMEs, which will be vital for growth. With other factors, including auto-enrolment, coming into effect, it is imperative for businesses to take the benefits of utilising the services of external financial professionals, as opposed to hiring in-house, which can prove to be a more costly affair.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Waltons .