Accounting Outsourcing – Weigh Pros and Cons before Hiring the Services

Accounting is one of the most important functions to run and manage a business organization efficiently. Sound accounting task discerns that all the financial transactions and deals that have taken place during the course of business process are intelligible and profiteering. Managing a whole department for the sole work of accounting doesn’t make any sense in the times when economy inflation is the keyword. So, in such circumstances it would be good if you hire the smart accounting outsourcing services for your business. This will spare you from the extra costs of hiring accountants and setting up a whole section in office.

Accounting outsourcing implies that you will be handing over your business accounting and finance tasks to a third party other than your business associates and office personnel.  While hiring accounting outsourcing services to a firm other than yours it is mandatory that you consider all the pros and cons before leaping since accounting work contains whole of your companies financial details. So, make sure that you conduct a good search on Internet and consult about the authenticity and reliability of the accounting outsourcing firm you are going to deal with.

An accounting outsourcing firm avails you complete assistance in handling, managing, and recording your daily accounting tasks on regular basis so that you can retrieve the information easily whenever required. Outsourcing firms have trained set of accounting and finance experts who have knack of dealing huge accounting task in short deadline too. They are trained in using accounting software so that you get latest updated data. Calculations are done accurately and data entry is done in a diligent way so as to assure quality work.

Some of the most important areas of accounting covered by an accounting outsourcing firm for your business purpose includes:

•    Budget
•    Taxation
•    Accounting charts
•    Data entry
•    Inventory
•    Finance management
•    Bookkeeping
•    Data security and archiving
•    Payroll records and management
•    Journal records

Accounting outsourcing is designed to meet all the business demands including cost cutting, risk management, and proficiency in business dealings.  Once you have ascribed the accounting task to outsourcing firm then you can focus on other important functions of the organization which otherwise gets neglected since accounting needs acute attention. This is why accounting consumes almost whole of your time and you tend to forget other important tasks in hand.
Now, most importantly you need to consider the image of accounting outsourcing firm you are going to deal with since on this basis depends the confidentiality of your business details. Conduct good market research and compare the reviews posted by previous customers. This will give you an insight into the factual information about the outsourcing firm and its efficiency in performing accounting work.

Do enlist your requirements prior making any contract with the outsourcing firm so that you may not feel like being cheated of money at later stage. The hasty decision in such situations may ruin your business prospects completely. Outsource your accounting work and shed off some burden from your shoulders a while.

Library Launches New Catalog/Account System


Image by Rapid City Public Library

Max Keiser explains the banks’ fraud and peek-a-boo accounting technique. quarterly reports are bogus. recorded on January 24th 2009

Interim Sales Managers: When Can Hiring an Interim Sales Manager be the Best Option?

At first glance, an interim sales manager may seem like a strange concept. After all, “sales” is a constant, “business as usual” function within any organisation.

However, over recent years, the concept of an interim sales manager has emerged. Specifically interim sales managers are increasingly seen as a flexible and appropriate solution in the following three business situations:

1) Stop Gaps

2) Start-ups

3) Special Projects

This article looks at each of these three situations and explores how an interim sales manager can add immediate value.

Stop Gaps

Many companies can find themselves in positions where they have a short-term requirement to plug a gap in their sales function. Typical scenarios include long-term illness, maternity leave and any type of sudden unplanned crisis.

Whether it’s because the situation does not allow for a permanent resource, or that the time to recruit leaves sales exposed, an interim sales manager can bring immediate resource to bear on the problem.

Almost exclusively, temporary sales people are not catered for in the general recruitment market; this is the domain of professional interim sales managers who specialise in filling immediate interim assignments.

Start-ups

Another common situation where an interim sales manager is a good solution is with start-ups and early stage companies. Typically, these companies have limited resources and find attracting top sales talent a real problem.

Interim sales managers are usually over-qualified, experienced individuals with broad experience across different business stages. As well as bringing additional “hands on” sales resource, an interim sales manager will add value through supporting the start-up management team with strategy and market development.

Interim sales managers are also “heavy hitters” with strong networks, capable of opening doors and bringing in major deals that younger sales hires would struggle with.

Special Projects

Finally, every business has times when they need to focus resource on new areas to drive revenue. Often, these special projects emerge from board-level strategies to sustain profitable growth and retain a competitive edge.

These could include exploring new markets, evaluating current sales channels, or merging sales teams and divisions.

An interim sales manager is an excellent solution for this situation. Crucially, interim sales managers bring a fresh perspective, unencumbered by internal politics and structures.

In addition, while it could be argued that existing sales people could be utilised for these special projects, rather than bringing in an interim sales manager, this seldom works in reality.

Why? Unlike an Interim Sales Manager, existing sales people (if they are good) are best left focused on execution. Indeed, most of their remuneration will come from successfully selling established products to existing markets.

Many a new product launch has been halted by sales teams that are not interested in selling the new product; once they experience resistance, they go back to selling what they know.

In contrast, interim sales managers measure success by their last assignment. Once you have an interim sales manager focused on delivering a successful outcome they have no option but to make it work.

In summary, there are many situations where hiring an interim sales manager is the best option.

From start-ups to multi-national organisations, interim sales managers represent a flexible and results-focused solution short-term sales and business development resourcing.

5 Keys to Hiring the Right Sales Manager

There are few decisions more critical for a company than the hiring of the leadership of their sales organization. Yet, few know how to do it well. Many err and promote their best seller to a sales management position. Why this is called a promotion is beyond me. The job of the sales manager is vastly different than that of a sales person, so why is this considered employment elevation? Often times, sales managers earn less than the top sales people. Promotion?

Some sales people make the transition successfully, but many struggle with the change. Sometimes, it is a mismatch of the person to the role. However, more frequently, the struggle is caused by the lack of recognition by the company that this is not a promotion, but rather a move into a completely new job. How do you handle an employee in a new job? You train, mentor, and monitor their performance! Look, most people do not come out of the womb with the skills required to be an effective manager. Thus, it is a key responsibility of the company to recognize that when moving their top sales person into that role they need to own the development of that individual. A congratulatory handshake and smile just will not get it done.

Many companies look for their sales management candidates from outside their organization. This approach also has its challenges. Whether you promote from within or hire from outside, consider these five points to make sure you find the right person for the role.

Selling versus Managing. If you consider the broad spectrum of responsibilities from selling business directly to managing a team, what percentage of the time do you expect this person to be focused on personal selling versus managing? As mentioned above, the skill set required for those two responsibilities is vastly different. It is also difficult to find professionals that have equal strength in both skill sets. Often times, there will be a trade-off. If there is a sacrifice to be made, it makes the best sense to select someone who has their primary strength in the more predominant part of the responsibility.

If the decision is made that the position has equal responsibility for selling and managing or the dominant responsibility is selling, it may make sense for an internal hire. This allows the company to develop a new manager. However, the plan falls down if the company is not committed to a development plan.

Creating versus Executing. Another consideration is what your expectations of the sales manager are relative to developing the corporate sales architecture (the framework of the sales organization). In some companies, there is a plan already in place and the job of the sales manager is to ensure the plan is executed as written. In essence, the job is to motivate the troops and coach them to make sure revenue targets are achieved. This is usually the case for mid-level sales managers.

In other situations, the primary job is to establish the overall direction of the sales organization, formulate the compensation plan that supports that direction, and execute the plan. Needless to say, this is a very different profile than the sales manager described above.

Title versus Responsibility. Check any job board and you will find a plethora of titles referring to sales management. However, there is not a direct correlation between title and responsibilities. This can create a disconnect with the new manager and with clients if those two are not synchronized. If you are going to give someone the title of Vice President, there is an inherent expectation that this is a high-responsibility, high-authority position. When clients hear that title, they believe that this person is a senior-level person in the company and can make decisions. Thus, this can create client frustration if the responsibility and authority are not consistent with the title.

At the other end of the spectrum, calling this person a sales manager creates a more junior-level perception. There is nothing wrong with the term, but it is important that you recognize the created perception. Again, this can cause issues with both the person in the role and clients if the responsibilities does not match the title. Some very good sales management candidates will elect not to apply to your company because they believe it is a junior-level role.

Interviewing. Probably the toughest role for which to interview is the sales manager. For one, they are experienced in interviewing. They know the desired answers. They know the sales lingo and buzz words. How do you get past the fluff and get your real answers? One way is to develop a list of benchmark questions that candidates are asked. This allows for comparison of answers among the candidate pool. (Send me an email and I will send you my favorite 20 questions.) It is important that the questions not follow a sequence so that the candidate cannot build off their prior answers. Be sure to document the responses to each so you can review them later. You will be amazed by what comes out of this step of the process.

Another important consideration when interviewing these candidates is with whom they will need to have a healthy business relationship to be successful in their role. For example, there is an inherent strife between sales and operations. However, the company will fail if the leaders of those two areas are not able to work together in a productive manner. Consider the various department leaders with whom this person will interact and engage them in the process. This also helps the new manager assimilate into the organization once they are onboard.

The Ultimate Screening Tool. The most effective tool that I have found in screening sales management candidates is the request for the submission of a written business plan. When the candidate has satisfactorily completed all of the other steps of the pre-offer process, the request is made for a one-page business plan that shows how they would approach the job. I mention the one-page scope three times in the conversation so my expectations are clear. The candidate is asked by when they can submit the document. It is important that the submission date be asked of the candidate, not the other way around as you will see in a moment.

The benefits of this step are numerous. For one, it shows if the candidate can communicate in written form. Writing is a lost art in business, but a critical one for someone in a leadership role.

Another benefit is that it shows if the candidate understands what the role entails. A number of hours have been spent with the candidate by this point. If they are near the finish line, they should have a clear vision of the expectations.

Another is to see if there is a synergy in the approach to the role. It is best to see before the marriage is performed if their approach is aligned with the vision of the leadership team.

Still another is the ability to see if this person can meet a self-imposed deadline. I asked when he could have the plan to me. He provided me with a date and time. If it is late, the candidate is no longer considered for employment. End of story.

Finally, in this role, I am the client. I have asked for a one-page plan, not an epic. Do they follow directions? Or do they ignore what the client desires and do whatever they want. While I do not eliminate candidates solely for this, I refer to this in a follow-up session with the candidate.

One final point that is critical when hiring is to background screen. Resume fraud is at an all-time high! Candidates lie about employment history, salary history, and their education experience, not to mention criminal history. Find a reputable firm to do this work for you. If you would like my white paper titled, Are There Criminals On Your Sales Team?, send me an email.

Finding the right person for your sales management role is difficult. It is also expensive. These five keys will help mitigate the risk and create a happy, healthy sales marriage between you and your new employee.