by Mark Colwell | Feb 4, 2020 | Accounting, Big Data, Blog, CFO, Cloud, CPA, Finance, Financial Services, Metrics, Outsourcing, SMBs, Software, Startups, Technology
The value in not providing traditional accounting services
When most people hear CPA they immediately think tax and audit. Lavoie CPA does NOT provide either service. So, what do we do? We provide world class accounting bundled with leading technology (Accounting as a Service) to help our clients succeed . But why don’t we provide tax or audit services?
- Our focus is helping grow your business. We provide financial intelligence you can rely on to make informed financial decisions.
- We don’t want to become tax experts. Staying on top of changes to tax laws and regulations is an exhaustive process. We rather partner with tax professionals and focus on what we do best – help grow your business!
- We can’t audit ourselves. Since we provide leading finance and accounting services, we can’t audit our own work. However, our clients are always audit ready!
Why do clients come
to Lavoie CPA since we don’t do tax or audit?
- We help grow sales.
- We turn finance into a strategic asset.
- We keep cost under control.
- We eliminate distractions and let our clients focus on what they do best.
Want to learn more?
by Mark Colwell | Jan 18, 2019 | Accounting, Analytics, CFO, Cloud, Competitive Advantage, Forecasting, KPI, Technology
The beginning of a new year always signals a time for trend spotting Which financial opportunities, challenges and changes should companies prepare for now? Below are six soon-to-be realities that you should consider for 2019. .
CFOs take on more
responsibility.
The role of the CFO has merged with that of the COO to
assume strategy and operations functions. This calls for greater collaboration
in business areas such as marketing, procurement, sales and design/R&D in
order for CFOs to build sound budget strategies and operational processes.
Customers’ changing
demands disrupt industries.
Think of it as forced evolution. Millennials and Gen Z crowd
are making their wishes known – pushing for greater transparency, asking for more
sustainable products, embracing technical conveniences. Business has no choice
but to respond – re-evolving business models, selling on social media, adopting
voice-commerce, etc.
Technology makes
finance smarter and faster.
Automation and new technologies are making finance software
programs do more with less. This leaves more time for focusing on the
organization’s strategic vision.
We’re grappling with uncertainty
again.
From foreign policy to data regulation, businesses are
operating under the strain of uncertainty. Expect another year of having to
navigate a turbulent, highly politicized environment.
Even the workforce is
evolving.
2019 will introduce a diverse generation of employees with
new expectations and wants. For accounting, the skills gap widens, re-training requirements
grow, and a higher level of contract employees emerges.
New data risks are
surfacing
Companies will need to have a deeper understanding of General
Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), because there will be a higher level of
concern about data security as more info is created, collected, and stored online
which allows for the possibility of hacking.
As these developments proceed, the role of
finance becomes more important and extensive. Many companies are turning to service providers to help them make the
transformation. This may entail consulting services, augmenting current staff
or even outsourcing the financial and accounting function.
by Mark Colwell | Aug 6, 2018 | Accounting, Finance, Uncategorized
As automation, control, and period-end tasks are embedded within day-to-day activities, accountants are freed from manual work.
Freeing finance from manual work not only saves time that can be allocated to continuous process improvement and preventative controls, it also gives accountants access to game-changing, real-time data so they can provide analysis and business intelligence at the point of need.
Technology is disrupting the way business is run, and accountants need to reskill and upskill to meet the demands of both internal and external stakeholders.
Benefits:
- It’s an organization win.
Strategic accounting doesn’t just benefit finance. Access to and quick analysis of real-time data helps the entire organization become more agile, responsive, and proactive.
- Increased employee engagement and reduced hiring costs.
Bored, tired, burned out staff is a flight risk. But working on something meaningful, like strategy creation, increases engagement, investment, and ultimately, retention.
- Functioning as a strategic force.
Today, finance organizations have access to the real-time information that is so crucial to functioning strategically.
This creates the opportunity for accounting and finance teams to function as a strategic force in the organization. CFOs, controllers, and other accounting leaders can now help the business act proactively instead of reactively by providing up-to-the-minute analysis and intelligence.
The Path to Success In the Modern Marketplace
Implementing necessary technologies can be expensive. Documenting current state and designing desired future state and is often time consuming. As a result, companies are turning to service providers to help with the process. This may entail a consulting project, augmenting current staff or even becoming the finance and accounting department.
by Mark Colwell | Jun 13, 2018 | Accounting, Blog, Cashflow, Cloud, CPA, Finance, Growth, Outsourcing, Software, Startups, Technology
Founders create businesses because they have a passion or expertise in providing particular goods or services to market and often get caught up on focusing on items outside of their expertise. Being a startup means there’s always more work to do, and not enough time to do it. It is easy to get caught in numerous non-value add tasks that take anyway from working on the business. That’s why most success startups outsource certain tasks to companies or individuals who specialize in providing valuable time-saving services for a fee.
With all the advancements in technology, it’s easier and more convenient than ever to outsource. Here are five things you should consider outsourcing to experts.
1. Accounting & Finance
Most entrepreneurs are not Accountants. However, understanding cash flows or analyzing profitability of a business is vital to its success. Too often startups neglect building an accounting process until profits go downhill or cash slowly drains away. Setting up an accounting process for your startup is critical to the long-term success. An accounting process is also important because it allows your business to look forward. Startups or small businesses that that don’t have an accounting process in place find themselves trapped by past actions or constantly worried about having enough money to pay bills.
In addition to accounting process, setting up an accounting system is important for your startup as it will allow you to see how your business is doing and allow you to make decisions to strategically position your business for growth.
Look for a firm that does more than just bookkeeping. Partnering with someone that goes beyond debits and credits and gives advice on such things as cashflow will help set you up for success. Technology is vital to help provide necessary insights.
2. Graphic Design and Web Development.
Coming up with a brand-defining logo, an attractive website, and print materials can be extremely time consuming and difficult to get right. Using a professional graphic designer will help your business look its best. They understand a lot of things that you may overlook. Whatever your goals, there’s a graphic designer with the talent, aesthetic sensibilities, and visual skills to fulfill your vision and enhance your company brand.
Look for a graphic designer that offers web development to help streamline the process and provide a unified message.
3. Web Research.
Prospecting for new business and keeping up with the latest developments in your industry can be time consuming and daunting. A web researcher can research information you, whether it’s gathering information and statistics for an upcoming presentation or looking up the names of companies and contacts for a leads list. They can also organize this material in a form that’s easy to use and read.
4. Administrative Assistance.
If half your day is spent sifting through your overflowing email inbox, returning call and making travel arrangement, a virtual administrative assistant (VA) may be just what you need to streamline that frustrating process and keep you from being inundated by a constant stream of on administrative tasks that keep you from more value-added items.
Before you waste your time on something that is not in your expertise, consider outsourcing. This will make your to-do list shorter and free you up to focus on the things you’re best at and that generate the most income for your business.
by Mark Colwell | May 22, 2018 | Accounting, Analytics, Budgeting, Cashflow, CFO, Entrepreneurs, Outsourcing, Startups, Technology
Are you a startup and are considering hiring accounting and finance personal?
Having the right finance and accounting policy, procedures and technology in place could be critical to your success. Lots of startups outsource many of the tasks not related to your company’s core competency, including accounting & finance. Should you invest the money in hiring FTEs and purchase software or use an outsourced firm? Let’s look at four ways hiring an outsourced firm can help your startup business.
- Select the right accounting package.
Too many startup businesses purchase off the shelf accounting packages that do not provide proper visibility into their business. As a result, they either spend a lot of time with Excel spreadsheets to try and gain necessary information or they simply neglect items that inhibit growth and put the business at risk.
With the proper technology you have visibility into your business from anywhere, enabling you to spevd more time on the business instead of in the business.
- Help with investment capital.
Whether you’re applying for a business loan or seeking outside funding from angel investors or venture capital firms, accurate and up-to-date financials are essential.
Professional services firms will provide you with the up-to-date financial statements, along with explanations of the data in those financial statements, which can help your company standout amidst all those other businesses.
Be audit, partner and/or investor ready from day one.
- Trusted advice.
CFO guidance including advice, counsel and insight — providing you with financial statements, budgets, forecasts and dashboards to monitor all your financial data. It’s one thing to have all the financial data you need to run your business. But the real benefit is to have someone to explain exactly what the financial statements mean, and help you to make the decisions that will steer your company toward growth.
4 . Scale with your company.
With outsourced services your variable cost become a scalable fixed cost. Why add non-revenue generating cost when you can gain resources, technology, quality and support all tailored to your needs? When your company grows the outsourced services company grows with you.
Lavoie CPA provides accounting & finance, technology and human resources support all as a service.
by Mark Colwell | Apr 11, 2018 | Accounting, Blog, Growth, Outsourcing, SMBs, Technology
What Size Company Benefits the Most from AaaS?
Lavoie has had numerous conversations over the years with companies of all sizes regarding outsourcing or what we refer to as AaaS (Accounting as a Service). AaaS is a form of outsourcing that combines people, process and technology to help companies gain a strategic advantage. Some companies think they are too big to outsource any function. Others think they aren’t big enough. So, what is the right answer? They are both wrong!
FAO (finance and accounting outsourcing) started nearly 20 years with BP outsourcing its accounting functions to Accenture. FAO has traditionally been a horizontal offering with a value proposition driven by cost reduction and efficiency gains targeted at large organizations. So clearly the argument of an organization being too big has its flaws.
Smaller companies have been outsourcing payroll for years so they are already participating in a form of FAO outsourcing. The next concern we hear from clients is that they will outgrow services. This is certainly a possibility if you select the wrong partner that does not have the technology or staff to grow with you. For example, if a company is only providing bookkeeping services, it is certainly likely you would outgrow them. However, if a strategic partner is selected they will be able to grow with you and help you scale faster.
Large organizations are most often driven to outsourcing for cost reduction. However, as market requirements intensify, FAO solutions are increasingly becoming more industry-specific to provide strategic advantages and not strictly cost reduction. In smaller companies outsourcing can also reduce costs, but more importantly it enables them access to a full finance and accounting team that leverages economies of scale. Most SMBs can’t afford to hire an entire F&A department. So, what often happens is the company may only have a senior level person and they are stuck doing daily tactical activities or they may only have a junior level person and they are responsible for critical items such as cashflow analysis. Both have obvious weaknesses that prevent a company from reaching its potential.
AaaS solves this dilemma for SMBs. Companies don’t have to worry about daily tactical items that keep them from focusing on the company. In addition, they are provided with senior level advisory. To further maximize efficiencies, Lavoie services also include access to the leading cloud technologies. By combines people, process and technology we know AaaS can benefit companies of all sizes. info@lavoiepllc.com
