Providing Business Solutions to Outsource your Finance Department

Transcription

1 Providing Business Solutions to Outsource your Finance Department Independent member firm of Business Management Services / 1

2 Contents I. Introduction: Business Management Services II. Outsource your Finance Department III. Business Process Outsourcing IV. Flexible Outsourcing V. Outsourcing: Is it right for you? VI. Summary: Our Services VII. Detailed Services: Accounts Payable VIII. Detailed Services: Accounts Receivable IX. Detailed Services: Bank Account Administration X. Detailed Services: Payroll Administration XI. Detailed Services: Financial Review & Reporting Business Management Services / 2

3 I. Introduction: Business Management Services Youʼre not an accountant and you want to spend your time doing what you do best, not spending your time on complex accounting issues. Outsource to Andrews & Co. Andrews has the resources and experience to help you realize tangible benefits from improved financial processes. Outsourcing to Andrews will free up your time to focus on generating business and on enhancing your companyʼs performance. We provide accounting and business management services, and we have the experience and knowledge to take care of all your accounting needs. We have worked with our local, regional and international clients for over thirty years. Our clients come from many industry sectors: charities, not for profits, aboriginal organizations, government agencies, and small-, medium- and large-sized businesses. We help clients focus on their core business and build organizational capabilities by providing a complete outsource solution of accounting, administrative, and financial management needs. Our broad knowledge base and our experience help us to meet your evolving needs. Whatever your Business Management Service need might be whether itʼs sales and income tax advice or financing and banking advice we can meet it. Our solutions will help you: lower your administrative costs gain access to specialized accounting and financial management expertise maximize financial and technical resources minimize financial management risks obtain flexible services that continuously meet the needs of your business. II. Outsource your Finance Department We can be your: Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Accounts Receivable Department Accounts Payable Department Payroll Department Cash Manager (handling the receipt and payment of funds) Advisor, and so much more. We can provide: Sales and Income Tax advice Financing and Banking advice Accounting and Financial Statement advice General Business advice We can be: Your number one go to resource Business Management Services / 3

4 III. Business Process Outsourcing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has emerged as a key success strategy for companies worldwide. BPO allows companies to obtain highly skilled technical help when needed, but not pay for these resources when not needed. This can be an ideal solution for small- and mid-sized companies. Finance and Accounting staff are in great demand today and command high salaries. A recent salary survey reports that qualified financial professionals earn salaries ranging between $65,000 and $120,000, with a median salary of $86,067, while junior to intermediate financial staff earn salaries ranging from $45,000 to $85,000. Benefits, including social benefits such as EI and CPP, can add an additional 20% to these costs. IV. Flexible Outsourcing Our Outsourcing Solution is completely flexible. We can: Work with your existing bookkeeper/administrator or provide a full outsource solution. Work with your current accounting firm. If you are satisfied with your current accounting firm, there is no need to change. We can provide your accounting firm with all the information it needs to prepare your year-end financial statements. Alternatively, we can prepare year-end financial statements, tax returns or make arrangements for their preparation. Work with management. If you are a sole owner/manager or have a complete management infrastructure, we can tailor our solutions to meet your needs. Provide a full accounting solution; a monthly or quarterly review; or a financial reporting and analysis. Together, we can design a flexible solution for you. V. Outsourcing: Is it right for you? Business Process Outsourcing was originally designed for large companies with up to 15,000 employees. At the other end of the scale, many small businesses hired bookkeepers or relied on their accounting firm to provide advice with the year-end financial statements. We have combined all these services in a package suitable for companies ranging in size from 5 people to 200 people or $500,000 in sales to $20 million and more in sales. No matter where you are on this scale, our services can be tailored to meet your specific needs. We recommend outsourcing where you: need daily accounting services require a regular review of accounting reports, accounts payable and accounts receivable require cash management including debt management recognize the value of financial reporting. Suitable for companies that may: have reached a size where the owner/manager canʼt manage all the daily accounting/administrative duties need complex reporting to banks, franchises, shareholders have well planned expansion goals be foreign owned companies operating in Canada and requiring Canadian accounting and tax expertise and/ or the safeguarding of Canadian assets be looking to reduce costs for core business processes have complex Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), Goods and Services Tax (GST), or Income Tax issues want to control costs and maintain or improve profitability through a careful analysis of operations, costs, margins, etc. Business Management Services / 4

5 VI. Summary: Our Services Our services may include some or all of the following: Recording of all accounting transactions on a daily basis. Review of accounting entries prepared by you or your staff. Accounts Receivable and/or Accounts Payable preparation, review, collection/payment, reconciliations. Bank account(s) administration, receipt of funds, payment of bills, cash and debt management, bank reconciliations. Payroll and human resources, all payroll related reporting. Preparing and filing of government required returns and forms such as HST, GST, Workers Compensation, income tax, etc. Preparing regular financial reports including analysis and discussion; reviewing increase in shareholder value. For foreign owned or franchises, preparing group reporting requirements or franchise reports. Budgets, business plans, tax planning, and more. If you would like to discuss any of our services, please call (613) VII. Detailed Services: Accounts Payable Receiving Bills We can directly receive bills or you can fax, , scan, or mail all bills directly to our office for processing. This reduces your paperwork while allowing us to process all bills as they are received. You can also collect all the bills received either weekly or twice a month and forward them to us to process. We take those bills and scan them into our paperless system. Enter all bills into accounting system Some companies do not use their accounting softwareʼs account payable module that lets them track their accounts payable. Our office, upon receipt of all bills, will enter each bill received into the accounting system, which allows the company to monitor their accounts payable balances on a daily basis. Pay bills with managementʼs authorization As bills are entered into the accounting system, our staff will coordinate a payment schedule with management. Once a payment schedule is in place, our staff will pay only the bills that management authorizes. Once all the cheques have been printed, they will be forwarded to the company for management to review and sign. Alternatively, we can act as a cheque signer on your behalf. Transfer of funds to cover cheque disbursements Should the client maintain numerous bank accounts, we will inform management when there are cash shortages that may require a funds transfer to cover that particular account. Maintain copies of all bills Our office will keep a copy of all bills received. If you fax or scan bills to us, copies will be maintained in digital format. You will have access to these digital files at all times. Review accounts payable Our staff will review the companyʼs account payable aging balances to ensure that the invoices received from the company are reflected. Overall review of purchases for unusual items. By maintaining your Accounts Payable system we provide a clear separation of duties between those responsible for the order of goods and services and those responsible for the recording and payment of those goods and services. This is a fundamental internal control. Business Management Services / 5

6 VIII. Detailed Services: Accounts Receivable We will: Review the companyʼ s invoicing procedures and recommend ways to accelerate collections. Analyze aged accounts receivable, and make recommendations for recognizing allowances for bad debts. Ensure that invoices reflect pertinent and accurate billing information. Reconcile the accounts receivable sub-ledger to the general ledger. Perform analytics to determine payment trends to recognize potential collections issues before they become problems. Prepare customer invoices using data provided by the client or obtain client prepared invoices. Enter customer invoices Our staff will enter customer invoices into the accounting system to properly maintain accurate accounts receivable balances. Mail or customer invoices Our staff can mail or invoices to customers if needed. Contact customers on overdue accounts (soft collection) Our staff can contact customers with a written notice or phone call to inform them of their outstanding balance. Company management will coordinate when it is appropriate to contact their customers. Receive customer payments Clients can have all cheque payments from customers sent directly to our office for deposit to their bank. This allows us to process the payment immediately upon receipt. Record customer payments received Upon receipt of all customer payments, each one will be entered into the accounting system and posted towards their outstanding invoice to properly reflect the new outstanding customer balances. Maintain copies of all processed invoices Our staff will keep a copy of every invoice that is processed with a copy of the customer payment, if available. Review accounts receivable Our staff will review the companyʼs account receivable aging balances to identify long outstanding receivables and to recommend methodologies for reserving against doubtful accounts. By maintaining your Accounts Receivable system we provide a clear separation of duties between those responsible for the receipt of payments and those responsible for the invoicing and recording of those invoices. This is a fundamental internal control. IX. Detailed Services: Bank Account Administration We will: Have online read-only banking access This enables our staff to record transactions as they occur such as automatic debits and withdrawals and to properly record any customer payments that are wired into the account. This allows us to maintain an accurate bank balance in the general ledger on a timely basis instead of waiting for the bank statement after the end of the month to record the activity. Have signing power on cheque disbursements Management can authorize Andrews & Co. signing authority on its chequing account; thus eliminating the need to forward all processed cheques for the company to sign. Of course, this is an optional feature. Bank statements These can be sent directly to Andrews & Co. allowing our staff to prepare the bank reconciliation immediately upon receipt of the bank statement. Reconcile bank account The staff will reconcile every bank account maintained by the company and report unusual activity to management. Take care of cash management and debt management. By maintaining your Bank Account Administration system we provide a clear separation of duties between those responsible for the receipt and payment of funds and those responsible for the recording of bank entries and the bank reconciliations. This is a fundamental internal control. Business Management Services / 6

7 X. Detailed Services: Payroll Administration XI. We will: Transmit payroll information to a third-party payroll administrator. The staff gathers the payroll information every payroll period and transfers that information for the payroll company to process. Enter payroll information into accounting software Once the payroll is processed and the payroll company provides the client with the payroll cheques and report, our staff will take the detailed payroll information for that period and enter it into the accounting system. Compute applicable commissions due If the company has variable compensated employees, the staff will, based on the information and structure set up by management, compute the applicable pay for each employee. Review payroll entries Every payroll period, the staff will review the payroll cheques and reports to ensure that the processed payroll reconciles with the information provided to the payroll company. Provide advisory services regarding payment of employees. Ensure all government reports are filed. Take care of payroll reconciliation. By maintaining your Payroll Administration system we provide a clear separation of duties between those responsible for the payment rates, recording salaries, etc., and those responsible for the recording of entries into software. This is a fundamental internal control. Detailed Services: Financial Review & Reporting Review and reconcile balance sheet accounts We will review and reconcile balance sheet accounts periodically to ensure that they are accurate and complete. Further, we will review the balance sheet for reasonableness to confirm there are no unjustified unusual balances such as negative liabilities. We will make sure the equity section of the balance sheet properly reflects the ownership structure of the company. Review income statement accounts We will review treatment of revenue and expense recognition, cost of goods sold, and items such as bad debts and depreciation/amortization. Review general ledger We will review the general ledger periodically to ensure that posted transactions are valid and accurate. Further, we will recommend period-ending entries that your staff may not be qualified to make, such as capitalizing fixed assets, and properly reflecting prepaid expenses. Provide periodic reports We will provide periodic reports to management based on the frequency needed to make timely, pertinent decisions. These reports can include everything from basic financial statements to customized management reports, group financial reporting and franchise reports. Interaction with key company personnel Whether it is answering questions for the administrative assistant who doubles as the accounts payable clerk, or reviewing month-end reports with the CEO, we will communicate with management regularly to address issues that affect the books and records of the company. Business plans, budgeting and planning We are experts at providing assistance in preparing business plans and budgets. Further, we can assist you in preparing for investor or bank presentations, as well as year-end closings and submitting your records for the companyʼs tax preparation. Business Management Services / 7

8 Regular reporting and remittances to various government agencies: HST remittances GST remittances Workersʼ Compensation T4/T5/T5013, etc. Non-resident tax reporting Corporate tax return preparation and corporate tax installments If you would like to discuss our Business Management Services, please call us. Andrews & Co. Chartered Accountants 540 Lacolle Way, Orleans, ON K4A 0N9 (613) Business Management Services / 8