As businesses strive to stay ahead in a competitive market, our CFO scorecard shows that finance leaders face growing demands to attract and retain the right talent, lead the way in technology and digital, and navigate ESG requirements – all while driving efficiencies across the finance function. Creating initiatives to address these demands is crucial, but it’s equally important to ensure alignment with your strategic goals. Without the right resources – time, skills, and budget – to invest in these initiatives, your strategic growth plans could get sidetracked.
The decision to outsource elements of the finance function is an increasingly popular strategy for finance leaders looking to refine their focus on growth initiatives. From optimising cash flow and gaining access to innovative technologies to personalised support and risk mitigation, outsourcing can help you to streamline your operations and ensure your most valuable resources are used to their full potential.
Here, we delve into four key benefits of outsourcing that can pave the way for strategic growth.
Whether it’s developing new products, expanding into new markets, or enhancing customer experiences, outsourcing allows you to concentrate on what truly matters for your business.
Delegating manual or process-driven finance tasks to an external partner frees up your own and your teams’ valuable time and expertise. By redirecting your teams’ knowledge towards value creation initiatives, you harness their full potential and can more easily identify opportunities to upskill and develop talent from within your organisation. With talent attraction and retention high on the CFO agenda, this can be a useful strategy to improve morale and role satisfaction.
Ensuring that your teams have the right skills and knowledge is an ongoing process. At any time, skill gaps can emerge due to changes in technology, regulatory requirements, or short- and long-term employee absences.
However, addressing these gaps through training programmes and contract hires can incur additional expenses. It also takes time for newly acquired skills to start making an impact, or for new employees to embed into your organisation’s culture and processes.
Outsourcing specific roles and responsibilities on a part-time basis can convert fixed staffing and training costs into a more flexible structure. This allows you to engage consultants as needed, providing greater financial flexibility and optimising resource allocation. As a result, capital is freed up for use in other areas of the business that align with your growth strategy.
Investing in the right technology can streamline burdensome processes. For example, automated invoicing saves valuable time and effort, while predictive analytics can improve forecasting capabilities, giving you the confidence to make best informed decisions based on reliable data.
However, leveraging the latest technologies and features isn’t always easy. Identifying the right technology for your needs can be challenging, and you may not have the resources available to manage the disruption and risks of an implementation project.
By partnering with outsourcing experts who are committed to investing in cutting-edge finance technologies, you and your teams can benefit from all the efficiencies of innovative functionality without the associated implementation risks.
As your business evolves, so do your accounting and finance needs. Whether it's to meet growing demand or adapt to a new business model, these changes bring added operational tasks, such as recruiting new talent and integrating new technologies.
Outsourcing partners tailor their services to meet your specific requirements and scale in line with your business’ growth and sustainability. This flexibility means you can modify the level of service as needed. For example, if you require extra support during peak seasons or need to scale down during slower periods, your outsourcing partners can adjust their services to meet increased demand, offering a scalable solution that adapts to your needs.
For CFOs faced with the constant challenges of addressing the growing need for agility, innovation, and scalability, outsourcing opens a new world of opportunities to explore. By externally delegating manual and process-driven finance tasks, adopting flexible resourcing models and leveraging third parties to access emerging technologies, finance leaders can redirect their energies, and that of their teams, towards value creation activities.
If you’re considering building outsourcing into your finance operating model, it's important to work with outsourcing partners who provide services and support that can quickly adjust as your business grows and changes. Developing a communicative and collaborative relationship with your outsourcing partners can significantly enhance the ROI from outsourcing, directly impacting your strategic growth.
