Finance & accounting outsourcing: 10 key questions to ask your prospective suppliers

You are considering to outsource your finance & accounting functions. The key challenge is to find an offshore partner that is able to meet your expectations – and you will have to go through a long list of finance & accounting BPO companies in India and other locations to find a firm that fits.

It’s sad but true that a significant number of outsourcing contracts fail to deliver successful outcomes or just can’t live up to the initial expectations. So, it is essential to make sure that you spend time building the foundation for a successful relationship. Whether you are planning to create an RFP (Request for Proposal) document, working with an external consultant to identify the right partner, or assessing vendors simply by searching, listing, contacting and speaking with them, you must look for and evaluate answers to the below questions:

1) Company profile

How long have you been in the business? What is your business model? What differentiates you from other finance & accounting outsourcing companies? What is the size of your company? How many people do you employ? How is your financial health? Please share details on your profitably, cash flow and liquidity.

2) Customer references

Name your top 3 customers. Will your customers be happy to provide references? Share case studies of projects you’ve worked on that are similar to what we are looking for. Can you please list the top customers you have won or lost during the last 3 years? Please state the reasons for losing or winning clients during the last 3 years.

3) How it works

If you win the project, how will the work be transferred to the offshore team? How will you help us with change management and transition? How long does this process take? What are the costs associated with these activities?

4) Industry expertise

Share a snapshot of work done for this industry. What benefits have you been able to deliver to clients from this industry over the last 3 years? How many of your finance & accounting employees have the experience of working in this industry?

5) Process improvement

Do you have a system in place for continuous improvement? How does it work? What suggestions for improvement can you provide for our business? Outline the Corporate Governance Process you will have in place for this project.

6) Data security

What security and quality certifications does your company hold: ISO 27001, CMMi, SOX, ISO 9001, etc.? How does the offshore team access data? What data security measures do you have in place? Have you suffered any major security breaches in the past? If yes, please provide the details and outline the process you followed to deal with the breach.

7) Infrastructure

Share key stats around service availability and downtime over the past 3 years. Do you have any BCP (Business Continuity Plan) in place? Please share the details.

8) Project management

Can you share the roadmap & timescales for the transition? What process do you have in place to ensure a successful transition? What is the profile and experience of the individual/team who will manage the transition?

9) Recruitment and staff training

Please share your staff turnover figures and comparison with the industry average. How do you ensure the quality and development of staff? How will you recruit the team for our project? What are the educational requirements for the employees in each position? Describe the training and development programme for the staff. How does the team keep up to date with the latest trends, standards and laws pertaining to accounting and to the student housing industry? Are you able to scale up quickly to cater to spikes in demand? Does your company use any subcontractors for this project? Please provide their details.

10) Technology & innovation

Please list relevant finance & accounting software that you have the experience of working with. What support can you provide for our digitisation, automation and innovation initiatives?

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With over 14 years of experience in delivering world-class finance & accounting BPO services, our team of accountants and payroll specialists can help you achieve your specific business objectives. Please get in touch with us for a free, no-obligation consultation to find out how our services can help your business.

Originally published Apr 17, 2018 12:04:54, updated Jan 29 2024

Topics: Finance & Accounting BPO