The Rise In Virtual Accounting Services

The Rise In Virtual Accounting Services

Accounting / Jul 31, 2020

Behind every great Businessman is a great accountant, we have heard this quotation repeatedly being part of the competitive market system. This clearly depicts the importance of efficiently managing the money involved in a business to make it a success.

Since time immemorial, accounting has been an intrinsic part of any profit making setup. Even non-profit organisations need accounts management to handle their resources productively. This is because one of the basic motives of businesses is to make profit and therefore accountants give a hand in keeping a check on the incoming and outgoing money. While businesses focus on their core aspects, accountants manage the taxes, payrolls, day-to-day bookkeeping, updating and maintaining accounts, auditing, forecasting, management consulting, investment planning and other transactions to maximise revenue.

In the new India we can see a huge number of start-ups coming forward. The Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under Ministry of Industry and Commerce recognised over 27,916 start-ups up to January, 2020. These novitiates have great business ideas, however they do not have enough funds in the early phases to set up an In-house account department and therefore they rely mostly on accounting software or they opt to outsource the professional accounting services. This has been a major supporting factor in the development of a contemporary concept known as Virtual Accounting.

Let us look at the concept of virtual accounting in detail:

VIRTUAL ACCOUNTING

Virtual Accounting is a pocket-friendly non-hectic system whereby a qualified experienced accountant provides his services remotely. Under the system, the accountant need not come to the office of his client and can give assistance virtually without sharing the office space. The cost of virtual accounting is on the lower side because telecommuting mode is adopted to disperse the services.

All in all, virtual accounting is a productive way to provide accounting services to businesses. The benefits it provides are many; let us have a detailed look at these.

Benefits of Virtual Accounting

• Cost Effective- A proper infrastructure is required to accommodate an In-house Accounting Department. If a business switches to virtual accounting services then the expenses to establish and maintain the infrastructure and incentives can be saved.
• Relief from Recruitment procedures- Virtual accountants can be hired directly from portals available online, managed by reputed accountants. Here, the businesses can get valuable and quality services in no time unlike regular recruitment of accountants which takes time, energy and resources.
• Better Utilization of savings- The money saved by availing virtual accounting services can be used to develop other aspects of business, infrastructure, and developments.
• Time saving and Efficient- Trained business professionals provide direct service through virtual means saving time, resources and giving quick and effective response to the challenging business situations.
• Relief from Training procedures- In house accountants are trained by businesses for their special accounting needs, however, by accessing virtual accounting services, clients (businesses) can state their requirements and the expert accountants provide the desired services directly.
• No Deviation- Accounting need is handled by outsourcing the services and thereby a business can shift its focus to core areas without any distraction.

INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF VIRTUAL ACCOUNTING SERVICES DURING PRESENT PANDEMIC SITUATION

The world is going through a tough period where the COVID-19 pandemic has become an unstoppable threat to human life. The global population is meticulously adopting various preventive measures; however, the threat of catching or contracting the virus is continuously persisting. The Homo sapiens versus invisible enemy fight is going to take time as well as resources. What mankind cannot afford is to sit back and wait for things to come back to normal.

“Social Distancing” is being practiced as one of the most effective measures to prevent the spread of virus and almost all the countries are earnestly following the concept. This has led to evolution of a trend of ‘Work from Home’. Most organisations around the globe have directed their employees to continue working from the safety of their homes with the help of technology and virtual compliance. To let the economy function without recession, it is the need of the hour.

The concept of Virtual Accounting came as a rescue to let the businesses function smoothly without worrying about the accounting needs which can be fulfilled with the help of experienced professionals offering accounting services virtually.

What services are provided by Virtual Accounting firms?

Accounting firms nowadays are providing Virtual Accounting Services under following three heads:

• Bookkeeping Services
• Taxation Services
• Accounting Services

Bookkeeping Services	Taxation Services	Accounting Services
Accounts Receivable & Accounts Payable	Tax return preparation for businesses	Monthly, Quarterly and yearly reviews
Accounts Chart Preparation	Tax return preparation for individuals	Books Clean-up
Setting up of Accounting Software	Payroll Tax Preparation	Management reporting
Accounts, Inventory & Payroll Reconciliation	Tax Filing	Cash Flow & Budgeting
Intercompany Loan Reconciliation	Expatriate Tax returns	Preparation of Financial Statements and Financial analysis
Fixed Assets and Depreciation Schedules		Job Costing and yearly adjustments
Investment Account Reconciliation		Financial ratio analysis

 

It is a boon in the present pandemic situation that all these services can be easily availed without conducting any face-to-face meeting and appointments. The firms offering these services are already well-known in their field and the client has always an option to pick the firm which suits best to the needs and budget of the business.

THE WAY FORWARD

The contemporary world is witnessing a reduction in physical movement due to high technological advancements. Now, there are examples of professional and even technical services being provided across borders with the help of virtual methods. Accounting sector being no exception and the professionals have made the process easier for clients in multiple ways like cloud storage and keeping of data safe and just a click away without collecting piles of paperwork. Talking about small businesses with low budgets, this is a blessing that they can enjoy the services of an In-house accounting department without bearing the cost of keeping one. All the discussions and doubt sessions are successfully conducted through virtual meeting applications like Skype and Google Meet with options like screen sharing, meeting recording et cetera. With all this in hand, we can safely say that even if the present virus condition persists for some more time, we will simply not lack behind, as these new means will serve as a foundation for a prosperous future. The concept of Artificial intelligence and Augmented Reality has the potential to take it all, a step further.

Share this with others: