Almost 8 months into the pandemic, remote working has become the new-normal of working for all the businesses. While remote working is new model for majority of the businesses today remote accounting firms like Back Office Accountants have embraced this flexible model of working long before it became a norm today.
Having offered remote accounting services to variety of businesses even before the pandemic, we have been able to smoothly continue our remote accounting services during this pandemic as well. If you are an accounting firm that is new to the remote working model and are looking to find ways to make it work then this blog is for you.
Importance of Remote Working for Accounting Firms:
Adhering to remote working model ensures systemic continuity of bookkeeping and accounting services rendered by accounting firms during the pandemic to help businesses get back on track. In a situation where most accounting firms themselves experience disarray in their operations, by adhering to remote working you can sustain your operations during this crucial time.
On top of that remote working model for your accounting firm enables you to gain a competitive edge over your peers in the job market in attracting better accounting talent who crave for flexibility offered by remote working models. Work-from-home also fosters improvement in productivity, saves time saved spent in commenting and reduces absenteeism, results in better work/life balance.
That said, creating a productive and effective remote working environment for your accounting firm is not an easy task. At Back Office Accountants we have tried and tested various methods to create a remote working environment for rendering our remote accounting and bookkeeping services. Having been there and done that here are few tips that can help you lay foundation for efficient remote working model for accounting firm:
- Right technical infrastructure and tools:
If you are traditional accounting firm that relied on traditional accounting methods for your services, then this is the right time to embrace the power of cloud-based accounting technologies and tools.
A cloud-based accounting solution enables simple access to the accounting data for multiple-users, provides practically infinite storage system, and makes collaboration easy for employees and clients. With access to centralized data management system, and core applications, a cloud-based accounting software with hosted applications ensure prompt work with secure file sharing and simple communication. We advise you to consider integrated cloud-based accounting software with an integrated suite of tools and products that work together to help you automate your workflow process for seamless task and project management.
- Enforce security guidelines:
While you are at it we advise you to take special care about the information security procedures and guidelines for better security. Multi –factor authentication, strong password policies, encryption of sensitive files and emails, access to encrypted Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and up-to-date web browsers are to be made mandatory for the work force.
- Establish a work-from-home culture:
While virtual infrastructure and tools lay a strong foundation for remote working, the responsibility to build a work-from-home culture lies in the hands of management. And the first step in the process is to foster a positive work culture by building trusting an employee’s ability to get the work done. According to research, employees are found to be most productive in remote working environment owing to minimal distractions, personalized environment and less stress. Giving an employee autonomy and flexibility to perform their responsibilities, and encouraging collaboration and communication among the employees can help improve the work flow. While you enable flexible work you can make use of deadlines, schedule setting, regular virtual meetings to ensure work in line with the project requirements.
- Ensure work-life balance for your employees:
The flexibility offered by the remote working models also can run the risk of creating a work-life imbalance. Adhering to same work routine without right balance can cause burnout in the long run impacting the productivity of employee. Given the current scenario where the pandemic may extend without any end in the sight, work-life balance can be very crucial for performance of the employee. While the responsibility is on employee, even employers can take right steps towards creating this balance. A few firms set daily routine, schedule breaks for employees to help them with consistent day-in and day-out schedules, allow flexible work hours with decompressing weeks and mandatory holidays every month.
Above 4 steps can help you build a strong and efficient remote working model for your accounting firms. However the entire process sometimes may not result in a proper ROI especially when you are short of accounting resources. In such cases you can make the whole process easier, by outsourcing accounting requirements to help you generate more value and make the whole process easier. At Back Office Accountants we offer remote accounts payable services, accounts receivable services, back and credit card reconciliation services and even full service back-office accounting services based on your requirements. You can contact us here: https://www.backofficeaccountants.com/
