Increase Your Nonprofit’s Financial Confidence & Controls with Outsourcing

Now more than ever nonprofit organizations need time to focus on their stakeholders. Whether you are collecting donations, applying for grants to further your mission or providing resources and value to your members, it is critical to keep mission, vision and focus at the forefront of all decisions. Executives do not have time to worry about the reliability and accuracy of their financial information. They need the flexibility and resources to get out of the minutia and focus on executing a strategic plan that drives the organization forward.

Outsourcing, or taking on “fractional” finance team members allows leaders to do just that. Outsourcing is not merely adding one individual to the organization on a full or part-time capacity. It’s far more than that. Outsourcing is more equivalent to the addition of an entire team – with experience from similar organizations – who can operate effectively and efficiently as your bookkeeper, and Chief Financial Officer.

Below are five key benefits to outsourcing your finance needs:

Wide range of expertise becomes part of your team.
Every organization needs financial expertise for sustainability. The question on whether to hire internally or outsource is a key consideration depending on the size and needs of the organization. Outsourcing financial services allows organizations to have a team with varying skillsets, experience and expertise. It allows for one contractor or relationship to fill many needs from bookkeeper, to controller to tax advisor. Trusted advisors on budgeting, projections and investments in programs (or sunsetting of programs) are at the fingertips of leadership.

Greater ease for flexibility and organizational shifts/change.
We are seeing a shift in how organizations are functioning moving forward. Engaging in an outsourced relationship allows leadership flexibility to restructure without long-term commitments of employee hiring, training, continuing education and engagement. Outsourced financial engagements can be short or long term. They can expand and contract as needed without leadership distractions on hiring, interviews and next steps.

Board and leadership financial confidence.
Boards of directors and executives need confidence in the historical and projection numbers they use to make decisions. Within an outsourcing relationship there is built in quality control for appropriate reviews to be done and continual technical training. It is critical for leadership to have confidence in the numbers they see and consistency in reporting.

Increased internal controls.
An outsourced finance team adds layers to current internal control systems. Often we see awkward systems in place in order for organizations to maintain their “double checks” and approval procedures. This situation has been exacerbated during the pandemic. As an outsourced solution comes with more than one individual, there are inherently greater options for controls. Utilizing an outsourced partner also allows for leveraging existing procedures and efficient practices to reduce time and add streamlined workflow options to organizations.

Reduced staffing and overall expenses.
Internal hires require significant investment in recruitment, wages, benefits, training, backup processing and retention. In an outsourced environment, all those costs are absorbed, and savings are passed on to the client. There are also various applications and technology costs that can be leveraged through an outsourced relationship. Often there are reduced fees for financial software, cloud-based storage solutions and virtual processing applications.

One thing we can be certain about is that things are continually evolving and the speed in which we need to be able to make decisions is increasing.

Is Outsourcing Right for Your Organization?

Interested in exploring opportunities to streamline processes and move your organization forward with expertise through Outsourced Solutions? The experts at Maner Costerisan can help.

Maner Costerisan is the trusted partner of nonprofit associations, charitable organizations and private foundations doing important work across Michigan. We understand the unique challenges facing nonprofits and are here to provide support from strategic and organizational planning to financial reporting and everything in between. More than 300 nonprofits across the state trust Maner Costerisan to help them fulfill their mission and improve the communities they serve.