In the face of the growing DIY-taxes movement of the digital age, more accountants are transitioning into a financial management role. One of the big markets to be tapped by accounting firms is that of SMSFs (Self-Managed Super Funds). SMSF outsourced accounting is proving itself to be an efficient method for accountants to not only make the transition but to immediately start making a profit from their new role as an SMSF counsellor.
As of the end of the September 2017 quarter, the SMSF assets in aggregate totaled over $2,530 billion, up from the previous quarter’s $2,505 billion. SMSF outsourcing allows accounting firms to tap into this growing market by having an overseas accountant do essentially all of the associated ongoing SMSF paperwork – SMSF administration, audit prep work, member statements, and so on – at a fraction of the cost of an in-house hire. The new member can be up to speed and working for their associated Australian firm within a week.
So local firms are all set to net their piece of the SMSF pie. The hidden benefit? Travis Croucher of Conquest Accounting, a client of BOSS (Back Office Shared Services – an SMSF outsourced accounting provider) says that using a virtual team member has substantially increased his work-life ratio for the better.
Croucher became a client with BOSS in 2012, and says he now uses SMSF outsourcing for 60 to 70% of his clients. “I’m sure my firm would still have grown, but it would have taken so much more effort to get where it is now if I hadn’t tried out SMSF outsourcing. The time-savings are fantastic – I’m able to provide so much more strategic advice now to my clients because I’m not using up all of my time with basic number-crunching.”
Croucher’s interview (which can be viewed on Boz.com.au) looks into how an overseas team handles the SMSF paperwork. “From my end, I gather the client’s information and then at the end I do a quality check. The quality assurance is a quick and easy process because my virtual accountants send me clear and concise excel spreadsheets and templates. For me the process is just two simple stages and then it’s ready to go back out to my clients. And the whole thing only takes a week.”
“I’m now able to turn up at 10 a.m.,” says Croucher, “and leave by 2:30 p.m.”
On average BOSS SMSF accounting outsourcing staff have at least four years of experience including public practice experience.
About BOSS, BACK OFFICE SHARED SERVICES PTY LTD
BOSS (Back Office Shared Services Pty Ltd) was founded in 2004 to provide skilled accountants and bookkeepers on a full-time, part-time and casual basis to commercial enterprises, accounting and financial services firms in Australia.
BOSS India is a subsidiary of BOSS Australia and runs just like an ultra-modern paperless Australian public practice because the Director and Accountancy Practice Principal, Peter Vickers, has been operating his own successful Australian public practice for over twenty years.
