In this blog you will get to know the meaning of Standard Operating Procedures and why it important for Remote Staffing in Accounting Firms.

SOPs – “Written procedure prescribed for repetitive use as a practice, in accordance with agreed-upon specifications aimed at obtaining the desired outcome.” – Business Dictionary

Standard operating procedures are written instructions that describe how to conduct business operations. It is advised that standard operating procedures be developed in a clear, basic, step-by-step way with appropriate flowcharts in order to properly describe the relationship between various activities and departments or interdepartmental relationships. For better execution and consistency, it needs to study the organizational structure and business policy before developing the procedure.

SOP for Remote Staffing solutions in the accounting industry

Remote staffing options are one of the most valued benefits of technology improvement for CPA businesses, such as cloud computing, cloud accounting, could document management and processing, and so on. Because of several benefits such as cost savings in job execution, flexibility in recruiting, relief from human resource management chores, and so on, more and more CPA companies are turning to remote staffing solutions.

Before delegating the accounting work to remote staffing solutions providing companies like CapActix must discuss SOPs for the various operations such as accounting document sharing and processing, reporting, legal boundaries, confidentiality agreements, etc. In some cases, it is also important to define the policies of Bank Reconciliation, credit cards or wire transfers, etc., before working with a remote team.

What is the importance of SOPs for Remote Accounting Firms?

Accounting firms can use SOPs to develop operational procedures from training to various forms of communication with remote staffing companies so that both parties remain completely organized, function easily, and guarantee that assigned tasks can be completed on schedule without confusion or misunderstanding.

We have noted that after working with various CPA and accounting firms – every company has some sort of SOP that they follow unconditionally, but most of the companies don’t draw written SOPs before working with remote staffing solutions providing companies.

It is very essential to draw well-structured written SOPs for accounting firms, especially those who are planning to enjoy remote staffing solutions. That’s because standard operating procedures will define the minute details and responsibilities, moreover, it can further serve as legal evidence in the eyes of the law. It is always recommended to draw SOPs when a CPA firm and remote staffing company are collaborating. This small practice can benefit both sides in numerous ways such as;

1. Reduce Training Time

Staffing organizations can use standard operating procedures to develop training and certification norm for its personnel based on the needs of accounting firms, saving them from having to teach each new employee. Accounting businesses, on the other hand, may ensure that their personnel are trained in the same manner as their in-house staff if they share their SOPs with remote staffing providers. This brings consistency and saves time for accounting firms.

2. Creates Brand Consistency

Every CPA business works extremely hard to build and maintain its brand in the market, as it must keep its identity in a highly competitive work environment. With SOPs, CPA firms may preserve the same authentic feel, attitude, and tone of their brand even while providing remote staffing options to customers. Through well-structured branding guidelines, your brand will stay consistent regardless of location boundaries. Clients of CPA firms place their faith in the firm’s practices regardless of where their personnel is situated. SOPs will address a few critical branding issues. –

• Emphasis CPA firm’s logo, colors, and tagline
• Well-structured social media policies
• Uniformity guidelines for communication
• Rules for employees to speak with clients, if required

Also read 10 Ideal Ways to Appoint Remote Staffing Companies for CPA Firms in the USA

3. Minimize Errors along with Improved Productivity

Remote accounting firms may successfully manage day-to-day operations with carefully developed SOPs in advance, ensuring that all workers understand the process, rules, procedures, and deliverables connected to their jobs. This makes remote working for personnel quite clear about their job position and client expectations, allowing them to give their all. As a result, it will unhurriedly increase job quality.

4. Meet Legal Requirements

With the accounting work, lots of legal requirements are attached as the financial matters are involved. Thus, by drawing the SOPs, both remote staffing firms and CPA firms can protect their employees and clients and make sure that they determine any legal responsibility in case of a mishap. Every business organization needs to safeguard its employee’s interests and the company’s reputation at any cost.

5. Design Chain of Commands

Remote staffing firms must build a good chain of command structure in which everyone in the organization understands the company’s structure and operations. In this manner, accounting companies know who is in control and who to call if a specific incident occurs. Accounting firms with several offices and divisions must generate well-defined SOPs in order to construct a suitable organizational structure.

6. Easy Delegation of Work

Remote accounting firms are sometimes required to produce work on very short notice, and if any of their staff falls ill or is unable to work due to a personal situation, it becomes too difficult for organizations to fulfil deadlines. When all work delegation obligations are outlined in SOPs, yet, workers will immediately know the processes to follow when one of the employees is unable to work. This will simplify the task delegation procedure.

Read here: Why India is Preferred for Accounting Outsourcing Services?

To ensure seamless business operations, SOPs are one of the most crucial business requirements that all accounting firm organizations should adhere to nowadays. Companies that work with remote staff for CPA firms can gain a lot from standard operating procedures, from improving efficiency to keeping their business processes error-free.

At CapActix, we firmly believe in the proper construction of written standard operating procedures. Moreover, we always recommend our clients to follow the same and make sure our employees adhere to the same. If you want to know more about standard operating procedures for remote staffing solutions, then mail us at biz@capactix.com or call us at (201) 778-0509.