Outsource Tax Preparation Without Losing Control: 10 Proven Strategies

The tax season launches a mountain of stress upon most UK accounting firms when implementing outsourced tax preparation without losing control: 10 proven strategies for UK accounting firms become essential for success.

Deadlines intensify, staffing problems intensify, and clients demand faultless stats, all at the same time.

Many firms are beginning to outsource some or all of their tax prep work, but the apprehensiveness is understandable: trusting financial responsibility to a third party is a risk.

What happens if anything gets compromised? The work breaks? The deadlines explode? But here's the good news—outsourcing should not, if managed well, relinquish control of the work flow.

There is no reason you cannot successfully delegate certain processes to a third party and still maintain detailed oversight of the process.

This overview provides the 10 best practices UK accountants need to successfully outsource tax prep work without losing control and without sacrificing the quality and timeliness of their services.

Foundations for Success: Outsource Tax Preparation Strategies

Before a file even begins to go out of your door or email inbox, the necessary infrastructure must already be in place.

In many instances experienced end users have encountered troublesome instances of poor practice, miscommunications, and layers of rework resulting from rushing into outsourcing without laying the essential foundational steps.

Ignore these steps at your peril—significant subsequent frustration may result.

Do not lose sight of processes and procedures; establish procedure flows

Gone is the "everything is in the head" era.

Effective process management is critical.

As such, determine your work scope in partnership with your outsourcing partner so there is no opportunity for confusion or miscommunication.

While you may start by outsourcing the preparation of forms 1040 and 1120, or VAT filing details, ultimately a range of evidence is required by the outsourcee before they can begin crunching numbers.

Be as specific as possible by creating checklists that clearly spell out:
- what your files look like
- what your communication and requests look like
- what computer platforms both must work within (i.e. Xero, IRIS, or Tax Calc software) and that both parties agree upon
- what your error margin rate can reasonably be
- how quickly your work must be turned around
- Review and correction policy—With detailed and predictable instruction, assured productivity will most assuredly follow.

As an added boon, Exuberant Global, with roots in New Delhi and 11+ years providing UK-focused accounting support, is at home with all the significant software platforms used in UK practices today—your tasks will be ready for processing, not large and painstaking system adaptations.

Create and work towards predefined quality standards

New outsourcing standards can be harsh, and if you fail to set standards, disappointment is guaranteed.

Define quality benchmarks in advance.

Set standards for turnaround time, number of errors/errors per return, formatting, review, and, of course, final submission.

Being able to measure back against predefined metrics makes the entire work process far more manageable and quick to troubleshoot when standards are not being met.

Control Without Micromanaging: UK Accounting Firm Strategies

Awareness and control over work volume should not and cannot morph into excess micromanagement.

In fact, firms can employ structured controls that provide them with oversight while not committing to full-time hands-on responsibilities like reviewing all process work.

Use staged review points and await the final results

Don't wait for everything to be done and then review—set timeframes in advance and build review standards into the work process so that increments are deemed correct instead of a surprise at the last time.

Some ideas for staged review:
1. outsourcee does initial data entry
2. sky rate submits preliminary return to senior preparer for consideration
3. your in-house reviewer double-checks the return
4. payment is sent off by your firm

This saves mistakes from being serious by the deadline.

Exuberant Global uses this approach daily and eagerly—they crunch the numbers, but you keep the final "pen-to-paper" sign-off.

You retain full and non-timely control of your processes.

Use shared online applications and programs for sharing of work

Shared online platforms offer the transparency of work in progress that remote support has long sought. When both your offices are working together in the software platform (Xero, IRIS, etc.), you will be able to track progress at all times, make comments directly on files, and track modifications without a slew of emails.

The transparency of the process is the decisive factor in establishing controlled outsourcing relationships.

Protect client relationships despite the outsourcing

One of the biggest reasons some firms are reluctant to move towards offshore taxation and accounting work is because they do not want to alienate their clients.

There is a way to outsource your work without your clients being the wiser.

Keep all existing processes in the office

While many clients could frankly care less where the work is prepared, providing the work continues to be produced on an equitable basis is far more effective.

All communications to and from your clients should continue to be handled by your firm.

You are the point person for scanning, messaging, updating, and final delivery. Your outsourcing partner will function only as a behind-the-scenes adjunct, readily available 24/7 to provide the content you need immediately.

Great examples of this type of outsourcing include Exuberant Global—they work in the background so you are "the same" to your clients as you have been in the past.

Your client relations will not be tarnished, and your business will grow.

Use partnership in your third-party tax knowledge

Not all outsourcing companies have an understanding of UK tax rules, reporting methodology, and tax determination in general.

Since you already know what basic level of knowledge you require, turn to a source such as Exuberant Global, who knows your specific working regime—self-assessment, things like MTD, Corp. Tax, and HMRC filings—like the back of their hand.

Lower error potential and greater support efficiency will most assuredly result.

Scale according to seasonal need

Flexibility is the greatest benefit to outsourcing accounting preparation support.

Rather than constantly enlarging or shrinking your permanent team—which inevitably leads to rising employment standards and the need for investments outside of the core financial deal—outsource up for busier periods—whether for a few individual single members of personnel or for an entire seasonal outsourced team. Exuberant Global now has both models working smoothly for any number of firms.

Additional measures for effective external optimization include:
- scheduling performance reviews with your outside partner monthly
- testing a small batch of work to the advanced operations before full-rollout
- setting cloud-based cross-company data security and operational standards
- providing a detailed training program for your own staff to optimize communication with the support company
- establishing a "go-to" contact at each organization who can solve issues in a clutter-free, time-efficient manner
- execution of a signed nondisclosure agreement.

Conclusion

Outsourcing tax preparation does not have to be a compromise; rather, it can be a step towards optimizing a growing UK practice. However, it does require process and project management steps: defining scope, creating process flows, establishing predefined standards, setting in-house communication practices, and choosing a partner. One name in the industry can smooth the entire road to outsourcing: Exuberant Global. Outsourcing support requires smooth handling and expert responsiveness, and Exuberant delivers both with a global reach!

From flexible short-term seasonal support to trusted long-term team additions, we have the experience you need. The right people, the right process, the right solution. It's what we do.

Find out how you can make your tax work smarter and more scalably with a simple outsourced solution.

Talk to Exuberant Global today and see a true professional outsourcing solution keep all the control, compliance, and quality you need.