Key Takeaways
- Most professional service companies, like advertising agencies, law offices, and architecture firms, can outsource their accounting services.
- Professional service companies can outsource bookkeeping, payroll, tax prep, CFO services, and more to an accounting outsourcing company.
- Outsourced accounting services for professional service companies help you focus and scale your business while lowering costs, improving accuracy, and giving you access to new financial technology.
Your professional service firm is growing, but now every month-end feels like a scramble. You're spending hours on QuickBooks instead of serving clients, and tax season has become a nightmare of late nights and missed deadlines. What started as a manageable finance function has turned into a bottleneck that's limiting your growth and eating into your billable hours.
The cascading consequences hit your business from multiple angles. Client projects get delayed while you handle accounting tasks. You're making financial decisions with outdated information because your books are perpetually behind. Your team is frustrated because they can't get timely answers about project profitability or cash flow.
This guide covers two strategic approaches to solving your accounting challenges: working with outsourcing companies that handle the work for you, or partnering with staffing agencies to hire your own dedicated accounting professionals. You'll discover which option fits your growth stage, budget, and control preferences.
What Kinds of Professional Service Companies Can Outsource Accounting?
Some of the main types of professional service companies that can benefit from outsourced accounting services include:
- Law firms
- Accounting firms
- Consulting firms
- Advertising agencies
- Architecture and engineering companies
- IT service providers
- Marketing agencies
Hiring outsourced accountants can benefit these companies in a variety of ways, such as by reducing overhead costs, freeing up time for core tasks, and providing access to specialized expertise.
Outsourced Accounting Functions for Professional Service Companies
Are you wondering when to outsource accounting and what tasks to outsource? Outsourced accounting services for professional service companies typically include the following finance functions:
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping involves recording financial transactions, including sales, purchases, receipts, and payments. It forms the foundation for all other accounting tasks and must be accurate and up to date.
Payroll management
Payroll management involves calculating and processing employee wages, taxes, and benefits. This can be a time-consuming task for businesses with many employees, making it an ideal function to outsource.
Accounts payable and receivable
Managing accounts payable and receivable involves tracking and paying bills, as well as invoicing and collecting payments from customers. Outsourcing this function can help you stay on top of your cash flow and avoid late fees or missed payments.
Financial reporting and analysis
Financial reporting and analysis involves preparing financial statements, such as income statements and balance sheets, to assess the financial health of a company. This function can provide valuable insights for informed decision-making but requires expertise in accounting principles.
Tax preparation and filing
Tax preparation and filing involves calculating and submitting business taxes accurately and on time. This can be a complex task, especially for professional service companies with multiple revenue streams. Outsourcing this function can help ensure compliance with tax laws while minimizing the risk of errors.
Virtual CFO services
Virtual CFO services provide businesses with financial leadership and strategic advice. This can be beneficial for professional service companies that may not have the budget for a full-time CFO but still need expert guidance in making important financial decisions.
Compliance and regulatory reporting
Compliance and regulatory reporting involves staying up to date with financial regulations and laws, such as GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). Outsourcing this function can help you avoid penalties for noncompliance.
Alternative to Outsourcing: Hiring Your Own Accounting Talent in Latin America
Building your own dedicated accounting team offers several advantages over traditional outsourcing. While outsourcing means handing off your financial operations to a third-party company, hiring your own professionals gives you direct control, better integration, and often superior long-term value.
Here's why many professional service companies are choosing to hire their own Latin American accounting talent instead of outsourcing:
Direct control and integration
When you hire your own accounting professionals, they become true extensions of your team. They learn your specific processes, understand your client relationships, and can adapt quickly to your changing needs. Unlike outsourced services where you're one of many clients, your hired professionals are focused entirely on your business success.
Better cultural alignment
Your own team members develop deeper relationships with your existing staff and clients. They understand your company culture, communication style, and business goals. This creates more cohesive operations compared to working with external service providers.
A CPA firm solved their tax season staffing challenges by hiring their own Latin American team members who work in aligned time zones, enabling real-time collaboration during their busiest periods.
Cost-effectiveness at scale
According to Near's State of LatAm Hiring Report, companies save 55% on accounting roles and 58% on bookkeeping roles when hiring from Latin America.
As you scale, these savings compound significantly.

Flexibility and scalability
Building your own team allows you to scale up or down based on seasonal demands typical in professional services. You can hire additional support during busy periods or cross-train team members across different functions as your needs evolve.
Knowledge Retention
When you hire your own professionals, institutional knowledge stays within your organization. They develop deep expertise in your specific industry requirements, client preferences, and internal processes that would be lost with traditional outsourcing arrangements.
Companies like FinanceWithin scaled their hiring by working with Near to build their own financial team rather than outsourcing to multiple vendors. This approach gave them the skilled professionals they needed quickly while maintaining direct oversight of their financial operations.
Top 6 Companies for Outsourcing Accounting Services for Professional Service Companies
In no particular order, here are six of the best outsourced accounting services for professional service companies, including both recruitment and staffing firms and specialized accounting companies.
1. Near
Near (Hire With Near) is a full-service staffing and recruiting agency that helps US companies of all sizes hire top-performing remote talent in Latin America across finance, accounting, sales, software engineering, AI, data, design, marketing, operations, and virtual assistance.
We help professional service companies build their own dedicated accounting teams rather than outsourcing the work to third-party firms. This approach gives you direct control over your financial operations while still achieving significant cost savings and faster hiring timelines.
We handle the complex process of finding, vetting, and placing accounting professionals who integrate seamlessly with your existing team.
Our approach delivers results:
- Fast placement process: Candidate lists within 3 days, placements completed in under 3 weeks
- No upfront costs: Pay only after you make a hire, with flexible fee options—one-time placement fee or monthly staffing fee if you want us handling payroll and compliance
- Pre-vetted talent pool: 45,000+ candidates, but we don't limit ourselves to existing networks. We find talent meeting your exact requirements and cultural fit expectations
- Top-tier professionals: Work with Latin American accounting professionals who perform like your best US hires
- Real-time collaboration: Close time zones enable seamless communication with your team members
CyberFortress saved over $1M annually by building their entire 20-person accounting team through Near, including senior-level hires with Big Four experience who helped cut their month-end closing timeline from 15 days to 10 days.
2. AccountingDepartment.com
AccountingDepartment.com has been handling bookkeeping, controller, and advisory services for its clients for over 20 years. It provides outsourced accounting services for professional service companies earning between $2 million and $100 million in annual revenue.
The firm offers a wide range of services, but its professional service clients often benefit from daily financials, accrual accounting, comprehensive financial statements, time tracking, expense management, budgets, forecasts, and more.
2. Signature Analytics
Started in 2008 in San Diego, California, Signature Analytics has since become an Inc. 5000 firm and one of the San Diego Business Journal’s Best Places to Work in 2022. The virtual company has expanded its services throughout the US.
Among its offerings are outsourced accounting and CFO advisory for professional services, including consulting and marketing firms, advertising agencies, engineering and architecture firms, HR and PR companies, and more.
3. Compass East
Compass East is a Nashville, Tennessee-based team of certified public accountants (CPAs) and professionals who use cloud-based technology to help professional service companies with their financial operations.
The services it offers to professional companies include KPI dashboard management, cash forecasting, controller review, financial statement preparation, accounts payable and receivable management, payroll administration, and fundraising advisory.
4. 415 Group
The Ohio-based company 415 Group was founded in 1981 and has grown from three founders into a CPAmerica member and QuickBooks-certified firm. It provides accounting for professional service firms, as well as business consulting and IT services.
415 Group offers several outsourced accounting solutions for professional service firms, including business accounting services, succession planning, IT consulting, buy-sell agreements, outsourced accounting, and more.
5. Windes
Windes is a professional accounting firm based in California offering audit, tax, and advisory services. It has almost 100 years of experience, boasting multiple Best Places to Work awards and a spot among Accounting Today’s Top 100 Firms of 2025.
Some of its professional service offerings include analysis of trust account activity for compliance with state bar rules, budgeting, cash flow analysis, compensation strategies, development of partner accountability criteria, and more.
6. Kreischer Miller
Since 1975, Kreischer Miller has worked to provide advisory, audit, accounting, and tax services from its base in Pennsylvania. The company is among Accounting Today’s 2025 Regional Leaders and Firms to Watch and has high ratings on Glassdoor and Indeed.
Kreischer Miller’s specialized services for professional service organizations include operations benchmarking and industry metric comparisons, entity/organizational structure, financial planning and analysis, overhead (FAR) rate audits, and business succession planning.
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How Outsourced Accounting Services Optimize Business Growth
Outsourcing accounting services can bring numerous benefits to professional service companies, including:
Leveraging best-in-class ERP technologies
Outsourced accounting services use the latest and most advanced ERP technologies, which can greatly enhance your company’s finance processes. These include automated systems for invoicing, payroll processing, and other important financial tasks that can save time and reduce accounting errors.
Cost savings
By outsourcing accounting services, you can save on the costs associated with hiring and training an in-house accounting team. You also avoid expenses related to maintaining an internal accounting department, such as office space and equipment.
Furthermore, wage expectations are often lower in outsourcing regions like LatAm than in the US.
Improved accuracy and compliance
Outsourced accounting services are handled by experts who have the necessary knowledge and experience to ensure accuracy and compliance with financial regulations. This can help prevent costly mistakes and penalties.
Scalability
Outsourcing accounting services allows for flexibility and scalability as your company grows. The accounting service provider can easily adjust their services to meet the changing needs of your business without incurring additional costs.
Ability to focus on core business activities
By outsourcing accounting services, your professional service company can free up time and resources to focus on core business functions. This allows for improved efficiency and productivity, leading to business growth.

Final Thoughts
You don't have to choose between cost savings and quality when it comes to your accounting operations.
Whether you decide to outsource or build your own team with Latin American talent, the key is working with partners who understand your business and deliver results.
Here's what we've learned from helping hundreds of companies: the best accounting talent isn't limited by geography.
Companies that embrace this reality gain a serious competitive advantage: better financial operations, faster growth, and the budget flexibility to invest in what really moves the needle.
Ready to see what's possible for your firm?
We've helped professional service companies build accounting teams that perform like their best US hires while saving 50-60% on costs. No lengthy vendor evaluations, no upfront fees, no surprises.
Book a free consultation call and we'll show you exactly how companies like yours have solved their accounting challenges while staying within budget.








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