Situation and challenge
Staff shortages in an accounting department can arise unexpectedly and very quickly affect the entire business. An employee's departure, long-term sick leave, staff turnover or a peak in workload during the monthly close can cause delays in recording documents, difficulties reconciling balances, a backlog in receivables and payables, and a risk of errors in financial reports and tax returns.
A medium-sized service company approached TOP Outsourcing after its finance department suddenly lost access to key staff. The main difficulties concerned day-to-day document recording, posting purchase and sales invoices, and reconciling customer and supplier balances.
The client did not want to launch a costly and time-consuming recruitment process immediately. It needed prompt, flexible accounting support to keep the finance department running and maintain its most important processes.
TOP Outsourcing's task was clearly defined: take over selected accounting processes, work in the client's systems, ensure timely posting and reduce the risk of interruptions to financial reporting.
The problem: accounting staff shortages and the risk of delays
The client's situation was typical of companies with an in-house accounting department that periodically need external support. The company did not want to outsource its entire accounting function. It needed help with specific processes.
The main challenges included:
1. A shortage of staff responsible for key accounting processes
Some employees responsible for recording purchase documents, recording sales documents and reconciling balances had left the organisation or were temporarily unavailable.
The remaining team consequently had to take on additional duties, increasing the risk of delays, staff overload and errors in the accounting records.
2. Risk of operational disruption
Without prompt support, key accounting processes could have stopped or slowed down. These primarily included:
- day-to-day posting of purchase invoices
- recording sales invoices
- reconciling customer and supplier balances
- monitoring receivables and payables
- preparing data for financial reports
- completing the monthly close on time.
For the management board, this created a risk of losing ongoing visibility of the company's financial position.
3. Pressure from accounting and tax deadlines
The client had to remain compliant with the Polish Accounting Act, tax regulations and internal reporting procedures. Staff shortages did not remove the company's obligation to prepare returns, JPK files, management reports and control schedules on time.
Any delay in recording documents could affect the quality of financial and tax data.
4. The need to work in the client's systems
The company had its own finance and accounting system and internal document workflow procedures. It expected external support to fit its working environment.
This meant getting up to speed with the client's processes quickly, without costly data migration or changes to the existing accounting system.
5. The need for a flexible scope of support
The client did not need full accounting outsourcing. It wanted only those selected processes facing the greatest resource shortages to be taken over.
The working model had to be flexible, adapting to current needs, reporting deadlines and the availability of the internal team.
What TOP Outsourcing did
The solution: taking over selected accounting processes
TOP Outsourcing introduced support for specific processes that quickly relieved the client's team and kept the most important accounting activities running.
The work was planned to avoid disrupting the company's existing working arrangements. Our team worked in the client's systems, followed its procedures and cooperated closely with the in-house finance department.
Step 1: Analysing processes and defining the scope of support
The first step was a rapid assessment of the situation and identification of the processes needing immediate support.
We identified the key areas:
- recording purchase documents
- recording sales documents
- reconciling customer and supplier balances
- monitoring receivables and payables
- checking the accuracy of accounting entries
- preparing reporting data
- supporting the monthly close.
On this basis, we agreed priorities, a work schedule and the respective responsibilities of TOP Outsourcing and the client's team.
Step 2: Starting work in the client's systems
The next step was to onboard our team quickly into the client's environment. We familiarised ourselves with its finance and accounting system, document workflow, chart of accounts, reporting structure and internal document approval rules.
This enabled us to begin handling the processes without transferring data to another system.
The working model included:
- working directly in the client's system
- following the company's internal procedures
- ongoing communication with the finance department
- reporting on work completed
- flagging matters requiring the client's decision
- quality checks on posted documents.
- Step 3: Day-to-day processing of documents and account balances
After onboarding, we began handling the selected accounting processes on an ongoing basis. The priority was to clear the backlog quickly and restore a regular working rhythm.
The scope of work included, among other things:
- recording purchase invoices
- recording sales invoices
- checking the accuracy of data on documents
- checking account coding
- reconciling supplier and customer balances
- investigating differences in receivables and payables
- monitoring payment deadlines
- help with preparing data for the monthly close.
This allowed the client's internal team to focus on tasks requiring detailed knowledge of the organisation, while TOP Outsourcing took over the operational areas most exposed to delays.
Step 4: Coordination with the client's finance team
Handling selected accounting processes requires good communication. We therefore agreed clear working arrangements with the client's team from the outset.
Cooperation included:
- regular progress updates
- ongoing clarification of incomplete documents
- flagging items requiring decisions
- coordination with the people responsible for payments
- agreeing priorities ahead of the monthly close
- sharing information on potential risks.
The client retained control of the process while receiving practical relief from its operational workload.
Step 5: Quality control and progress reporting
Each stage of the processes we took over was subject to quality checks. We verified the accuracy of entries, completeness of data and compliance with the client's accounting policies.
We also prepared brief status reports for the management board and finance department. These included:
- the number of documents processed
- the status of balance reconciliations
- a list of outstanding matters
- areas requiring the client's decision
- potential risks
- recommendations for further action.
This gave the management board an up-to-date view of the situation and enabled it to monitor the effectiveness of the support.
Results and summary
Results: accounting continuity without immediate recruitment
With TOP Outsourcing's support, the client maintained continuity of accounting processes despite staffing shortages in the finance department.
Accounting processes continued without interruption
Purchase and sales documents were recorded, and balances reconciled, on time. The company avoided interruptions in key accounting areas.
The risk of errors was reduced
Regular quality checks on accounting entries helped reduce the risk of errors caused by an overloaded in-house team. Accounting data was reviewed on an ongoing basis.
The client's team was relieved of pressure
The in-house finance department could focus on strategic tasks, the monthly close and communication with the management board, rather than taking on the entire backlog of operational work.
The company avoided pressure to recruit immediately
The client gained time to make staffing decisions carefully. It did not have to hire under crisis conditions or risk further overloading the team.
The management board retained control of the situation
Regular progress reporting gave the management board a fuller picture and greater confidence. The company could continue operating without disruption to financial reporting.
Summary
This case study shows how support for selected accounting processes can be an effective solution for companies facing staff shortages, turnover or a temporarily overloaded accounting department.
By working with TOP Outsourcing, the client benefited from:
- prompt support for the accounting department
- the takeover of selected accounting processes
- processing of purchase and sales documents
- reconciling customer and supplier balances
- work carried out in the client's systems
- continuity of accounting operations
- a lower risk of errors
- ongoing progress reporting
- time to resolve its staffing situation without undue pressure.
TOP Outsourcing supports companies with selected accounting processes, accounts payable and receivable (AP/AR) outsourcing, document posting, balance reconciliations, the monthly close and temporary support for finance and accounting departments.
