Chief Accountant service

What does outsourcing the Chief Accountant function involve?

Outsourcing the Chief Accountant function means entrusting an experienced external team with the role that, in many companies, is performed by an in-house Chief Accountant. It is not limited to reviewing individual accounting entries. The key is to establish a consistent process: who is responsible for the close, who reviews balances, who monitors tax and reporting deadlines, who coordinates the team and who communicates risks and matters requiring management decisions.

The service can be provided where the accounting records are maintained by the client’s team, another provider or TOP Outsourcing. We define the scope individually: from temporary cover following the departure of a key person, through an ongoing Chief Accountant function for an in-house team, to a model combining bookkeeping, review and reporting within one team.

• ongoing outsourced Chief Accountant function
• temporary cover during recruitment, leave or a longer absence
• coordination and oversight of the in-house accounting team
• operational responsibility for the month-end and year-end close within the agreed scope
• organisation of the process after a change of Chief Accountant or service provider
• support during business growth, an audit, a system change or implementation of new reporting obligations

When does a company need an outsourced Chief Accountant?

The most common warning sign is not an inability to post documents, but the absence of one person who has oversight of the whole process. Entries may be posted on time, yet the month-end close is delayed, balances are not reconciled regularly, tax settlements are prepared without a second level of review, auditor queries circulate between several people and management has no single owner for accounting matters.

The outsourced Chief Accountant model is also particularly useful when a company does not want to create a full-time senior role or needs an experienced person faster than a recruitment process would allow. The scope can be tailored to the actual need: from several key days per month to ongoing performance of the function.

• departure or extended absence of the Chief Accountant
• prolonged recruitment for a Chief Accountant position
• no single person responsible for the entire accounting process
• delayed or inconsistent month-end closes
• a growing number of matters requiring senior-level review
• reporting to management, the owner or a capital group
• preparation for a statutory audit of the financial statements
• implementation of KSeF, JPK CIT, a new ERP system or new procedures

Scope of the Chief Accountant function

The scope should reflect the organisation of the specific company. The Chief Accountant role looks different in a finance department with several employees, in a company with one accountant and in an entity belonging to an international group. Before cooperation begins, we therefore define the allocation of responsibilities between the client’s team, TOP Outsourcing, management, the tax adviser and, where relevant, group headquarters.

The key is for every recurring obligation to have a clear owner, deadline and control. An outsourced Chief Accountant may be operationally responsible for coordinating the process and reviewing its outcome, while management decisions and the statutory duties of the company’s governing bodies remain with the persons identified by law and the company’s internal rules.

• oversight of the accuracy and completeness of the accounting records
• organisation of the month-end and year-end closing timetable
• review of balance sheet accounts, receivables and payables, bank accounts, fixed assets, provisions, accruals and prepayments
• oversight of the VAT and CIT compliance process and data for JPK files
• coordination of the preparation of the financial statements
• preparation or review of management and group reporting
• coordination of cooperation with the statutory auditor and tax adviser
• identification of risks, open matters and decisions required from management
• recommendations concerning procedures, controls and allocation of responsibilities

How do we take over the Chief Accountant function?

Taking over the function should begin with an assessment of the accounting records and the existing process, not simply with taking over an email inbox and a deadline list. At the outset, we determine which periods are closed, which balances require reconciliation, which tax returns and reports still need to be prepared, where the documentation is held and which matters remain open following the previous person’s departure.

We then establish the work calendar and allocation of responsibilities. We treat the first close as a verification stage: we test how the process works in practice, identify exceptions and only then stabilise the ongoing operating model.

• 1. Assessment – status of the accounting records, deadlines, reports, taxes and open matters.
• 2. Allocation of responsibilities – who posts, reconciles, reviews, approves and escalates.
• 3. Access and documentation – systems, bank access, files, instructions, agreements and historical data.
• 4. Closing calendar – list of tasks, owners and deadlines.
• 5. First close – verification of the process and identification of missing controls.
• 6. Stabilisation – regular reporting of status, open matters and risks.

Month-end close and quality control of the accounting records

One of the core responsibilities of a Chief Accountant is to bring the process to the point where the accounting records can be considered closed and used for reporting. Finishing the posting of documents does not in itself mean that the close is complete. Reconciliations, review of material balances, identification of missing items, verification of unusual transactions and decisions on which matters require adjustment before closing and which may remain open are also required.

We therefore establish a closing checklist and the expected outcome for each area. This gives management and the finance team visibility not only over whether the deadline has been met, but also over which items have been reconciled, what risks remain and whether the data can be safely used for reporting and financial statements.

• closing timetable and status of individual tasks
• reconciliation of balance sheet accounts and receivables and payables
• review of the completeness of accounting entries and supporting documents
• review of taxes, provisions and period-end adjustments
• list of unusual transactions and matters requiring a decision
• confirmation that the data is ready for reporting and financial statements

Taxes, JPK CIT and KSeF within the Chief Accountant function

Depending on the agreed scope, an outsourced Chief Accountant may oversee the preparation of VAT and CIT settlements, data for JPK files, JPK CIT obligations and the organisation of document workflows in KSeF. This primarily includes checking data completeness, reconciling it to the accounting records, monitoring deadlines and identifying items requiring further analysis.

Where a matter requires interpretation of tax law, a tax opinion or specialist advice, we separate accounting work from tax advisory services and agree who is responsible for resolving the issue. In such cases, the outsourced Chief Accountant can coordinate the flow of information and implementation of the agreed solution in the accounting records.

Reporting to management and the capital group

The Chief Accountant should ensure that accounting data is not only formally correct but also useful to management. In practice, this means providing clear information after the close on the financial result, balance sheet, material changes, risks and matters requiring a decision. Reporting may be simple or more extensive – what matters is that it is consistent and based on reconciled data.

For companies belonging to capital groups, the function may also include coordination of reporting to headquarters: preparation of consolidation packages, reconciliation of intercompany transactions, mapping of local data to group requirements and explanation of differences between local accounting records and group reporting.

• month-end closing report
• comments on the financial result, balance sheet and material changes
• status of tax and reporting obligations
• list of open matters and decisions required from management
• reporting packages for the capital group
• reconciliation of intercompany transactions and balances

Cooperation with the auditor and preparation of the financial statements

During a statutory audit, the Chief Accountant is usually the main point of contact between the auditor and the accounting team. The role includes coordinating the list of requested information, monitoring responses, explaining balances and transactions and organising supporting documentation for audit samples and material financial statement items.

Within the agreed scope, we can also coordinate preparation of the annual financial statements, data for the notes, year-end adjustments and revised versions following auditor comments. This ensures that operational responsibility for the year-end close is not fragmented across several people without a single coordinator.

Process continuity and reducing dependence on one person

A significant accounting risk is the concentration of knowledge about the chart of accounts, balances, exceptions, reports and historical decisions in one person. The departure or prolonged absence of the Chief Accountant can then delay the month-end close and make handover difficult even for an experienced successor.

As part of the service, we therefore organise not only day-to-day tasks but also the way the process is documented: the closing calendar, control checklist, data sources, approval rules, instructions for key activities and the list of open matters. The aim is to reduce dependence on knowledge held only “in the head” of one person.

• documented closing calendar
• list of recurring responsibilities and their owners
• description of key reconciliations and controls
• list of open matters and history of decisions
• cover and escalation procedures
• structured handover when the operating model or responsible person changes

Chief Accountant service vs accounting oversight and full accounting outsourcing

These models can complement one another, but they address different needs. In our model, the Chief Accountant service is an ongoing operational function: coordination of the team, closing, taxes, financial statements, reporting and communication with management. Accounting oversight is primarily a control or intervention service – it is used to assess the quality of the accounting records, identify errors and organise the process where day-to-day accounting remains with the client or another provider.

Full accounting outsourcing, by contrast, also includes the day-to-day performance of accounting processes by an external team. If TOP Outsourcing maintains the accounting records and also provides the Chief Accountant function, both levels can operate within one model of operational responsibility.

Frequently asked questions about the Chief Accountant service