During the brick-and-mortar era, the value of accountants was often overlooked. But then the early 2000s saw a series of high-profile fraud cases—Enron and WorldCom, for example—and businesses realized they needed accountability and compliance professionals.
Today, we’re evolving again. The days when we only show up during tax time or to balance the books are over. More and more, we’re becoming strategic partners.
In this article, we’ll share what accounting support looks like from the perspective of an indinero CFO who’s helped companies scale from startup to $20M+.
The Misunderstood Role of Accountants
Why do so many business owners think of accountants only as people you call at tax time?
“That’s a common misconception,” CFO Bryan Johnson explains. “People think you’re a CPA, so you must know everything there is to know about taxes. But there are multiple disciplines in the field, and it’s possible for an accountant to do no tax work at all.”
It’s partially a branding problem. We aren’t known for flashy marketing, and there are no movies about CPAs saving the world. But it’s also because business owners are overwhelmed and often see accounting as a necessary evil, rather than a potential advantage.
Here’s the truth: you probably started your company because you believed in a product, a mission, or a better way to do things. A good accountant safeguards that vision.
We don’t just ask where the money went, we help decide where it should go next.
What Can Accountants Really Do?
A common service is, of course, tax prep. Business owners could save money by doing it themselves, but their time is often better spent focusing on growth.
But we do so much more.
“We’ve had a client for a few years,” Bryan begins. “He was bootstrapping and came to us at a time when they were breaking even and worried about whether they would make it. He used our full stack of services, from bookkeeping to accounting and tax prep, but what was especially helpful was our CFO advisory.”
His financials were being managed on a cash basis, so it was hard for him to map his true costs and profit margins. He was charging customers up front and recognizing revenue all at once, even though the true cost of providing services would last for many months.
The first thing we did was move him to accrual accounting so we could properly analyze his margins over time. It surprised him, but it turned out a number of his projects weren’t profitable. His variable profits on each sale weren’t high enough to cover his fixed costs.
Armed with that knowledge, he made some changes. Over the next six or so months, he cut his cost structure in half, right-sized the business, and got himself to a point where he was profitable.
“That’s a success story,” Bryan finishes. “We’ve helped companies that spent all their investment money, but were basically getting to zero. We stepped in as strategic advisors and got them on a path to profitability.”
Why Is Accounting Evolving?
In short, we have time.
Decades ago, we did our jobs without computers. Then QuickBooks and NetSuite digitized a lot of the math and administrative work. Fast forward to today, and AI is automating even more of the time-consuming side of our profession. We don’t believe in fully automated accounting—human input remains instrumental—but there’s no doubt the times are changing.
Many business owners have picked up on this. They’re treating accountants as strategic partners rather than cost centers. They loop us into leadership calls and ask for scenario planning.
- What would it take to hit our revenue goals in half the time?
- How much runway do we really have?
- What’s the story our numbers are telling investors?
Those are the questions accountants are answering now. Today’s accountant isn’t spending their time logging expenses, they’re helping you plan your next move. With real-time data at our fingertips, we’re modeling what happens if you hire a new sales rep, or test a price increase, or expand into a new region.
Related article: Controller vs Comptroller vs CFO
What Is the Value of an Outsourced Accounting Firm?
We’ve established that accountants are more than just tax preparers, and maybe you’re warming up to the idea of getting help. But from hiring a freelancer to in-house help or even another agency, you have plenty of options. Why should our outsourced firm get your attention?
There are the typical reasons: it can save you money over in-house help while saving you the time and headache of doing it yourself. But there’s a reason other accounting firms don’t often talk about: the breadth and depth of our client base.
At any given time, we’re working with over 500 concurrent clients. And because of our access to the books, we have a privileged view of the business world.
We see firsthand what works and what doesn’t across different industries, business models, and economic conditions. We have a unique advantage; we’re not just looking at your company in a vacuum, but rather in the context of a network of businesses navigating similar challenges.
- If your SaaS company is struggling with customer retention, we can pull from our experience with other subscription-based businesses to identify best practices.
- If your e-commerce brand is grappling with high customer acquisition costs, we can share insights from other direct-to-consumer businesses that have optimized marketing spend.
- If your construction company is facing cash flow constraints due to long project cycles, we can leverage strategies from other capital-intensive businesses to help manage working capital more effectively.
Not only can you benefit from our network and direct industry experience, but indinero has the advantage of being a full stack, accounting, tax, and CFO firm.
As Brian says, “A full-stack firm makes things easier. It cuts down on time communicating with multiple vendors or internal teams. With us, you have a single point of contact. Having everything under the same umbrella is just more efficient.”
Ready to Elevate Your Financial Strategy?
Whether you need help optimizing cash flow, planning for investment, or simply getting clarity on your financials, we’re here to help. Reach out today. We’d be delighted to learn where you are and where you want to go.
