What to Consider When Hiring Outsourced Accounting Services?

1. What to Consider When Hiring Outsourced Accounting Services? What to Consider When Hiring Outsourced Accounting Services? Outsourced accounting data entry services must be chosen with great caution. Here are some important considerations… Managed Outsource Solutions www.managedoutsource.com (800) 670 2809 8596 E. 101st Street, Suite H Tulsa, OK 74133

2. Data is a very valuable asset to any business and is vital for the business’ day-to-day functioning and for intelligent decision making. Business organizations have large volumes of data like financial data, transaction data, client information, legal and government data, and so on. Paper-based data also exist in many organizations that are converted into digital format for easy management with the support of data entry services. Among the various types of data, financial data is rather vulnerable and must be protected effectively. The security of accounting and book keeping data becomes a concern when organizations outsource these processes to an external service provider. To manage data efficiently and to ensure effortless data processing, companies outsource accounting and book keeping to service providers. Outsourcing also provides benefits such as reduced costs, access to skilled workers and above all, it removes the burden of data processing from in-house staff who can focus better on the key activities of the organization. Loss of sensitive business data such as accounting data can affect the growth of the business and its reputation. Security of data begins from your own place. Check your data generation, collection, and storage systems to plug potential leaks. Inadequate control for accessing data and improper data security systems can lead to data breach. Businesses should also focus on choosing the right vendor before outsourcing their data entry and processing needs. Do a thorough research about the vendor that you are planning to outsource your work to. Following are some tips you could consider before outsourcing your accounting and book keeping processes.  The service provider should have a proper screening process for their staffs: Make sure that the accounting service provider recruits only those individuals who pass a foolproof, pre-employment security screening. The screening process should ideally include a criminal records search, check on identity, and unfavorable personal financial information. This will ensure that the employees do not pose a threat to your organizational data. Employees must also be regularly reviewed to ensure they are compliant with regulations and requirements. Also, each employee should be trained and retrained on the latest technologies and strategies related to data security.  Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements: Before assigning your work to the vendor generate a legal agreement which clearly mentions your security requirements. Make sure that you seek the opinion of a legal expert before preparing the legal agreement. Non-disclosure agreements are legally enforceable and any breach may result in a court-ordered award of financial damages. www.managedoutsource.com (800) 670 2809

3.  Check whether the accounting service uses password managers: Password manager applications can store a number of passwords in encrypted form, and these can be unlocked with a master password. These password managers can also generate difficult, hard-to-crack passwords. It ensures utmost safety especially during data transmission across networks. To safeguard data, password managers are a great option and ensure that your chosen accounting service uses one.  Virtual Private Network (VPN): Your chosen provider should safeguard client privacy with an effective VPN that acts a secure channel between two devices while also encrypting your data.  Use of antivirus software: Virus threats are quite common, so using antivirus software is important to protect against various malicious software like adware, bots, botnets etc. Most malware remains undetected for a long time. Antivirus software can detect and neutralize any threat. The accounting service that you choose should also have robust antivirus software that can detect malware and also use behavior-monitoring to identify and eliminate malware that is designed to attack as soon as it infects an operating system.  Restriction in the use of personal technology: The accounting services that you choose should have contractual requirements for their staff to leave their personal phones, smart watches, laptops etc in safety lockers during their working hours. This reduces any chances of data being stolen by any unethical staff.  Restricted internet access: An accounting service provider may limit access of Internet for their staff to those sites that are necessary for work purpose. If they don’t follow such a policy, you can always request them to do so for the duration of your project.  Audit trails: In case of any data breach, it is important to know how and when it happened and who was involved in it. Comprehensive audit trails of all activities undertaken on an accounting service’s computer systems can help understand this. Make sure that the chosen accounting service has a reliable internal audit process.  Use of dual monitors or restricted print permission: Accidental breaches sometimes occur when documents are printed and then discarded carelessly without shredding. Check whether your accounting service provider uses dual monitors to minimize the need for their staff to print documents in order to make comparisons. Some service providers may have restrictions regarding permission to print so that only authorized personnel are allowed to print documents. www.managedoutsource.com (800) 670 2809

4.  Restrict use of USB or DVD on staff computers: To eliminate unauthorized copying of data, an accounting service may restrict personal USB and DVD drives on workers’ computers. This is a security measure to avoid data leakage. Experienced and professional data entry companies offer affordable and efficient processing of accounting and book keeping data. A reputable data entry company would employ professionals who can provide well-structured data without compromising quality and safety. Accounting processes are critical to business functioning and outsourcing this activity must be done with great caution. www.managedoutsource.com (800) 670 2809