The accounting landscape is changing fast, with many professionals opting for independent, remote work over traditional firm roles. This shift is part of a broader trend, as 68% of independent workers now feel more secure working independently than in traditional employment. As businesses adapt to this new environment, accounting has become one of the most in-demand skills. Hiring a virtual accountant is now a strategic business play to access top talent while offering the flexibility that modern accountants increasingly seek.
What a Virtual Accountant Can Do For Your Business
A virtual accountant often offers flexible support for your business, in that they can work full-time, part-time or on a project-by-project basis. The adaptability of these remote accounting services allows small or cash-conscious businesses to optimize finance spend. Virtual accountants still follow the full accounting cycle and can help your business with GAAP accounting functions including, but not limited to:
- Creating and maintaining a chart of accounts
- Financial reporting
- General ledger reconciliations
- Month-end close
- Payroll processing
- Preparing trial balances and balance sheets for analysis
- Tax preparation and reporting
How to Find a Remote Accountant
Filling essential accounting rules is often challenging, as the hiring process is typically lengthy. Many businesses have lean teams where employees wear many hats, which leaves little time to dedicate internally to a search. Working with traditional recruitment agencies often takes weeks or even months to find and vet candidates, which can slow down your business operations.
Paro offers significant advantages over these methods:
- Find a skilled virtual accountant up to 20 times faster than traditional recruitment processes.
- Access the precise expertise your business needs within as little as 72 hours.
- Benefit from specialized focus in finance and accounting.
Paro’s proprietary AI-driven platform further enhances the process by precisely matching you with the remote CPA or accountant who has the specific accounting skills, technology and experience necessary for your unique needs.
Once a match is made, the onboarding process is swift and thorough, with a dedicated Paro team overseeing the kickoff call to align priorities, establish processes and assign tech stack access so the accountant can seamlessly integrate into your business operations.
Are Virtual Accountants Really Qualified to Do the Job?
A virtual accountant must have all the skills and knowledge required to fulfill a company’s financial reporting needs and ensure compliance. But not all remote accounting services are created equal, and this is where concerns often arise.
Business leaders may worry that these types of accountants may lack the rigorous training, certifications or hands-on experience that in-house hires or those working at traditional accounting firms might have. Without a thorough vetting process, you risk hiring someone who isn’t up-to-date on the latest regulations or lacks the necessary industry-specific expertise. Many platforms and services may not go beyond a resume submission or interview with a generic recruiter, which could leave your business vulnerable.
At Paro, we address these pain points head-on with our rigorous vetting process, which includes:
- Exhaustive hard- and soft-skill assessments
- Interviews with our expert recruiters
- Comprehensive background checks
- Continuous verification of our professionals’ credentials.
This ensures that your company gains access to the most highly qualified and specialized part-time remote accountants who are equipped to handle your business’s unique needs. In the end, we only accept the top 2% of all applicants to our network.
Ovation’s Experience: Working with Qualified Talent to Optimize Financial Operations
Ovation, a company that develops tools for researchers, faced challenges with outdated financial systems and delayed invoicing. By partnering with a rigorously vetted Paro expert, they transitioned from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online, granting management real-time access to financial data. The expert also updated their prior year’s books to align with a new financial model and implemented an accurate invoicing process, significantly improving cash flow and ensuring consistent financial performance.
How to Integrate Remote Accounting Expertise into Your Business
Integrating virtual CPA services into your business can offer the advantages of increased flexibility, scalability and access to specialized knowledge. Here’s how you can effectively hire a virtual accountant and bring them into your operations:
1. Assess Your Business Needs
Start by evaluating your specific financial needs. Do you need help during peak seasons, like tax time, or ongoing monthly support for tasks like reconciliations and financial reporting? Understanding your requirements will help you determine the right level of accounting support—whether on a project basis, part-time or full-time.
Action: List your business’s key accounting tasks and identify where additional support could provide the most value.
2. Choose the Right Engagement Model
Once you’ve identified your needs, decide on the engagement model that suits your business. Fixed rates are ideal for consistent, recurring services, offering predictable costs and the freedom to ask questions without worrying about extra charges. Hourly rates work well for short-term projects or when you need specialized expertise for a specific task.
Action: Consider your budget and project scope to determine whether a fixed or hourly rate is the best fit for your needs.
3. Find and Onboard the Right Talent
With Paro, the process of finding and integrating a virtual accountant into your business is both fast and thorough. We begin with a collaborative consultation about your firm’s needs, ensuring that the accountant we match with you is not only highly skilled but also a perfect fit for your company and its culture.
Once matched, the onboarding process should include setting priorities, aligning processes and ensuring your expert has the necessary access to your tech stack. You should also set expectations around communication, scheduled meetings or checkpoints and how work will be delivered. This thorough approach to onboarding will ensure your remote accountant can hit the ground running and integrate smoothly into your operations.
Action: Schedule a consultation with Paro to discuss your accounting needs and begin the matching process.
How MEG Streamlined Their Operations with Remote Accounting Services
Consider MEG Business Management, a physical therapy business coaching firm that partnered with Paro to improve their clients’ bookkeeping and accounting support. Through Paro’s rigorous vetting and onboarding process, MEG was able to transition their clients from outdated paper processes to streamlined electronic systems. This not only improved efficiency—it also provided crucial insights into business performance, leading to better financial decision-making.
4. Ensure Confidentiality and Compliance
When dealing with financial data, it’s crucial to maintain confidentiality and adhere to compliance standards. Paro and our experts understand the importance of protecting sensitive information and upholding high ethical standards. While our experts follow industry best practices, businesses may discuss additional protections during the onboarding process to further safeguard your data.
Action Step: Evaluate your business’s confidentiality needs and discuss any specific requirements with Paro and your expert during the onboarding process to ensure that all necessary protections are in place.
Offboarding a Virtual Accountant
While some part-time remote accountants work on a recurring regular basis, some engagements are finite. Whether your accountant is covering a leave with a defined start and end date or increasing team capacity during the tax season crunch, the end of an engagement should be a smooth transition.
Paro guides clients through transferring knowledge and documenting processes so businesses who are returning in-house or bringing in a new hire are supported in creating continuity. After working with Paro, one company experienced such growth that they needed to fill full-time in-house positions—a process they found seamless with Paro’s assistance.
Embrace the Future of Accounting with Virtual Expertise
As all industries, including accounting, shift toward remote and independent work, hiring a virtual accountant has become a strategic move to access top talent while ensuring flexibility and efficiency in your financial operations. Adapting to this change positions your business to stay competitive and adaptable. If you’re ready to try out remote accounting services, Paro can match you with highly skilled virtual accountants tailored to your needs.
