Is There a Difference Between Outsourcing and Private Business Services?

DP: Tim, part of being a valued and trusted business advisor is connecting clients and potential clients with the right people. I understand you have an interesting story about that.
TS: I do. Absolutely. I actually received a call from someone starting a company that needed help with daily accounting activities. So I immediately involved Lindsey Gross from EisnerAmper’s Outsourced Finance and Accounting Group. She can tell you more about situations like these as they deal with circumstances like this on a daily basis.
DP: Well, Lindsey, welcome to the program.
LG: Great to be here, Dave.
DP: Lindsey, tell our listeners the difference between what you do and what Tim does.
LG:I believe outsourcing is the Jack-of-all-trades accountant. We're able to fill any gap for our client's accounting and finance departments, which allows our clients to focus on their core business.
DP:Okay. So give us a sense of the type of companies you work with, the industries and sectors.
LG:We do work for companies of all sizes, anywhere from startups all the way to subsidiaries of Fortune 100 companies and U.S. subsidiaries of foreign parent companies. Clients are in a variety of industries, including technology, life sciences, financial services and others.
DP:Lindsey, give us an example of an interesting engagement that your team worked on.
LG: One of my favorite examples is a client that I've been working on for the past few years. We were engaged originally to be the independent party to do the accounting for a joint venture. They hired us to maintain their books and records, and they also hired us to do the initial technical accounting for the formation of the entity. Since inception, we've provide them their monthly closes and we act as their CFO. Over the past three years, this company has relied on EisnerAmper because they've experienced significant growth for any transaction. They came to EisnerAmper to get our input as to what the implications will be for the company financially.
DP: You must have another example you could share with us.
LG:Yes. Another one of our clients is a U.S. subsidiary of an Italian pharmaceutical company. When they opened their US subsidiary a few years ago, they hired us to maintain their books and records as they didn't want to incur any overhead costs in the U.S. for this. On a monthly basis, we report to them and then they are ultimately consolidated into the parent company's financial statements. This company is currently listed on a smaller European exchange and it is looking to list on NASDAQ in the near future. As they go through this process, they're going to look to us to help them and guide them so that they are in compliance with any requirements for SEC reporting.
DP:Give us the bottom line on what differentiates outsourced finance and accounting from Private Business Services?
LG:Outsourcing is going to allow companies to control their overhead costs by engaging EisnerAmper to fill their gaps in their accounting team without taking on additional employees who may not be fully utilized during the year. We can work with management to support them with any type of operational needs on a continuous basis.
DP:Thanks Lindsey. That that gives us a good flavor for the Ying and Yang of Outsourced and Business Advisory Services.
LG:Okay. You bet Dave.
DP: Tim, anything to add?
TS: So my take-away is Private Business Service handles a wide array of client’s needs, whether it be through financial statement preparation, tax services, state IRS audit representations, pension audits, the Center for Family Business Excellence, which I have discussed in a prior podcast, and consulting with our fantastic Outsourcing and Finance Accounting Group. So there really isn't an area that the umbrella of PBS or Private Business Service does not cover.
DP:Okay. Sounds good. Well, we can't forget one of your New Jersey Historical Society Fun Facts.
TS: I'm looking forward to this one because this is a bit of an odd story. So near the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln’s son, Todd Lincoln, was purchasing a train ticket in Jersey City when he accidentally was pushed off the railroad tracks when a train was arriving. Todd was saved by a good samaritan. That good samaritan was Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth’s brother, the man who ultimately assassinated Abraham Lincoln.
DP: Wow. That's mind blowing.
TS: Interesting dinner conversation, huh?
DP: Well thanks again to you both for this valuable information, and thank you for listening to “The Bottom Line” as part of the EisnerAmper podcast series. Visit eisneramper.com for more information on this and a host of other topics, and join us for our next EisnerAmper podcast when we get down to business.