Detailed Analysis: In-house Accountant Vs Virtual Accountant

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Reading Time: 7 Minutes
Published: November 24, 2020
Last Updated: February 7, 2025

The world is becoming a global village, and is it not just about connecting one can also get access to all kinds of information, learn new skillsets and even carry out business transactions. On top of it, with technological advancement and rise of automation, now businesses can work more efficiently and cost-effectively. One such example is the rise in popularity of virtual accountants who can be someone working for you from anywhere in the world, and this is one effective way of reducing cost. You can hire virtual accountants from developing countries like India where a pool of quality talent is available easily and round the clock. If this is the first time you are reading about a virtual accountant or if you are still confused about whether you should hire a virtual accountant for yourself or not, below is a detailed analysis for you to help clear your doubts-

Basis of Differentiation	In-house Accountant	Virtual Accountant
Location	Gets the work done sitting at a desk in your business office	Gets their work done online from the location of their choice.
Recruitment Process	The recruitment process for an in-house accountant is your responsibility, and to do so efficiently, you have to screen them properly. But if you are not an accounting expert, this process will be a problematic one.	If you are hiring virtual accountant service from outsourced accounting services provider, they will be responsible for the selection of the right virtual accountant for you. Service providers are a better judge of expertise of accountants as they have extensive experience of doing so.
Quality	The quality of work is dependent on your recruiting skill. Just in case you hire someone who lacks in any skills that you need in your accountant, you cannot expect high-quality work and, at some point, may witness some inefficiency.	After the right selection of accounting service provider, you will rarely find any issue in the quality as far as you can communicate your requirements accurately.
Accounting on-the-go	There is accounting software that makes the accounting process a breeze for most businesses. However, due to some reason, if businesses can’t invest in software, it is difficult to get access to accounting information.	Virtual accountants always work on cloud-based software, and these make it easier to get hold of financial data from any device and any location.
Paperwork	Conducting accounting traditionally by in-house accountant without the use of an accounting software leads to a mountain of paperwork to work with. Keeping track of all these paperwork and maintaining the physical books can turn out to be challenging and time-consuming.	Virtual accountants conduct accounting with the use of popular accounting software. This makes it easier to maintain and update all financial details easily with minimum use of paperwork.
Growth & Downsizing	Hiring or firing of human resource is easier said than done, and also, there are restrictions in term of other variables which can’t be downsized or increased as per the dynamic requirement.	Growth or downsizing is an ease in terms of a virtual accountant. Here, you can increase or decrease the number of virtual accountants working for you without the stress of infrastructure needs.
Industry Knowledge	When hiring an in-house accountant, you have to make sure that the accountant has prior work experience in the same industry; otherwise, it adds up to your expense and time invested in training.	You can choose from a wide array of virtual accountants who have worked for diverse industry or virtual accountants who specialise in your industry.
Training	It is your responsibility to make sure that your accountant is trained regularly to help yourself stay up to date to match your financial requirement.	Virtual accountants are generally working with different businesses, and it becomes their responsibility always to be trained as this makes them more demandable by companies.
Cost	A full-time in-house accountant can cost you about $70,000 for a year which is exclusive of overhead costs. Superannuation, contributions to employee retirement schemes, fringe tax, child support, employee income tax, office space, IT system, and similar overhead cost can add up to about 20% on the base salary.	Virtual accountants are not your employee; instead, they are contractors providing accounting service, and thus overhead expenses are not incurred when you hire a virtual accountant. You can hire virtual accountants from Whiz Consulting for as low as A$3000 a month.
Confidentiality	Accounting involves a lot of sensitive financial information. With an in-house accountant, you have better accountability if there is a leak in any financial information.	It is crucial to hire a trustworthy and reliable virtual accountant whom you can trust. Also, don’t forget to sign a non-disclosure agreement to safeguard your business financial information.

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