The current accounting talent shortage has forced many US companies to look outward to fulfill talent needs. Many startups, in particular, have turned to outsourced talent providers, which generally market themselves as a fast and cheap option to fill team gaps. And while true, the tradeoff is often low-quality hires who end up becoming liabilities that require constant oversight or correction. Over time, cracks start to show in the work that they do – errors in the books, late deliverables, fragmented communication. In the end, you’re pulled deeper into day-to-day management instead of focusing on strategy and growth, and your organization loses out by paying a premium for shoddy work that takes double the time to get right.
Scaling companies can’t waste resources on this inadequate outsourced model. MAVI’s differentiated approach offers an alternative that promises maximum talent ROI through high-quality talent, placed into teams in as fast as five days, at a cost 50-70% less than alternative solutions.
In this guide, we explore the different alternatives to outsourced talent and dive into how each one stacks up for fast-growing, venture-backed teams.
Hiring In-House
Building an internal team is a logical option for a lot of companies that want to streamline their teams. And it makes sense – you get talent that you qualify yourself and who can easily become embedded into your business, and you don’t have to deal with the back-and-forth that comes with working with external providers. But hiring is slow and competitive, even more so in today’s context of a dwindling local accounting talent pool; senior talent, especially, can be hard to find and retain. Moreover, hiring domestic talent is costly, from the resources you spend finding and vetting candidates to the benefits that come on top of a high annual salary. While a lean team can sound tempting, just limiting yourself to one or two hires often can’t cover the full spectrum of your needs.
MAVI can provide you with the same personalized hiring experience without the long timelines or costly process. You also get access to a wide talent pool of deeply vetted mid- to senior-level talent who become true partners that integrate into your team just like an in-house hire.
Accounting Firms
Accounting firms are the go-to for many companies that want strong bookkeeping, tax, and compliance support without the hassle of overhead. This solution is backed by strong credibility with investors and auditors, on top of a familiar, well-established engagement model, making it a source of confidence for finance leaders. However, accounting firms are typically more reactive than proactive, with staff motivated only by accuracy, sacrificing speed and limiting insight. Accounting firm hires also aren’t usually given content on day-to-day operational decisions, leading to fragmented reports that require an extra step to tie together.
MAVI provides high-quality global finance and accounting talent who can deliver accurate financial outputs, along with actionable insights, quickly. Professionals from MAVI’s network do more than just clean books and year-end reporting; they offer real-time visibility into your finances, giving you the leverage to make smarter business decisions. Moreover, MAVI handles all the admin, so you can focus on the work without worrying about contracts, payments, and security.
Independent Consultants
Independent finance consultants offer senior expertise on a fractional basis, and working with them is a good choice if you need someone who can provide strategic guidance founded on robust experience without the price tag of a full-time salary. However, working with part-time consultants restricts you in a couple of ways. You’re limited to their capacity and availability, so if they have a ton of different clients (and not enough bandwidth to handle them at the level they promise), you might end up with sloppy work or late outputs. Additionally, independent consultants are usually dependent on separate vendors for accounting execution, which can result in inconsistent deliverables.
MAVI employs a unique model that pairs strategic finance with execution. MAVI Talent becomes partners who can handle the day-to-day tasks with consistency, while providing valuable insights that flow directly into systems, reporting, and processes.
Offshore Teams
The increasing adoption of remote work has encouraged many companies to consider building a dedicated offshore accounting team. This affords executives lower hourly costs for hires, the ability to scale headcount quickly, and coverage for repetitive accounting tasks. However, quality is inconsistent, with many companies being burned by low-quality talent that places a heavier management burden on internal leaders. Plus, time zone and communication challenges can be a big hindrance to productivity.
Although it works with remote global talent, MAVI ensures quality by deeply vetting individuals, checking not just for skills and experience, but advanced English communication capabilities and cultural fit. MAVI Talent also works at an overlap with their employers’ time zones, ensuring prompt and continuous collaboration. You get a professional who works just like an in-house hire, minus the cost of one.
Finance Automation
Leaps in modern finance software promise to reduce reliance on human intervention altogether. A good number of companies are now turning to automation and AI to deal with their finance function for faster close, cleaner workflows, and better real-time dashboards. Working this way minimizes human error, making for more accurate data delivered at record time. But today’s tools still require expert configuration and oversight, and automation can never replace judgment or accountability in the workplace. You still need qualified people to man the tech and make sure that insights are geared towards the right actions and decisions.
As an AI-driven solution, MAVI understands the value that automation can bring to the finance function. But it also clearly sees the importance of human checkers to get the job done. MAVI believes in the synergy of human and machine, and can provide this integrated support through top-notch, tech-focused talent who can work with your finance tech stack and help you build AI-ready processes and systems.
Choosing the Right Alternative to Outsourced Talent
More and more companies are getting burned by outsourced talent providers that demand too much oversight but deliver too little leverage. As an alternative, finance leaders can choose to hire in-house talent, work with accounting firms or independent consultants, build offshore teams, or rely largely on finance automation. But with their pros and cons, these solutions offer variable ROI.
MAVI brings unmatched talent ROI to high-growth US companies by scaling their finance and accounting teams with pre-vetted, US-caliber global talent who work like in-house hires and become partners working towards shared goals. This AI-driven solution uses a differentiated model that ensures gaps are filled in as fast as five days, at a cost 50-70% lower than other solutions. Book a call to explore how you can unlock time, clarity, and momentum with MAVI today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common alternatives to outsourced accounting talent?
The most common alternatives include hiring in-house accounting staff, working with accounting firms, engaging independent contractors, using offshore or nearshore teams, and adopting finance automation tools. Among these, partnering with an AI-driven solution like MAVI generates the best ROI.
Why do many startups move away from traditional outsourced providers?
Startups look for alternatives to outsourced providers because they are burned by recurring errors, slow turnaround times, a lack of business context, and the amount of internal management required to oversee outsourced work.
Is hiring in-house better than outsourcing?
Not necessarily. In-house hiring can be slow and expensive, and early hires may not scale with complexity. Many startups could benefit from flexible models like MAVI that can provide mid-level to senior oversight without having to commit to a permanent headcount.
How does MAVI differ from outsourced providers?
Unlike outsourced providers that simply fill roles to tick off tasks, MAVI connects you with deeply vetted, US-caliber global finance and accounting talent who integrate into your in-house team and work as a true partner to deliver high-value outputs and strategic support.
What outsourced provider alternative works best for startups?
High-growth companies typically benefit most from partners like MAVI that are specifically built for scaling environments, and provide talent solutions that provide accurate outputs, scale quickly, and leverage for leadership to focus on core business functions.