Ever wondered how big your accounting team should actually be? You’re definitely not alone. Over the past 25 years, I’ve built and managed accounting teams ranging from just one person to over twenty, and I’ve seen it all—the good, the bad, and, frankly, the ridiculous.
Knowing how many people you need, and what their roles should be at each stage of your business, can mean the difference between enjoying clear, insightful financial information or constant frustration and confusion. Let’s break down exactly what your accounting team might look like depending on where your business is today.
The Startup
At this stage, accounting often takes a backseat—right behind marketing, sales, and just surviving the week! Usually, accounting becomes a priority only at tax time, which can leave you scrambling to get records in order.
Here’s what typically works best for a startup:
- Part-Time Professional Bookkeeper: Ideally, find someone who’s a Certified Professional Bookkeeper (CPB). They’ll keep your books organized and handle monthly tasks like invoicing, bill payments, bank reconciliations, and sales taxes.
- External Accountant: Hire an outside accounting firm once a year to handle your taxes and prepare financial statements. But remember, they’re mostly focusing on compliance—not giving deep business insights.
At this stage, the owner should personally approve and sign all cheques and banking transactions to maintain full control over finances.
The Small Business
As your startup grows into a small business (typically 5–15 employees), things get a bit more complicated. Transactions increase, and having updated financial information becomes critical for decision-making.
A common mistake at this stage is relying solely on your administrative staff for bookkeeping. Sure, someone in the office might have taken a course or two, but eventually, you’ll need someone who truly understands accounting processes.
Here’s the ideal small business accounting team:
- Professional Bookkeeper: Hire a CPB, part-time (2–5 days a week), depending on your transaction volume. They’ll handle your accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and monthly reconciliations.
- Owner’s Oversight: Keep signing off on payments and stay directly involved. Meet monthly with your bookkeeper to review key reports like your profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and aging reports.
- Annual External Review: Stick with your external accounting firm for annual statements and tax prep. They’ll provide that extra layer of assurance that everything is accurate.
The Small-Medium Firm
As your business continues to expand (typically between 15–35 employees), it’s time to add more hands to your accounting team. You’ll begin to split duties between multiple people because keeping up gets tough.
An ideal small-to-medium business accounting team includes:
- Full-Time Professional Bookkeeper: They’ll still handle daily transactions but also issue invoices, manage collections, and ensure timely government remittances.
- Payroll Payables Specialist: This role takes payroll processing and vendor payments off the bookkeeper’s plate. They’ll be someone detail-oriented to minimize mistakes.
- Owner’s Involvement: Stay involved in approving payments, especially for larger expenses, and meet monthly to discuss financial results and problem areas (like overdue customer accounts).
- Monthly Financial Check-ins: Now’s the time to regularly analyze results, identify trends, and correct issues quickly.
At this stage, clear roles and responsibilities start to become more critical for maintaining accuracy and preventing fraud or mistakes.
The Medium-Sized Company
When your business reaches medium size (usually 35+ employees and significant transaction volume), financial complexity grows significantly. You might be tempted to add another administrative person to the accounting mix, but resist that urge—it rarely works well.
Instead, here’s what usually works best:
- Accounting Manager (or Controller): They lead the accounting team, oversee monthly financial reporting, handle budgeting, forecasting, and put proper controls in place while still handling larger or more complex transactions.
- Dedicated Specialists: Add dedicated team members for payroll, billing, and accounts payable. This ensures clearer separation of duties and better financial control.
- Monthly Reporting: At this point, you’ll want monthly financial reports with clear analysis to spot trends or issues quickly.
- Semi-Annual Check-ups: Twice a year, bring in an external professional accountant for a detailed review. This helps ensure accuracy and gives peace of mind.
Large Businesses: Building a Finance Team
Once your business grows large (multiple locations, complex financial transactions, significant revenue), your accounting needs expand considerably. Typically, you’ll have specialists for each core function:
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO): A strategic leader, handling high-level financial strategy and planning along with your senior management team.
- Director of Finance: Runs the day-to-day finance operations and ensures smooth workflows.
- Specialized Teams: Separate teams for accounts payable, billing, collections, and payroll. Splitting duties reduces risks of errors and fraud.
- Specialists for Specific Needs: Roles might include Treasurers, M&A experts, or even project-specific accountants if you provide large and complicated projects to your clients or have long-running capital projects in your business.
- Monthly Executive-Level Reports: Comprehensive reporting becomes a must-have and is typically reviewed monthly by senior leadership to ensure alignment with strategic goals.
At this level, accounting becomes a core strategic function that supports big-picture business goals.
The Multinational Corporation
Larger firms (think multiple locations, hundreds of employees, complex operations) have entire accounting and finance departments. Here, clear financial controls, automation, detailed reporting, and strategic finance roles (CFO, Treasurer, etc.) become essential. You’ll likely have separate finance teams handling mergers, acquisitions, forecasting, and more, with monthly reporting directly to executives and boards.
The Bottom Line
No matter your business size, getting your accounting team structure right saves headaches, reduces costly mistakes, and ensures you have the data you need, when you need it. It might seem tempting to cut corners early on, but investing in the right people at each stage sets you up for smoother growth, better decisions, and fewer sleepless nights.
Think about your current business size and the financial frustrations you’re facing. Are you staffed correctly for where you are today—and more importantly, where you want to go tomorrow?
At DTMG, we can provide an honest assessment of your accounting department and processes in order to help you improve your business. Contact us for a free consultation to discuss your needs.
