freelance us gaap accounting experts

freelance us gaap accounting experts

The Role of Freelance US GAAP Accounting Experts in Modern Business Practices

1. Introduction to US GAAP Accounting

The acronym “GAAP” refers to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. These are a set of established accounting standards which are commonly used both in the United States and in the capital markets from other countries. The modern capital markets are changing, so it has become necessary for executives to perform a mandatory review of their financial reports, especially to ensure the transparency of the information disclosed. Many companies based in the United States were influenced by the common practices of the New York Stock Exchange and especially by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This institutional arrangement contributed not only to producing accounting statements for external users to fulfill legal requirements, but also to providing credible management information aimed directly at investors both from the United States and from other countries.

In the modern global capitalist environment, it is crucial to supply accounting information that could be understandable to investors from other countries. Only in this way can the capital markets operate efficiently, resulting in the correct prices assigned to the accounting statements. Companies have been working to improve the characteristics inherent to the informative releases, the communication of a higher degree of relevance, reliability, timeliness, and consistency, and at the lowest possible cost. The modern job market is increasingly competitive, and to seek to survive, workers must have available possibilities of work in another format, thus increasing their line of action. Some professional entities have been advocating that the services offered are evidence that the workers are qualified to practice accounting norms. In this respect, accounting experts are increasingly necessary for the modern global business.

2. The Growth of Freelance Experts in the Accounting Industry

US GAAP (United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) is considered to be one of the core sets of accounting rule-sets used in the business industry. As new and complex modern-day business practices continue to grow, the addition of freelance experts assists in ensuring that accounting information provided is reliable, legally compliant and viewed as credible. These experts provide significant benefits to business industries. The accounting industry has grown since the volatility of traditional work, as well as fluctuations in the economy, tend to have consequences on business activity and practices. Corporations are opting for outsourcing versus employing full-time, which makes sense as it cuts costs related to labor, business infrastructure, and technology investments.

You choose who you want to work with, and the relationship is mutually beneficial. Freelancers also have the flexibility of offering support at a varied amount of hours, making it more convenient for businesses. Geographic proximity is not a constraint as work can be done remotely. Temporary and seasonal expansions, for example, new business, that need expert GAAP advice find it more beneficial. The cause of this recent growth lies in the evolving conjunction of various long-standing trends that have increased the volatility of traditional work, coupled with the flexibility on the individuals and business requirement associated which can partially be satisfied by the availability of the extensive group of highly skilled, professional experts pertaining to US GAAP. These survey results lead to the inference that businesses have indeed witnessed substantial changes with respect to US GAAP experts, contributing to both uncertainty and to the business bottom line.

3. Key Responsibilities and Skills of Freelance US GAAP Accounting Experts

Recognizing the importance of the role that freelance US GAAP accounting experts can play in business practices, it is important to further discuss the key responsibilities that freelance US GAAP accounting experts would commonly undertake, and the necessary skills and competencies required of these freelance US GAAP accounting experts. It is also of interest to seek to understand the potential benefits and limitations of seeking to temporarily utilize freelance US GAAP accounting expertise.

In essence, the key responsibilities relate to ensuring that an accounting staff in a non-U.S. based entity understands and performs their role in strict compliance with US professional accounting standards. This could also include training seminars and workshops and regular evaluation meetings. It is the freelancer’s responsibility to help align the accounting team’s performance with the requirements of US GAAP. They may serve to provide advice and direction when an entity identifies potential flaws within existing accounting practices.

At its most basic, a freelance US GAAP accounting expert will more than likely possess (but is not constrained to) the following critical attributes:

– Solid knowledge of US GAAP (research framework as well as essential) – Relevant industry/sector expertise to both identify and tackle US accounting standard application challenges – Decent general accounting work experience, along with a reasonable understanding of other specialist areas (e.g. tax) – The ability to translate complex and/or specialist information into an easily understood format, ideally with shared examples – The capacity to build strong business relationships with his/her key stakeholders – Clear presentation and communication skills, ideally adopted in a variety of environments (e.g. one on one, larger groups, written etc)

These attributes allow companies to temporarily pay for the expertise needed at any particular time in order to maintain US GAAP knowledge and ensure compliance. In the event a company without these skills ignores gaps or deficiencies in US GAAP application, the resulting risk escalation might ultimately lead to a material misstatement.

4. Challenges and Opportunities for Freelance US GAAP Accounting Experts

In this fast-paced modern business environment, freelance US GAAP accounting experts face several challenges, such as the difficulty of communicating effectively with clients, inefficiently validating information, maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit, patchwork business network, solving various administrative issues, and establishing a long-term economic model. At the same time, freelance US GAAP accounting experts can seize opportunities for practice-based learning, professional growth, digital transformation, information technology application, an important building block of accounting services platform, valuation of firm complexity, reconfiguration of the professional self, expanding the service scope, life satisfaction, and self-fulfillment.

In this fast-paced information age, accounting professionals witness the dramatic wave of the ‘gig economy,’ which could be built on extensive levels of segmentation, the rising market demand for temporary services, the development of intermediaries, online platforms, and advanced technologies. With substantial changes in the labor market and new labor establishments, freelance work becomes an increasingly important component of the reshaped labor market. In the intermediate market for accounting services, more accountants are leaving the relative comfort and high-paying jobs in public accounting firms to take advantage of lifestyle benefits, entrepreneurial opportunities, and innovative technological breakthroughs that freelance work offers. As freelance work searching becomes easier, temporary work may have greater appeal to many individuals with preferred schedules for work-life balance (WLB), more education, experience, or specific skills. Unlike traditional employment, freelance work offers several advantages, including flexible work schedules, independence, autonomy, and personal fulfillment. As a result, freelance work has become increasingly popular among specialized US GAAP accounting experts.

5. Best Practices and Strategies for Success in Freelance US GAAP Accounting

Freelancing is a career trend with serious momentum. Having just hit over 57.3 million last year, the freelance workforce now contributes about $1.4 trillion to the economy. Especially since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many people have started to freelance out of necessity due to job loss or a reduced workload. On the other end of the spectrum are people who freelance simply because they want to and enjoy the attributes of freelance work. A significant driver of this momentum is due to professionals looking for more control, flexibility, and purpose in their working lives. When equipped to thrive with the best practices and strategies discussed previously in this paper, U.S. GAAP accounting freelance professionals can enjoy this lifestyle with purpose, financial reward, personal and professional autonomy, and a sense of accomplishment with excellent opportunities and success.