How to choose an outsourced accounting and tax compliance partner

Ask these five questions

1. Who is my single point of contact? If the answer is 'the team', keep looking.
2. Who owns my compliance calendar? The right answer is: they do — not you.
3. When will I receive the monthly MIS pack? Look for a specific commitment (e.g., by working day 10).
4. How do you coordinate with my existing CA? Any hesitation here means friction later.
5. What's the exit clause? A good partner will hand over cleanly if you ever move.

Look for these signals

• Senior partner review on your engagement — not just juniors doing entries.
• Fixed monthly retainer, no per-transaction gotchas.
• MSME-specific processes — not enterprise templates dumbed down.
• NDA at engagement, no referral fees from third parties.

Traps to avoid

• The 'cheapest' quote — you'll pay for it in missed filings.
• Firms that also want to sign your statutory audit — that's a conflict.
• Setups where the founder-to-firm handshake is different from the day-to-day team.

Compare Griffin against the usual alternatives →