- Awara
- September 2, 2025
- 33
Accounting – Outsourcing vs. In-house
What’s the best solution for you and your business when looking for accounting, tax reporting and other compliance procedures in Russia? It’s not a one-fits-all option when it comes to different business practices, set-ups, budgets and corporate culture. With decades of experience with international and Russian companies of all sizes and from various industries, we’ve put together a brief guide that’ll help you decide on the best way to install smooth accounting structures in your company!
Keeping It In-house
A well-established and professional team is crucial for every company. When it comes to accounting, a perfectly tuned department can be one of the most valuable assets in your company supporting your core business activities. Expert in-house accountants will know your business best, take quick financial decisions and can be an integral part of your financial strategy planning. This comes though at a higher cost, less flexibility and commitment for intense training and development of your staff. If your business is small, start-up, developing or volumes are seasonally changing, you may end up with high personnel fixed costs, while at the same time revenues are fluctuating. In addition to that, attracting great talent is difficult and you may not find yourself in the position to hire an accountant with years of experience in your field, whereas an outsourcing company may be the expert, based on decades of working with similar projects.
| In-house Accounting | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Facilitated communication and accessibility as department is part of your corporate structure | Challenge to attract professionals in your field |
| Integration in business strategy | High cost of employment |
| Can be experts in your field | Less flexibility (hiring & firing) |
| Full control on employee (working time) | Cost of training & development |
| Rigid labor law in the Russian Federation (dismissal can be difficult) | |
| Need to bridge staff in case of annual leave, sick leave, etc. | |
| In some cases, conflict of interest – more loyalty to local management and to a lesser extent, to oversee headquarter (CFO, Audit department, etc.) | |
| Not ready to take additional responsibilities (e.g. preparing IFRS management reporting) | |
Seeking Accounting Specialists
Efficiency and cost-consciousness is key in today’s business realities and outsourcing is your best partner to do so. While you and your team focus on the core-business, experts in accounting in Russia will take care of accounting reporting and tax advice. A professional outsourcing firm may have worked with similar set-ups, industries and challenges for many years: they’ve seen it all and know how to solve problems creatively. Costs are optimized and tailor-made especially for your company, your volumes and parts that you need to outsource. A good expert advises you at the same time on tax risks and optimization whenever needed. Are your business volumes changing? With an outsourced accountant, you can adapt your package instantly to the new realities, either upgrading or downgrading the service. With a fast-moving business environment and at a time when decisions are often taken quickly, an outsourcing partner gives you the flexibility to stay competitive and on top.
| Outsourced Accounting | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Cost optimization (offer is tailored to exactly what you need at the time) | Communication. In most cases outsourced accounting is provided remotely from the service provider’s office |
| Flexibility: downgrade or upgraded as needed | Less inclusion of outsourced team into your business strategy planning. |
| Trusted partner with credentials and often decades of experience | Not part of your corporate culture, thus less ability of integration |
| May have worked with various similar projects before and knows how to handle issues best | |
| Draw from a pool of experts at the outsourcing firm (tax advice, legal, etc.) | |
| Perfect for start-ups when you can’t commit to manage or train your own team yet | |
Considering the Costs
While quality is the essential marker for a good accountant, we can’t deny that sometimes cost is equally important when making a decision between outsourced vs. in-housed. We’ve created a brief sample case to highlight the cost factor for a small start-up company in Russia.
Example: Company X (industry: import & sale of consumer goods) has just registered an LLC in Russia and currently given the increasing competitors would like to fully focus on taking a substantial market share in Russia. For this, they hired a department of expert sales managers, an office manager and of course a General Director. While the sales and marketing budget is boosted, the company would like to cut costs if possible for supporting functions such as legal and accounting, at least for 2-3 years. Based on the prior analysis, the company would need to hire 1 Chief Accountant and one Assistant to fulfill the role or decide for a professional outsourcing firm.
The estimated volumes of work would be: 5-10 sales invoices per month, up to 20 suppliers’ invoices per month, payroll and HR administration support for up to 5 employees. Number of bank payments per month is around 30. Accounting and Tax compliance, submitting regular tax reports to Tax office.
(The below numbers is applicable for Moscow region, average for Y2025)
| Cost In-house Accountants | Cost of Outsourcing Firm (Quote by Awara) |
| Monthly costs to company: ca. 334 000 RUB | The monthly accounting service fee would be around 60 000 RUB – 80 000 RUB (depending on business specifics) |
| Details: | Details: |
| Cost of employment (gross): Chief Accountant = 150 000 RUB Assistant accountant = 80 000 RUB | The price includes the volumes as given above. |
| Payroll related taxes = 69 000 RUB | |
| Cost of space rent for 2 employees = 25 000 RUB / month | |
| Office equipment and supplies = 10 000 per month | |
| Cost of training & development = 10 000 per/month |
Why Awara
We understand the need for flexibility and cost optimization, while at the same time meeting all the expectations of our clients in Russia when it comes to quality. In decades of working with international clients, we understand that becoming as close to an in-house department as possible is a key goal to understand the business, team and clients’ needs best. We see our role as consultants to establish solid structures, communication between your team and our specialists and flexibility on our side to adapt to your changing needs. To ensure the best level of communication and avoid misunderstandings, all of our clients work with a Key Account Manager (Project Manager) who ensures that timelines are met and communication is smooth. Many of our clients are with us for many years (and even decades), and with a low fluctuation of staff at Awara, some of our Key Account Managers and client contact persons are working together (just like regular colleagues) for many years.
And there is more: We do not only assist with accounting and tax advice, but have helped hundreds of companies in Russia with company set-up, restructuring, recruiting, legal advice and audit. We love new challenges and are excited to help you with yours!
Contact us today and let’s talk about how we can help your business in Russia.
Our contacts
+7 495 225-30-38 Moscow
+7 812 244-75-49 Saint Petersburg
+7 495 225-30-38 Tver
