Case Study: Resident Advisor
Do We Outsource or Build Inhouse?
Resident Advisor
Resident Advisor (also known as RA) is an online music magazine and community platform dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. It is currently the world’s largest electronic music community – connecting together 50 million fans, 200,000 artists, and producers, and the world’s largest events and brands.
Established in 2001, RA has grown from its beginnings as an electronic music online magazine – to an industry leader that provides not only news and reviews but also a ticket sales platform, global event listings, club and promoter directories, artist and record label profiles, and the RA Podcast.
More information is available here: https://ra.co/about
How could Resident Advisor best ensure its ongoing success and growth?
The Challenge
RA’s business was growing rapidly, and the future looked even brighter — but as the business grew, the founders knew they needed additional financial support to ensure the finances remained under control and the right decisions could be made about the business going forward.
The company faced a decision to either build the finance team within the company or look for an external provider to help. Trade-offs were reviewed for each scenario:
- Building an in-house accounting team would provide onsite employees dedicated to the company but but would require hiring and training staff in an area outside of their core business. Did the business have enough resources to devote to building an effective in-house financial team? Did they need a full-time team in place year-round?
- Outsourcing the financial functions meant giving up some control and trusting a company that might not care as much about RA. Being one step removed from the work was a risk. Could an outside firm really understand the business and provide enough support?
The Solution
RA decided to explore outsourcing options to see if they could find a firm that provided what they needed, particularly the commitment to understanding their business. The final solution was to have a Head of Finance and Finance Manager as in-house employees and to outsource the remaining finance function to Atek Accounting.
Atek dedicated a bookkeeper to RA and provided the day-to-day administration support (bank reconciliations, invoicing, balance sheet reconciliations, VAT). When the Head of Finance changed at RA, the new hire, Natassja, was able to lean on Atek to help her get up to speed. “I was new and Atek was there to help me. They knew the company so well – it’s as if they worked for RA.”
Natassja expanded Atek’s role to include supporting the monthly management accounts. She said, “With Atek’s knowledge of the business and processes, I could rely on the numbers they produced which has enabled me to present monthly to the owners.”
“What’s great about outsourcing is that if there’s additional work, I can call them. And with our business, things like summer festivals take us away – and Atek is there as a constant. We wouldn’t have the capacity to manage all of the work ourselves.”
Conclusion
The decision to outsource the finance function to Atek was a winning solution for Resident Advisor.
The company’s success continues as it works to fulfil its purpose to champion electronic music culture. Atek has been supporting Resident Advisor with accounting services since 2018. We are proud to be part of the growth and success of the company.
Contact us today to learn more about our accounting services and strategic financial solutions. Your journey to success begins here. Get started.
