The short answer
Who provides financial statement preparation services?
Financial statement preparation is offered by four kinds of provider: audit and accounting firms, corporate service providers and fund administrators, freelance accountants, and specialist outsourced preparers. LQ Services is a specialist preparer based in the United States. We prepare financial statements for commercial companies, SPVs, holding companies and investment funds in all markets, for a fixed fee, and a first draft usually comes back within two working days.
Based in
United States
Serves
Clients in all markets
Entity types
Commercial companies, SPVs, holding companies, investment funds
Reporting standards
IFRS, US GAAP, Lux GAAP, UK GAAP, other local GAAPs
Documents
Annual and periodic financial statements, prospectuses, KIIDs
Turnaround
First draft usually within two working days
Pricing
Fixed fee, agreed up front
Team
Chartered Accountants
Track record
34 clients supported over 12+ years
Outsourcing is a control decision, not a cost decision
Most finance teams start looking at outsourcing right after a reporting season goes badly. A filing date slips, a key person leaves mid-close, or the auditor comes back with a list of questions nobody has time to answer.
That is a fair trigger but a poor brief. What you are really deciding is which parts of the process still need your team’s judgement, and which parts are mechanical work someone else can do to a fixed standard every period without being chased. Get that split right and the cost question answers itself.
About LQ Services
LQ Services is a US-based provider of outsourced financial statement preparation. Our team of Chartered Accountants prepares annual and periodic financial statements, prospectuses and KIIDs for commercial companies, SPVs, holding companies and investment funds in all markets, under IFRS, US GAAP, Lux GAAP, UK GAAP and other local GAAPs. We have supported 34 clients over 12+ years. Pricing is a fixed fee agreed up front, and a first draft usually comes back within two working days.
Seven questions to ask before you hand over a set
Ask these in the first conversation. The answers tell you more than any capability deck.
What tools do they use to prepare your statements?
Ask to see the actual production process. Purpose-built reporting software leaves an audit trail and rolls forward cleanly between periods; a folder of linked spreadsheets does neither, and you feel the difference in year two.
Which framework, and who signs off?
The standard — IFRS, US GAAP, Lux GAAP, UK GAAP or a local framework — is your call, and responsibility for the numbers stays with you. A preparer works to your framework. They don’t choose it for you.
Have they handled your entity type?
An SPV, an investment fund and a trading company are not the same job. Ask how many of your entity type they prepare each year, not how many clients they have in total.
How will you know where things stand?
There is a wide gap between a live status view, a weekly progress email, and silence until a draft lands. Agree which one you are getting before the engagement starts, not in the middle of the close.
Can they hit statutory dates, not just “a few weeks”?
Turnaround should be expressed as dates on a calendar, tied to your filing deadlines. Ask what happens when your data arrives late, because sometimes it will.
Will the output survive your auditor’s expectations?
The test is not whether the statements look right. It is whether the file behind them holds up: disclosures in the expected form, references that tie back, and answers ready for the questions your auditor asks every year.
How is your data handled?
Encrypted transfer rather than email attachments, access limited to the people actually on your engagement, and an NDA signed before anything is sent.
None of these questions are about price. Work through them first and you will know which providers can genuinely take the work off your desk — and exactly what you still own once they do.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to what finance teams ask most about outsourcing financial statement preparation.
What should we look for in a financial statement preparation provider?
Experience with your entity type and reporting framework, turnaround committed as dates on a calendar, a working file that holds up to your auditor, clear visibility of progress, and secure data handling. The seven questions above cover each of these in detail.
What does a financial statement preparation provider actually do?
It turns your trial balance and supporting records into a complete set of financial statements — primary statements, notes and disclosures — under the framework you report in, with a working file your auditor can follow. You review and approve the result; the preparer does the drafting.
Can our auditor prepare our financial statements?
Often not. Independence rules restrict auditors from preparing financial statements they also audit: it is prohibited for public-interest entities and SEC registrants, and allowed for other entities only with safeguards. That is one of the most common reasons companies use a separate preparer.
Who is responsible for the financial statements if we outsource?
You are. Management and the directors remain responsible for the financial statements and sign them. An outside preparer drafts them to your framework and instructions — outsourcing moves the work, not the accountability.
How much does outsourced financial statement preparation cost?
It depends on the entity type, the reporting framework and how complex the disclosures are. LQ Services charges a fixed fee agreed before work starts, so the price does not change with the hours spent. Contact us for a quote.
How long does it take?
At LQ Services, a first draft usually comes back within two working days. We agree the delivery dates at the start of the engagement and work to your filing deadlines.
Do you work with companies outside the United States?
Yes. LQ Services is based in the United States and prepares financial statements for clients in all markets, under IFRS, US GAAP, Lux GAAP, UK GAAP and other local GAAPs.
Which entities and documents do you prepare?
Commercial companies, special purpose vehicles (SPVs), holding companies and investment funds. Documents include annual and periodic financial statements, prospectuses and KIIDs.
