This paper presents the results of research conducted to identify the factors that influence the decisions of company management to outsource accounting services. A transaction cost economics (TCE) model was used to analyse factors that influence high levels of outsourcing of accounting tasks in the case of Montenegro, where, based on our sample, 75.4% of companies enter outsourcing arrangements with bookkeeping agencies or with external accountants. With an adaptation of International Accounting Standards (IAS) and legal requirements for submission of standardised year-end reports, there is evident growth of bookkeeping and financial service providers on the market and an evident trend of companies entering accounting service outsourcing with those agencies. A survey was developed to investigate 12 variables that, according to the TCE model, influence outsourcing decisions. The selection of variables was based on previous research in the field using the TCE or Resource-Based View model (the most common models used for this analysis). In contrast, new variables were introduced that measure the effects of the introduction of IAS through legal reporting obligations in Montenegro. By developing the model this way, it became possible to predict 47% of the variance of the dependent variable and to identify the main factors (other than price) that influence the decision of managers to outsource accounting services.

Existing researches on business indicates that companies in order to survive on the modern market must: constantly develop their own capacities, make constant effort to reduce costs and to optimize the use of their own resources. Shortcomings in knowledge and skills, key competencies, and resources are highlighted as main causes of company decay. One way to overcome existing shortcomings is to get into the outsourcing process. Outsourcing can be applied to basic business functions, specialized business functions and business support functions. The subject of this paper is to present the factors that influence the outsourcing of accounting services as well as contemporary trends in the field of accounting and financial services outsourcing. The paper presents theoretical considerations on the topic, the specifics of the accounting services that are to be taken into account when making the decision about entering into outsourcing process, as well as the trends in the outsourcing business.