Why Offshore Talent Sourcing Helps Scale Your Accounting Practice

If you want to scale up your accounting practice, expand your services, and keep your in-house accountants from burning out, then finding a practical solution to your problems is a must.  

But let's be honest—it's not an easy task to begin with. The daily challenges of tight deadlines, high client expectations, and a talent market working against you make finding an ideal solution even harder. 

In many cases, hiring locally feels like an obvious solution. More staff means less work for the current team, right? 

But here’s the catch: local hiring comes with its own set of hurdles. With rising salary expectations, intense competition for skilled accountants, and the time it takes to recruit and onboard the right candidate, it’s not as simple—or affordable—as it may seem. 

So, what’s the alternative? How do you improve your practice without sacrificing the quality of service your clients expect? Well, a solution that many accounting firms are turning to is offshore talent sourcing. 

And before you think of it as just another corporate jargon, consider this—it could be the practical, strategic solution your organization has been looking for. 

What is Offshore Accountant Talent Sourcing? 

Offshore accountant talent sourcing is the process of identifying, screening, and hiring qualified accounting professionals from another country to support your firm's operations.  

This approach is typically facilitated by outsourcing providers who specialize in building offshore teams tailored to your firm's needs, making sure that the professionals they source are degree-qualified, well-trained, and equipped with knowledge of international accounting standards and tools.  

Rather than simply handing over tasks or projects—as is common in traditional outsourcing models—offshore talent sourcing emphasizes recruiting dedicated professionals who work closely with your in-house team. These offshore professionals may include bookkeepers, accountants, tax preparers, financial analysts, and payroll specialists, among others.  

The Challenges of Scaling Up an Accounting Firm 

Before we discuss the topic further, let’s first have a quick revisit of what we mentioned in our previous blog: scaling up an accounting firm involves more than just hiring additional staff.  

While expanding your headcount may seem like the obvious path to growth, it often reveals deeper operational challenges that require a more strategic approach. 

1. The Persistent Talent Gap 

One of the biggest problems is hiring the right people. The accounting industry is facing a talent shortage. In fact, the American Insitute of CPAs (AICPA) says that 75% of CPAs are set to retire in the next 15 years.

That means more firms are having a hard time finding skilled workers. Because of this, many are now asking: should we keep hiring locally, or is it time to consider offshore accounting support instead? But the issue doesn’t end with availability.  

2. Increasing Labor Cost and Retention Issues

Labor costs continue to rise due to economic factors such as inflation and currency fluctuation, making it harder for small and mid-sized firms to compete for top talent. Even when you do hire the right people, retention is another pain, as some employees leave as soon as a better offer comes along, which means firms need to spend more time hiring and training again and again.

3. Challenges with Cultural Compatibility

There’s also the matter of finding a cultural fit. In a specialized field such as accounting, it’s not enough to hire skilled professionals, they also need to align with your team’s values and goals. Without that alignment, the collaboration suffers, resulting in poor service delivery to clients.  

4. Lack of Specialized Skills

There’s also a growing need for people with specialized skills. As client expectations become more specific and complex, firms are under pressure to hire professionals with niche expertise. Not having these capabilities in-house can make it a bit harder to win or keep clients from your funnel. 

5. Adapting to Flexible Work Arrangement

And lastly, many job seekers now want remote or hybrid work setups. A recent Gallup study show that 6 in 10 remote-capable employees now prefer a hybrid setup, while only a small percentage want to work fully on-site.

This means organizations should be able to adapt and can't ignore this shift if they want to attract or keep good employees.  

All these challenges point to one thing: scaling up isn’t just about adding more people. It’s about making strategic choices—like improving your processes, looking into offshore options, and building a setup that supports long-term growth. 

How Offshore Talent Sourcing Solves These Challenges 

There are a lot of reasons why more accounting firms are turning to offshore talent—and it’s not just about saving resources. Instead, offshore support helps solve many problems we just talked about. Below are some of the benefits of offshore accounting: 

1. Easing the Workload of Your Core Team 

One good thing it can bring to your team is that these outsourced professionals can handle time consuming task from your staff workload, which is very beneficial in the long run, as it allows them to focus on more important task like client advisory and strategic planning. 

For example: 

• Offshore teams can manage day-to-day bookkeeping, accounts payable/receivable, and reconciliations. 

• They can assist with tax preparations and compliance reports and make sure that all deadlines are met. 

• Specialized talents can support audit preparations, freeing up your senior staff. 

This not only improves the processes, but it also frees up your core team's load, preventing overworking and possible burnout.  

2. Reducing Overhead Costs 

As every article that is written about offshoring will tell you, cost savings are one of the biggest benefits—and for good reasons. Hiring offshore staff will allow your organization to significantly cut down on overhead expenses like: 

• Benefits and insurance 

• Office space and equipment 

• Training and onboarding costs 

• Taxes and compliance with labor laws 

3. Providing Flexibility to Scale 

Another advantage of reaching out to these providers is that you have the opportunity to scale up your team based on your firm’s changing needs.  

Whether you’re handling seasonal spikes, onboarding new clients, or expanding service offerings, offshore support lets you adjust your capacity quickly without going through the time-consuming process of hiring locally. This flexibility allows you to stay agile and responsive to your organization’s needs. 

4. Faster Turnaround Time

As highlighted in our previous blog, being operational 24/7 sets you apart from competitors who may have limited operating hours. With this solution, tasks can be completed in shorter time frames.

Since your offshore provider works in a different time zone, you can have the advantage of being available around the clock. 

5. Access to a Global Talent Pool

Lastly, when you choose to source talent from another country, it opens up a wider talent pool. Countries such as the Philippines are home to large number of English-speaking accounting professionals, which means communication is not an issue. 

On top of that, according to PwC, the Philippines produces over 14,000 accounting graduates and an average of 8,200 CPAs every year, which can help bridge the gap caused by local talent shortages. 

Offshore Talent Sourcing vs. Traditional Hiring 

To give you a quick comparison between the differences between offshore talent sourcing and traditional hiring, you can check the table below: 

Key Considerations Before Hiring Offshore Accountants 

Now that we’ve covered everything you need to know about offshore talent sourcing, let’s go over a few important points to keep in mind before hiring offshore accountants. 

1. Understand Your Needs 

• Scope of Work: Clearly define what accounting tasks you need to help with—bookkeeping, payroll, tax compliance, or financial reporting. 

• Level of Expertise: Identify the required skill level, whether it's junior accountants for basic tasks or senior professionals for complex financial analysis. 

2. Industry Experience 

• Relevant Background: Choose an offshore provider with experience in your industry. This ensures they’re familiar with your sector’s specific compliance standards and reporting practices. 

• Specialized Knowledge: Offshore accountants with experience in your specific industry can bring critical insights and expertise that are needed to streamline some of the important processes in your organization. 

3. Data Security Measures and Compliance 

• Data Protection: Make sure the offshore provider complies with international data security standards like GDPR, or ISO 27001. 

• Legal Compliance: Check and verify also if they are compliant with any legal requirements of their local government. 

4. Communication and Performance Monitoring 

• Tools and Platforms: Check what project management and communication tools they use (e.g., Slack, Zoom, Trello, MS Teams). 

• Regular Meetings: Set up regular check-ins to review progress and address any issues. 
  

• KPIs: Establish key performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of the offshore team. 

5. Time Zone and Availability 

• Working Hours: Clarify their standard work hours and whether they can adjust to your preferred time zone. 

• Turnaround Time: Discuss expected delivery times for reports and urgent requests to avoid misalignment. 

6. Cost Transparency 

• Pricing Structure: Understand whether the provider charges fixed monthly fees, hourly rates, or per-project pricing. 

• Inclusions: Check what the pricing covers—software licenses, system access, training, or consultation hours. 

7. Trial or Start of the Engagement 

• Test Period: Consider starting with a short-term project to evaluate the offshore team’s performance and compatibility. 
  
  

• Assessment Metrics: Use this period to assess accuracy, turnaround time, responsiveness, and collaboration. 

8. Contracts and Agreements 

• Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Define expectations, deliverables, and performance metrics clearly. 

• Intellectual Property: Make sure contracts cover ownership of work and confidentiality clauses. 

Case in Point: How Offshore Talent Sourcing Helped a US Accounting Firm Solve Talent Shortages 

Now that we’ve gone over what to consider before hiring offshore accountants, you might be wondering—what does this look like in practice? 

Here’s a case study that shows how outsourcing helped a US-based accounting and audit firm overcome talent gaps and streamline their operations during tough times. 

The Problem 

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm—headquartered in Utah, USA with over 100 employees—found it very difficult to find and hire qualified accountants locally. This shortage of skilled professionals was limiting their capacity to take on more clients and expand their services. 

The Solution 

To solve this, the firm decided to explore several outsourcing models but, in the end, they partnered with D&V Philippines, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company that specializes in finance, accounting and audit services. 

Why did they choose D&V Philippines? 

• They have lots of experienced accountants, so finding quality talent wasn’t an issue. 

• They’re known for helping professional services firms grow through outsourcing. 

• They provide training to their team, so their people stay sharp and skilled. 

The partnership started small, with just one outsourced employee focused on audit work. Over time, the firm grew confident in the benefits of outsourcing and expanded the team. Today, they have six full-time staff from D&V Philippines who work as an essential part of their team. 

What Changed? 

Outsourcing turned things around for the firm. Here’s how: 

• They finally had access to the skilled people they needed, which helped them take on more clients and grow. 

• The offshore staff worked alongside the in-house employees as a solid extension of their team. 

• Many complex tasks—like audit planning, financial reports, and tax preparation—became easier to manage with help from their offshore employees. 

What This Means for Your Firm? 

This firm’s story shows how offshore talent sourcing can be a practical solution when it’s tough to find good accountants locally.  

Outsourcing gives accounting practices a chance to grow without the headaches of hiring more full-time staff in-house or overloading their current team.  

The Bottom Line 

If your accounting firm is dealing with talent gaps or trying to scale up, offshoring might be the answer you need.

Just like this US firm, you can build a reliable offshore team to get more done, grow your client base, and continue delivering great results from your clients.  

Build your offshore accounting team 

Looking for a reliable offshoring provider to help manage your CPA firm’s day-to-day operations? Consider working with D&V Philippines. 

D&V Philippines is a business process outsourcing firm specializing in finance and accounting that has been in the industry for 13 years.      

Serving clients all around the globe, we pride ourselves on delivering quality accounting solutions. You may talk directly with our expert today to find out more about how we can help you.    

You can also read testimonials from our clients and access our whitepaper D&V Philippines’ Solutions for Modern Accounting Firms to know how we can build a great back-office support for your organization.