Outsourcing Audit Solutions: Why You Should or Should Not Do It

As the number of organizations grows and evolves, so does the need for dependable audit services. For many accounting and audit firms, this is a sign of opportunity. However, growth also comes with a series of challenges: more clients mean more workload—and not every firm is equipped to handle it. 

Related: The Pros and Cons of Audit Support Outsourcing 

If your firm is struggling to find qualified professionals to take on extra accounts, you're not alone.  

Many firms are in the same situation, facing a looming threat of a shortage of capable talents, combined with seasonal spikes in workload, which makes it difficult to deliver timely and thorough audits. This puts pressure on already busy teams and increases the risk of errors or missed deadlines on their clients’ accounts. 

Is Outsourcing the Answer? 

For many, outsourcing audit support services has become an ideal solution to their growing issue. However, it is quite understandable for some firms to have reservations on outsourcing back-end audit functions.  

In this article, we'll walk you through the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing audit support tasks—giving you the information you need to decide whether it's the right move for your organization. 

Advantages of audit support outsourcing 

Below are some of the advantages of working with service providers: 

1. More Hands, Lower Costs

One of the main reasons why many organizations outsource is to save on costs and get additional people to work on their tasks. Outsourcing presents organizations with an opportunity to get access to specialized expertise without having to go through the rigors of searching for and hiring talents.  

Aside from the usual costs associated with getting new people, audit firms also gain access to expert advice on how to effectively integrate and utilize outsourcing within their audit solutions offerings. 

2. Expert Insights

While there are outsourcing firms that provide general services ranging from IT, marketing, human resources, etc., there are also firms that specialize in offering expert solutions and services to their clients.  

Audit firms can benefit largely from outsourcing firms that specialize in offering finance, accounting, and audit solutions. These outsourcing firms hire globally competitive professionals to match their clients’ expectations.

Aside from which, the diversity of talents and their background in finance, accounting, and audit enable them to solve complex problems through knowledge-sharing and hands-on mentorship. 

3. Extended Availability

Another major advantage of outsourcing is that it lets audit firms extend their operations and be available around the clock when necessary. With access to global teams working across different time zones like the Philippines, firms can now operate beyond the standard business hours, giving them an edge that sets them apart from their competitors.  

This extended availability offers an opportunity for faster turnaround times, uninterrupted workflow, and timely responses to client needs—especially during audit season when deadlines are tight and work volumes are high. 

4. Scalability

As every outsourcing provider will say, firms can now scale up their services more easily with the help of outsourcing. Whether it’s the busy audit season or a sudden increase in client engagements, outsourcing gives firms the flexibility to adjust their workforce based on demand. 

Instead of going through a lengthy hiring process, firms can tap into their outsourcing partner’s talent pool to bring in additional resources as needed—without the overhead costs of onboarding another full-time staff.  

This benefit helps firms stay competitive in terms of access to talent, as external providers often have a wider bench of skilled professionals who are already trained and experienced in audit, finance, and compliance work, giving them the opportunity to be more proactive in responding to their client's changing needs. 

Read: Why Outsource Internal Accounting And Auditing Services? 

Disadvantages of audit support outsourcing 

While outsourcing presents a multitude of solutions to the problems facing audit firms, it is only natural that such a drastic shift in operations may also come with some concerns.  

Here are a few potential drawbacks to consider: 

1. Communication and Coordination 

Outsourcing presents a highly different solution to the traditional hiring solution. Growing your in-house team will help you to communicate and coordinate with your new staff, just like the ones before them.  

This is one of the main trade-offs with outsourcing. While you can’t communicate with your outsourced staff personally, new communications technologies (e.g. WhatsApp, Hangouts, Skype, Teams) have made it easy for people to communicate with each other in different parts of the world. 

Meanwhile, project management platforms like Micrsoft 360, Google Drive, Slack, Asana, and Trello have made collaboration via cloud servers easy. These enable teams to collaborate remotely in a well-organized manner. Notifications are sent to update team members on the progress of the projects and ensure that projects are completed on time. 

2. Data Security and Confidentiality

Audits involve a lot of sensitive financial information. Sharing them with an external outsourcing provider might make some firms uneasy and raise concerns about data security and confidentiality.  

Hence, if you want to outsource audit support tasks, it is essential to do your due diligence when reaching out to an outsourcing service provider. A reliable outsourcing provider takes these major concerns seriously. They follow global standards and have security measures in place like restricted access, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and a strict data protection policy for handling client information. 

Having this in check will save your organization the time and effort of having to deal with a data breach, which can be costly and damaging to your organization's reputation in the long run. 

3. Less Direct Control

Just like any third-party provider, when you outsource, you’re handing off some responsibility or a portion of your operations to another team. And it is understandable that shifts can be a bit uncomfortable—especially if you're used to being hands-on with every detail. 

You might wonder, “Are they following our processes?” or “Will the quality match what our clients expect?” or “Will the work reflect the same standards we hold ourselves to?” These concerns are completely valid—especially when client relationships and your organization's reputation are on the line. 

However, it is still not a lost cause.  Because the key here is clear communication and regular check-ins. And you’ll need to set expectations, outline processes, and monitor performance—just like you would with a new hire. It takes a little extra planning and effort in the beginning, but once things are set up and have a system in place, most firms find that it actually frees up their time and gives them more room to focus on higher-level tasks. 

4. Process adjustments

Another challenge worth pointing out is process adjustments. Outsourcing, especially for those who are not familiar with the business model, may sound like a risky and strange concept. If your audit firm has not experienced outsourcing before, you will need to identify the tasks that should be outsourced, realign your people accordingly, and assign people that will coordinate with your outsourcing partner. 

At the start of your outsourcing journey, you must set aside enough time to help your people adjust their work processes, set up the software and other tools needed in your outsourcing engagement, and allow them to get familiar with the outsourcing process. While streamlining both your people and processes may take some time, you will be able to reap the benefits after you have made the necessary adjustments. 

The process of outsourcing your own services, especially for audit firms is a big decision to make. You must be able to weigh both the gains and the costs properly to know which path you should take and when is the ideal time to start your outsourcing journey. 

 Read Next: 7 Tips on How to Manage a Remote Team Effectively 

How to train and manage an offshore team 

Once your internal team has adjusted to the new setup, the next important step is making sure your offshore team understands how your organization works—just like your in-house staff does. 

Yes, outsourced teams may be equipped with the right technical skills. However, you still need to consider that not every organization works the same; meaning your outsourced partner still has their own way of doing things.  

From how you organize files to how you communicate with clients, these details matter. That’s why training your offshore team shouldn’t be treated as optional. Instead, it should be part of your standard onboarding routine. 

Below are some of the things you can do: 

a. Walk them through your workflow

Don’t just assume they already know how you like your audits done. But instead, you should take time to explain the structure you follow, the level of detail you expect, and the timelines your team observes. That way, everyone on the team is on the same page. 

b. Provide your templates and guides

Second, since the outsourced team signed an NDA with their company, you can securely share internal documents like report templates, SOPs, style guides, and even sample outputs.  

Providing these documents right from the start will help your offshore team understand your preferences, tone, and the level of detail you expect in deliverables, which is very beneficial in the long run as it will minimize back-and-forth revisions. 

c. Create opportunities for virtual shadowing

Third, it would be a good idea if you let your offshore team join internal meetings or observe review sessions. In that way, this will give them an opportunity to get a better sense or context on your firm’s tone, pace, and decision-making process, even if they’re not actively involved yet. 

d. Encourage open communication with a clear point of contact

Fourth, given that they are new to your organization, it’s natural that they’ll go through an adjustment period. Hence, it would be better to have someone from your local team act as their main point of contact—someone they can go to for questions, clarifications, or even feedback.  

This person doesn’t need to micromanage. Instead, their role is to guide and support the offshore team as they familiarize themselves with your company’s processes and expectations. To support this, you may set up a daily, weekly or bi-weekly check-ins to make sure everyone in the team is following.  

Having a clear support system like this encourages open communication, minimizes misunderstandings, and gives your offshore staff the confidence to speak up when something’s unclear. It also sets the tone for collaboration and builds a good working relationship from the start—just like how you would train and support a new hire in the office. 

e. Treat them as an extension of your team

Lastly, working remotely can sometimes feel isolating—especially for teams who support your operations from another part of the world. This is why it is highly important that you treat them as a true extension of your in-house staff.  

You may include them in events such as virtual town halls, share company updates when appropriate, recognize their contributions during wins, and keep them in the loop on changes that affect the broader team. Even small gestures like sending a thank-you message or celebrating project milestones can go a long way. 

Since your offshore team feels included and valued within the organization, they become more engaged and more invested in their role. This is why training helps set the tone, but management and inclusion are what truly build long term productive partnerships. 

The Bottom Line 

What works for one audit firm may not work for another when it comes to outsourcing. And like any major business decision, it requires careful planning, clear expectations, and the right partner to make it work. 

Need an extra hand in managing your audit clients? 

Consider D&V Philippines. We offer scalable and cost-effective audit support solutions to help you get the job done without sacrificing the quality of your work. Schedule a free consultation with us today or visit our website to know more about our audit support solutions.     

You can also download our whitepaper Seasonal Audit Support for US Audit Firms to learn how our audit support solutions have helped a US audit firm and can help you at the same time. 

This post was first published on 11 Oct 2018 and edited on 15 August 2025. 

Edited by: Angelica Garcia