As most accounting firms consider outsourcing as a crucial component of their delivery model, several issues can influence failure or success. It has become relatively more accessible these days; offshoring is not magic for firms that want to improve capacity and enhance efficiency. Planning is important. Consult an Atlanta accounting firm to know about the best strategies for planning.
Outsourced accounting risks, benefits, and challenges
- Various range of benefits
The apparent benefit of offshoring is real cost savings. Outsourcing accounting can support firms in the following ways.
- Access various skill sets.
- Add more importance to onshore work.
- Operate more efficiently.
- Retain both offshore and onshore work.
- Grow and strengthen the business.
- Lower costs and competitive pressures
Firms that choose their offshore route often have the primary motivation to adopt this business model is lower expenses. Contending pressures from factors like a smaller client and increased competition and customer bases drive businesses to employ offshoring’s cost-cutting practices. Firms can either pass these savings to their clients so that they can deliver more for less or hold their current prices and benefit from larger margins.
- Access to various pools of skilled employees
Skill shortage is an important factor affecting the existing global accounting landscape. In many countries, companies have enough access to the candidate pool, but not the ones who possess the experience or training in the skill set needed for typical roles.
One common scenario is receiving 50 resumes for an accountant job and finding out that 49 are unsuitable for it. The appropriate one then costs much more than you budgeted.
This uncomfortable task can be overcome by entering a large pool of offshore talent. Outsourced accounting provides companies access to various pools of skilled workers so that they can enjoy:
- Niche skills
- Resources that are not available locally
- Better quality compliance work
- Specialist knowledge
- Extra time for onshore employees, keeping their focus on crucial client-facing tasks.
- Employee retention and high-value work
Once the time-consuming tasks are taken off from the onshore employees, the onshore staff will be able to focus on more profit-generating tasks.
Onshore accountants become empowered, engage more with clients, and can be trusted advisors. They will provide better financial advice because they have enough time to report and analyze essential data.
- Risk and challenges
Offshoring naturally has some risks and challenges. It is because the industry is constantly evolving. Some of the critical solutions are outlined below.
- Turnover in high places having high-level competition.
- People look for diversity in their job, so those given repetitive, small administrative tasks can experience burnout and eventually leave.
- Countries with insufficient regulatory frameworks can discourage customers who want to go offshore.