Accounting firms turn to offshoring amid worker shortages
As accounting firms continue to struggle with the talent shortage, some companies are turning to offshoring to plug the gaps in their workforce.
The accounting industry is struggling to attract and retain talent. Almost half of accountants (41 per cent) believe that talent shortages will have ongoing impacts on the profession, and 45 per cent of firms said worker shortages made it difficult to meet client demands while maintaining work life balance.
Some employers have turned to offshoring in order to manage domestic talent gaps and avoid outsourcing. This approach has both benefits – lower labour costs – and challenges, in terms of navigating cultural differences and fostering good workplace culture across countries.
“Ten years ago, there was a real shortage of accounting staff within the marketplace. We were also losing staff,” Paul Franks, partner at Lambourne Partners, told the Sydney Accounting and Business Expo on Thursday, explaining why his firm chose to offshore staff.
“With our growth, we wanted to have capacity, and the offshore team certainly has allowed us to provide the best service that we can,” he added.
Lauren Thiel, founder and chief executive of The Real Thiel, found that offshoring allowed her to scale up her small business quickly and cheaply.
“I was in that odd space where I was trying to grow and go full time by myself, but I couldn’t do that while working full time elsewhere,” Thiel recounted.
“By adding in just one person offshore, it meant I could afford to have some help and double my capacity – or close to it – really quickly.”
However, offshoring came with its own challenges, the speakers warned.
Firstly, accounting firms should be mindful that offshore workers would need additional training to become familiar with the Australian regulatory environment.
“Nobody had Australian experience in the Philippines. So you would have to hire a good accountant, bring them in and then teach them what superannuation is, what GST is, and these basic things that you would just take for granted,” Jonathan Ryall, director at Frontline Accounting said.
Cultural differences and poor communication can also cause issues within a remote workforce if not managed properly.
“I go to the Philippines twice a year. I've worked hard at building up relationships with the staff,” Franks said.
“Where we see a lot of people don't get success is because they don't put the time into understanding the cultural differences.”
Thiel recalled navigating challenges as she learned how to manage a remote team.
“I went a little too hands-off and then realised that most of my team were way overworked and burning out,” she said.
To address this, the company “introduced reviews every quarter, to actively ask the staff what's going great? What do we need to change? Where is your capacity at? Are you still finding time to do what you like in your life?” Thiel said, emphasising the importance of open communication with teams.
Franks said that he had not seen any client pushback after he chose to employ off-shore staff 10 years ago.
“Your clients just want an outcome. They just want good service. They want a good job to be done, and whether that person is in Australia or the Philippines, as long as their work is getting done, honestly, there hasn't been an issue,” he said.
