The accounting industry is experiencing a period of significant change providing both challenges and opportunities. Issues such as a lack of accountants, downward pressure on prices, and higher costs are facing the industry in New Zealand, Australia and the United States, while cloud-based tools and Xero are providing new opportunities. As a result, many accounting firms are moving to outsourcing to promote sustainability.
Here’s a breakdown of why and how Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) works for accountants.
The accounting industry is facing change
A lack of accountants, strong competition and pricing pressure, and increasing costs mean that accounting firms are finding it harder to stay competitive. Recruiting and retaining accountants is a time-consuming and difficult process, while increasing wages and rising costs put significant pressure on employing onshore accountants.
Outsourcing offers the chance to reduce costs dramatically while also freeing up onshore accountants to take care of more client-facing tasks when compliance work is outsourced. This new business model gives accounting firms the competitive edge by allowing for more efficient allocation of time and resources.
The technology evolution
Technology is rapidly evolving. It is even predicted that Artificial Intelligence (Al) will shortly be able to complete a large proportion of tasks that a compliance based accountant does! While this particular development may be in the future, the truth is that things are changing today. The evolution of the accounting industry is having a dramatic effect on the way accountants run their businesses. What works now is guaranteed to become obsolete, and outsourcing is offering accounting firms the chance to evolve with the times and future-proof their businesses.
More about how disruptive innovation is impacting accountants
New tools offer new opportunities
Advanced accounting-specific tools are providing new and exciting opportunities to capitalise on outsourcing possibilities. Xero Accounting Software is a game changer for businesses and accountants. Using software such as this, it is now very easy to set up offshore teams for an accounting firm.
Additionally, more and more cloud-based tools and apps are being developed every year providing the ability to remotely manage any aspect of an outsourced business. Time-tracking, reporting, payroll and scheduling apps are just a few of the many tools available. Riding the cloud wave and embracing change can help develop a more sustainable accounting firm with better relationships, productivity and profitability.
Staying at the forefront
Based in the Philippines, and designed specifically to meet the needs of accounting firms, The Back Room aims to increase your business capacity by outsourcing accounting tasks. If you’re new to outsourcing, we’ve written several white papers which will give you an introduction to outsourcing for accounting firms. These white papers cover:
- How outsourcing works
- Why accountants outsource
- Methods of outsourcing
- How to get started with outsourcing