The article discusses the Accounting Industry Outlook and the importance of Accounting Outsourcing.
Accounting Employment Outlook
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), employment of bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks is projected to decline 5 percent from 2021 to 2031.
Despite the decline, about 197,600 openings for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
According to the Manpowergroup Employment Outlook Survey for the Q4 2022, employers anticipate high demand for talent across key sectors. 37% of employers in the Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector have high demand for talent.
Despite this, a global average of 75% of employers (across 40 countries) reported difficulty in filling roles. The following sectors: Education, Health & Government, IT & Technology, Manufacturing, are all tied at 76%.
For the Banking and Finance industry, the sector faces a talent shortage where 75% of employers report difficulty finding the hard and soft skills needed.
Accounting Outsourcing: Why Outsource Accounting Services Offshore?
Before [the] pandemic about 6.2% of the accounting firms used offshore staffing. Today, the [number] has grown to a whopping 41.3%.
A great place to start looking for Offshore Accounting teams is in the Asia Pacific Region. In their Q3 2022 Employment Outlook Survey, Manpowergroup adds that APAC employers report strong optimism despite lockdowns throughout region.
When outsourcing offshore to destinations, you have access to a huge talent pool where you can find experienced outsourced staff to fill in Finance & Accounting roles at a much lower cost than hiring domestically.
The Philippines is among the top outsourcing destinations offshore (in the APAC region) that lets you choose from a large talent pool of employees who have worked for large multinational Accounting companies and business process outsourcing companies.
The Philippine outsourcing talent pool, with this kind of experience is difficult to find with other destinations.
The Philippines has several Accounting and Auditing firms that are partners of major players like Ernst & Young, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., PWC, KPMG, Grant Thornton International Ltd.
Another great thing about outsourcing offshore to the Philippines is that the country’s labor cost is the lowest compared to its ASEAN counterparts.
Business Process Outsourcing lets you work with Accounting professionals that have the right technical expertise and experience in aspects that can improve your cash flow. Outsourced Accountants in the Philippines are qualified in providing Accounting support and contributing to the overall efficient operation of the Finance and Accounting department.
Accounts payable are goods or services a company owes to suppliers or service providers which are purchased via credit. Accounts payable management is an important part of the accounting cycle. This process ensures that suppliers a company works with are paid properly and on time. Outsourced accountants review outstanding or pending payables to ensure proper processing, documentation and timely payment.
Outsourced Accountants also provide necessary follow ups on Accounts Receivable collections by calling customers on payments on Accounts Receivable payment collections, making the necessary follow ups via inbound calling. This is also needed to make sure payments owed to the business are properly included and recorded.
A business process outsourcing provider hires Accountants that can handle efficient billing collections and let them track business payments.
Businesses looking to offshore Accounting functions can tap from a huge talent pool of:
- Senior Certified Public Accountants, Certified Public Accountants, Staff Accountants, and Accounting Techs, Bookkeepers
- Accounting Associates
- Junior CPAs
- Senior CPAs
- Controllers
Another reason businesses outsource offshore is access to technology. Accounting is a repetitive, technical and time-consuming process. These functions can be automated with the help of Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
There are a lot of Accounting tasks you can improve with Robotic Process Automation.
RPA applications apply rules and logic to quickly and accurately execute routine and repetitive tasks such as month-end close, reconciliation, accounts receivable and HR compliance.
Another example is the Accounts Receivable. Accounts Receivable relies heavily on accuracy of internal documents. Businesses can use Robotic Process Automation for fast generation of invoice, data syncing and management, and data extraction.
Aside from this, one of the tasks of outsourced accountants is to generate an accurate financial report. This might mean a time-consuming process involving hardware, several cloud-based applications and software tools in order to generate the most updated financial reports.
At Connext, we have a dedicated team of experts in FinTech and Insurtech to automate key finance and accouting outsourcing related processes to improve the productivity, cycle time, accuracy, and scalability and user experience.
Connext builds, trains, and manages highly functioning custom outsourced customer service teams. Aside from Accounting Outsourcing roles such as Senior Certified Public Accountants, Certified Public Accountants, Staff Accountants, and Accounting Techs, sample standard roles you can outsource are the following:
- Real Estate Title and Escrow Specialists
- Information Technology/Web Developers and Administrators
- Nurses and Healthcare Claims Processors
- QA and Data Analytics Specialists
- Graphic Designers and System Engineers
- HR and Payroll Service Professionals
- Technical Support
- Underwriters
- Data Entry Specialists
- Customer Service Representatives
- and More
Connext enables client growth by providing custom offshore support teams, white glove account management, work tools, operating facilities, process improvement, systems and automation. talented remote staff, white-glove account management, work tools, operating facilities, systems, automation and targeted process improvement. Learn more about Connext here.
References:
Occupational Outlook Handbook: Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks. https://stats.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/bookkeeping-accounting-and-auditing-clerks.htm Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). Accessed September 21, 2022.
Q4 2022 Employment Outlook Survey. https://go.manpowergroup.com/meos?_ga=2.202069079.799909676.1663855003-1237063811.1663626880. Manpowergroup. September 13, 2022. Accessed September 21, 2022.
Q3 2022 Employment Outlook Survey. https://workforce-resources.manpowergroup.com/home/q3-2022-employment-outlook-survey. Manpowergroup. May 24, 2022. Accessed September 21, 2022.
Chanakya Kyatham. “Why Offshoring Is Increasing In Accounting Firms Post-Pandemic?” https://www.business2community.com/startups/why-offshoring-is-increasing-in-accounting-firms-post-pandemic-02439849. business2community. Last updated 1 November 2021. Accessed September 21, 2022.
Jeff Seabloom. “RPA, Analytics and Cloud: The New Game Changer in Customer Analytics”. https://risnews.com/rpa-analytics-and-cloud-new-game-changer-customer-analytics. RIS News. June 23, 2016. Accessed September 21, 2022.
Fehl Dungo. “Top 6 Best Accounting and Auditing Firms in the Philippines in 2022”. PhilPad. https://philpad.com/best-accounting-firms-philippines/. Last Updated on: January 3, 2022. Accessed September 21, 2022.
Amy R. Remo. “PH labor cost among lowest in Asean“. http://business.inquirer.net/209904/ph-labor-cost-among-lowest-in-asean. Philippine Daily Inquirer. April 29, 2016. Accessed September 21, 2022.
