Cheap-Ass Firms Are Loving This Outsourcing Thing

Is no one concerned about the brain drain happening at the lowest levels as all the grunt work that used to train newbies gets sent overseas? Are we quickly headed toward a world where entire teams from manager on down are in another country? And does this mean clients will get a break on fees since the talent is so much cheaper? LOL to that last one.

For the TLDR gang who can’t be bothered to read articles, here’s a screenshot of the article we’re going to discuss. For readers of words, continue on.

This article from Accountancy Age could possibly be a poorly disguised ad for AdvanceTrack’s services but just in case it’s not, it has some figures we can refer to in 2030 when all the work has been offshored and regulators are scrambling to figure out who should pay for mistakes made because of it.

Figures show an significant rise in firms choosing to outsource their accounting services, with a near 40% increase in global spend and a 20% surge in interest over the last five years. [emphasis ours]

Vipul Sheth, Managing Director of AdvanceTrack, one of the UK’s fastest-growing outsourcing accountancy firms, likens the rapid ascent of the outsourcing industry to the revolutionary impact of generative AI in 2023.

“The surge in popularity is because people are looking for high levels of service at a cost-effective price point,” Sheth explains. “Add to this the lack of a strong pipeline of talent coming through, and it’s understandable to see outsourcing swiftly gaining momentum.”

“Figures reveal ‘enormous’ rise in firms choosing accountancy outsourcing as industry faces ‘pivotal’ moment,” Accountancy Age March 26, 2024

Wow he really said the quiet part out loud. The article talks a lot about “operational efficiency” and “cost savings,” actually. It’s Vipul Sheth’s belief that more than half of companies will be outsourcing some or even all of their accounting work ten years from now. Let’s hope India and the Philippines don’t run out of accountants before then (see: The Philippines is Running Low on Accountants and US Firms Should Be Worried).

Nothing to worry about here.

Figures reveal ‘enormous’ rise in firms choosing accountancy outsourcing as industry faces ‘pivotal’ moment [Accountancy Age]