Accounting and finance professionals are looking at effective ways to address the twin concerns of rising costs and lack of labor in a challenging economic landscape. 的 need to find a lower-cost solution and a wider talent pool has become a business imperative. A solution gaining traction is known as outsourcing or offshoring.
Offshoring can improve operations by reducing costs and accessing qualified and specialized talent. However, the journey into offshoring begins with answering vital questions: Where do we start? 我们如何减少相关的风险? 是否存在可采用的最佳实践或商业模式?
Three experts who’ve led their firms’ decisions to offshore discuss their experiences, lessons learned and best tips in a recorded session from 188bet亚洲真人体育下载 & CIMA ENGAGE 2023，“离岸外包:经验教训”.”
1. 花时间研究准备
To facilitate informed decisions on the best approach for your firm, determine the needs of the firm and then research areas where there’s a talent pool that has the educational level and salary costs you seek. 的 ppps外包工具包 is a comprehensive guide with a robust set of tools and resources to navigate the complexities of offshoring.
“Our firm carried out extensive research before we started offshoring in June 2021. 我们想要低成本的劳动力, a high educational level and a big enough pool of talented candidates to choose from,亚伦·斯托克斯说, PFS Global首席执行官, 是谁在菲律宾领导了公司的离岸外包项目.
“Hiring a licensed 188bet亚洲真人体育下载网址 in India who became my assistant doing accounting and tax returns got us thinking about how to change our processes to fit around offshoring. 的 big lesson we learned was that you need to be willing to change your processes to fit around offshoring to achieve success,彼得·韦施说, EA, 史密斯马里昂的税务主管 & Co. 公司.
2. 评估你的海外外包选择
Hiring directly means having greater control and responsibility over every aspect of your offshore operations.
“我们在招聘板上发布的第一个招聘广告收到了5000名求职者. We realized quickly that there was a surplus of applicants in the Philippines eager to work with us. 我们的第一个雇员有学士、硕士和188bet亚洲真人体育下载网址. That’s how we got into the process of hiring directly,” Stocks recalled.
Wesch and his team went with a third-party service that provides outsourced staff, 拥有数据中心并构建所有安全性. “Our outsourced company works with over 800 outsourced team members, 为多达200家顶级会计师事务所提供服务. 我们有专门的人员分配给我们. For example, I can have a bookkeeper with a certain level of expertise. We then choose to train them in our specific processes,” Wesch said.
While hiring a leader with an outsourced team can provide a cheaper option, 一个专门的团队是不可能的, and you may not know who’s going to do the work and carry out quality checks.
3. 采用先进技术保护客户端数据
你怎么知道客户的数据是安全的? 许多公司都问过这个重要的问题. “We shipped our hardware to the Philippines and used a software called Prey, which tracks the GPS package going overseas as our first line of defense. If there’s ever an issue, Prey can remote wipe the software. 我们控制着软件，”斯托克说.
股票继续提供了这些见解:
使用VPN存储所有客户端数据.
Conduct background checks on staff, and renew security clearances every six months.
Implement an oversight process where staff have a direct manager, 是否受到监督并分配了任务. 与员工交流，邀请他们参加团队会议. Fostering relationships helps control workflow and ultimately client data.
“Work with an established IT company and research robust security systems. 你的业务就越基于云计算, the easier it is to have both remote and offshore workers because every cloud platform allows you customization in terms of who gets access to what data,韦斯奇补充道.
4. 克服挑战，降低风险
Sandy Johns，创始人 & 188bet亚洲真人体育下载网址, of Revolution Financial wanted to move her staff out of tax prep and into a reduced review signoff process. “Offshoring was about leveraging a bigger team to improve efficiencies within our firm. 我们期望从印度交钥匙交货, 但事情并没有按计划进行,”约翰说。, 谁进一步思考.
“了解你的团队对准备工作至关重要. Give yourself plenty of lead time so you’re ready for the busy season.
Training the team in your ways and processes is critical. Let them know what your interpretations are and how they should look at your documents. 将这些步骤构建到您的工作流程中. Dedicated expertise is a must for effective communication, 对关系的理解和连续性.”
“当离岸外包时，从最基本的任务开始. Outsource the easiest tasks like preparation of the tax return, where staff don’t need an in-depth knowledge of the US tax code,斯托克说.
In summary, have an established process in place that you use in your own firm. 的n, use that same process in offshoring for successful outcomes.
5. 协调文化和社会差异
文化习俗和差异会影响操作, so make collaborative arrangements that work for everyone. 准备一个可操作的清单:
Do you need to build in flexible hours to accommodate a time difference?
你需要在两种文化的节日期间工作吗?
你如何适应PTO? For example, it’s common in the Philippines to have 30 business days of PTO.
How do you relate to each other, so they are an integral part of the US team?
的 panelists also discuss how to handle language barriers, 为海外员工发展职业道路, HR and much more in the full recording available on this page.
Explore the possibilities of offshoring for competitive advantage with our ppps外包工具包.