Is it proving a challenge to find and retain good accounting staff? Are you seeing salary costs for accounting staff rise? Are some or all of your team already working remotely? Like us you may have tried outsourcing previously, but are you familiar with the difference between Offshoring versus Outsourcing?

Offshoring versus Outsourcing

I confess I wasn’t familiar with the difference between Offshoring and Outsourcing until very recently. I had simply thought the two terms were synonymous, but in fact the two solutions are quite different.

Outsourcing refers to sending work to another party, often overseas, who then prepare the work and generally return it to you to review and engage with your client. I had my own experiences with this almost twenty years ago and it was not successful. The quality of the work was not great, and my own team were resistant, understandably they saw it as a threat to their own position.

Offshoring on the other hand is rather different. Offshoring is equivalent to hiring overseas team members, with you selecting from a bigger pool of suitably qualified candidates, with much reduced employment risks as you are not directly the employer. In these modern days where your current team members may already be remote working, at least some of the time, then it may be much more readily accepted.

The benefit of Offshoring

Some of the benefits of Offshoring include:

  • Bigger pool of suitable staff;
  • More competitive cost structure;
  • Scalability with ease;
  • Support with recruitment;
  • Lower risks in selecting suitable candidates;

Offshoring staff can and will work to UK hours and will include qualified professionals with ACCA, CIMA and AAT qualifications.

How does it work?

You set the parameters for the candidate then select the right individuals to become an extension of your team, much like any other team member. You allocate work and the Offshore team member works to your systems from within a controlled office.

If you are having challenges with recruitment and you’d like to explore Offshoring further then please speak to us.