Offshore accounting has been around for decades, originally born out of the rise of virtual accounting and the need to send work overseas. CPA and tax firms sought out countries with lower labor costs, like India, to save on overhead.
The old offshore and outsourced accounting model had its fair share of problems.
These are some examples of significant flaws that couldn’t be ignored.
Fast forward to today, and modern offshore accounting service providers are completely reshaping the offshore accounting industry.
Credfino is proud to be recognized as one of the top 9 outsourced accounting firms. Want to know how we stand out and how we can help scale your accounting firm with our offshore accounting operations? Schedule a call with us today!
Offshore accounting has evolved tremendously, and it’s nothing like it used to be.
In this blog, I’m going to break down exactly how things have changed.
If you’re still thinking about avoiding offshore accounting based on past experiences, you might miss out on the chance to build a high-performing team beyond borders.
Now, I’m not saying the traditional offshore accounting firms have disappeared – they’re still out there.
But understanding the difference between the OLD and the NEW approach is crucial.
Traditional Approach
In the world of outsourced accounting, billable hours often come with the territory. Many firm owners opt for what seems like the more cost-effective route – hiring a fresher bookkeeper instead of an experienced one (comparatively costlier one). Firm owners assume the work is basic enough to get by.
But here’s the problem – this often leads to errors. Without the opportunity for hands-on, face-to-face training, the firm owner can’t judge the skill-level of the offshore accounting staff. Misunderstandings can easily slip through the cracks.
In the traditional approach, firm owners are left to judge the skill level of offshore hires, and more often than not, that judgment falls short. The result? Work that doesn’t meet expectations, leading to unnecessary corrections and frustrations down the line.
Modern Offshore Accounting Approach
Modern offshore accounting service providers have completely redefined outsourcing beyond borders. They don’t just focus on filling roles – they take a consultative approach, helping accounting and tax firm owners hire the right fit for each position.
When you hire staff who aren’t fully ready for the role, mistakes are inevitable. But those can be easily avoided by hiring just one level above.
At Credfino, we recommend hiring mid-level accountants for seasoned bookkeeper roles. Plus, we include review hours from senior staff to ensure everything is up to par, eliminating errors before they happen.
Traditional Approach
In the past, when accounting firms outsourced work, they didn’t get assigned a dedicated staff member. It was a “black-box” approach, with no specific person responsible for each project. This led to delayed updates, leaving firms unaware of the true status of their work.
Modern Offshore Accounting Approach
Modern offshore teams prioritize transparency by assigning a dedicated person to each project. These teams provide timely updates and seamlessly integrate with the onshore team, becoming an extension of it. The offshore staff remains consistent unless the accounting firm owner requests a change. They adapt to the firm’s culture and undergo training to align with its practices. Assigning a specific team member ensures constant communication and eliminates the “black-box” issue.
Traditional Approach
Many firm owners overlook the importance of having a standard operating procedure (SOP) in place to get consistent, high-quality output from their offshore accounting team. Traditional outsourced accounting teams often didn’t emphasize the need for SOPs either. While creating SOPs can be time-consuming, it’s crucial for firm owners to confidently delegate accounting tasks. Without clear SOPs, the work often fails to meet expectations, leading to dissatisfaction with the outsourced team’s performance.
Modern Offshore Accounting Approach
Modern offshore accounting partners understand that firm owners are too busy to create SOPs themselves. To address the gap in clear instructions, these partners have trained their teams to help accounting firm owners develop comprehensive SOPs.
What does that mean?
At Credfino, as a forward-thinking offshore accounting partner, we have experts skilled in creating SOPs using tools like Scribe. After a discussion with the firm owner, our SOP experts handle the heavy lifting, drafting the procedures. The firm owner simply reviews the SOP before giving it the green light.
Traditional Approach
There’s a common misconception that offshore accounting teams can only handle basic and routine tasks. This belief often stems from past experiences with errors in basic work, poor communication, and other challenges.
Modern Offshore Accounting Approach
With the right staff assigned to the appropriate tasks, clear communication, and well-defined SOPs, offshore teams can handle much more than just basic work.
At Credfino, we use the Eisenhower Matrix to determine which accounting services to offshore:
It’s a common misconception that only easy, backend tasks can be offshored. With the right skill level, your offshore team can also handle more complex work, enabling you to scale efficiently without compromising quality.
Traditional Approach
Many outsourced accounting service providers still focus solely on routine tasks and hire less experienced staff for these roles. On top of that, they often lack a quality control layer to ensure the accuracy of the work. This outdated and inefficient approach leads to onshore staff having to rework the offshore team’s tasks, ultimately slowing down the process and affecting overall efficiency.
Modern Offshore Accounting Approach
To tackle quality issues, modern offshore accounting partners go beyond just hiring skilled staff—they incorporate a quality control layer with senior staff oversight. At Credfino, we take it a step further:
For 1040s, we provide seasoned tax preparers and reviewers, along with a Tax Manager/EA who reviews the work before it hits your desk. This added layer of quality assurance makes the work more reliable, saves your onshore team valuable time, and ensures that everything is up to standard.
If you’ve had a bad experience with outsourced accounting in the past, there’s a high chance that either your firm wasn’t offshore-ready, or your provider was stuck in outdated offshoring practices.
In 2025, the benefits of having an offshore accounting team are undeniable—and you can’t afford to miss out.
Give a shot to the modern offshore accounting approach to stay ahead of the game. Connect with Credfino to discover how we can help you optimize your processes.
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