The World is Shrinking – Your Firm Can Easily Recruit for the Best Talent Globally
- Frontline Accounting
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
If your firm’s offshore strategy is built on one country alone—India, in most cases—you’re playing a high-stakes game of Jenga with your capacity. Sure, India has bags of talent, but leaning on a single geography is the modern-day equivalent of “all of your eggs in one basket”.
What happens if there’s a power cut, a sudden regulatory hiccup or a change of government? You’re stuck. Here’s why branching out—and yes, I’m talking about recruiting from spots like the Philippines—does more than just spread risk. It taps into a wider array of skills, culture and time-zone magic, so your UK team can sleep soundly knowing great work is still happening. I’ve been speaking with a whole load of new firms recently; a lot of those conversations have happened because some of our existing clients have been acquired by larger firms or private equity consolidators. As you can imagine, these larger firms have:
The right team to support their client base
Operational efficiencies, and
Ability to scale
As their key priorities; so there is usually already some kind of outsource or offshore relationship in the group.
What has been interesting is the mindset that as long as a good relationship and good talent is available in a region, they are happy to build teams in multiple locations as this strategy de-risks their offshore program.
They are not thinking that investing in multiple regions is diverting attention away from a central point—quite the opposite. They are giving each location a focus and building out a truly global team.
So, a bookkeeping focused location in India is working side by side with the accounts prep team in the Philippines.
This kind of thing probably seems like a rich person’s folly, but these locations run at a fraction of the cost of running in the UK. The idea that Private Equity backed firms would throw money at something that didn’t have an ROI is laughable! 1. Spread the Load, Shrink the Panic Button
Picture this: an earthquake knocks out power in one region (thankfully no-one is hurt), but without backup, your month-end close grinds to a halt.
But if your processes are dotted across two or three locations, that natural disaster becomes just a weather news snippet—your work shifts to the next hub, and clients never notice.
That’s a stress-free Friday right there.
2. Different Strokes for Different Folks
Not all accounting tasks are carbon copies.
High-volume compliance?
India’s chartered accountants have been at it since dinosaurs roamed the Earth (okay, maybe since the 1960s).
Polished English and a customer-first mindset?
The Philippines. Friendly, chatty, and with fewer “re-phrasing required” moments.
Mixing and matching allows you to slot each task to the team that’s best at it, rather than shoehorning everything into one location.
3. The Philippines: Your Secret Weapon
The Philippines is the veteran world-class BPO that knows all the best hacks:
Near-native English: No more decoding & deciphering. Yes, there’s an American accent—but after years of Hollywood, Netflix, and YouTube, the world is good with that now, right?
Culture fit: Filipinos are masters of “customer delight.” The Philippines is the most westernised part of southeast Asia, culturally aligned with the West whilst also retaining the Asian work ethic – best of both worlds!
Qualified pros: Hundreds of thousands of accounting professionals churn out crisp balance sheets like clockwork.
Value for money: Competitive rates, solid infrastructure, and an exchange rate that’s kind to the pound.
Follow-the-sun model:
GMT 5am – The Philippines team is hard at work.
GMT 9am – UK clocks in, and work is ready to be checked and discussed with the client.
There’re still hours of crossover time to work together as a team.
4. How to Pull Off the Multi-Hub Shuffle
Process Mapping Party: Grab a whiteboard and list every step of your bookkeeping, payroll, month-end close, and whatever else you outsource. Colour-code tasks by complexity, standardisation, and client touch-points.
Partner Due Diligence: Don’t pick a BPO because they sent you chocolates. Check standards, processes, and ask for client references. A provider with 10+ years of solid growth and stability is gold.
Set Up Your Control Tower: Think of this as air traffic control for your finance processes. Dashboards that show turnaround times, error rates, and satisfaction scores across each location keep everyone honest—and proactive.
Champion Change Management: “But what about my people?” they’ll whine. Show them how offloading number-crunching frees them up for strategy, client chats, and maybe even a proper lunch break.
Cross-Pollinate & Celebrate: Quarterly visits or virtual “culture exchanges” keep teams connected. Share success stories like: “How Manila nailed that tricky VAT return.” High-fives all around.
5. More Than Just a Safety Net
Beyond dodging crises, a multi-location BPO strategy fuels growth. You get the flexibility to ramp up without the cost and talent shortage constraints of any one region. You’ll discover talent niches you didn’t even know existed.
Plus, when clients hear you have global boots on the ground, it looks pretty sharp—you’re the kind of accountant clients can learn a few things from!
Bottom Line:
If your offshore playbook is still a one-trick pony, it’s time to diversify. Build a blend of India’s scale, the Philippines’ people skills.
You’ll sleep better, delight clients more, and give your in-house team room to be the strategic advisers they were hired to be.
Don’t let your offshore strategy be a house of cards.
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