When Jon Ryall CA and Mark Cottle CA decided to start their own accounting firm, they could see one cloud on the horizon. Would Australia’s skills shortage limit their growth?

This was over a decade ago and since then, the talent squeeze has been exacerbated by factors such as low unemployment, a post-pandemic reduction in skilled migration and high rates of retirement among baby boomers. Enrolments in the university degrees that typically lead to accounting careers are also in decline.

In response, Ryall and Cottle built an offshore team. “We chose the Philippines because it has a much larger talent pool than Australia,” says Ryall. “Every year, around 50,000 school leavers choose to do an accounting degree. The country is quite culturally compatible, English is widely spoken and understood – and employment costs are significantly lower.”

With access to quality, well-qualified staff, their accounting practice grew and they saw potential for other firms to achieve similar success.

This became Frontline, a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm which makes it easy for accountants to build offshore teams in the Philippines by replicating the Frontline model. Eventually, they sold their accounting practice to focus on helping firms around the world navigate offshore teams successfully.

“Mark and I are both chartered accountants with public practice experience, and experience working with offshore teams,” says Ryall. “This keeps us in touch with our clients’ pain points so we know where we can best provide support.”

Offshoring vs outsourcing

The terms offshoring and outsourcing are sometimes used interchangeably. In fact, they are totally different.

“Outsourcing involves handing a job over to a third party who will perform the work for you. They are responsible for managing the workflow and will usually charge by the hour or project,” says Ryall.

“The difference with offshoring is that you retain control of the work because you’re setting up your own permanent workforce overseas. They work only for you, are subject to your workflows and supervision, and will develop skills in a similar way to your local team.”

Smoothing the path

Frontline searches and vets people who meet the client’s criteria. “We then set up interviews, so you can make the final selection,” says Ryall.

Frontline then works with clients to support management in the Philippines.

“We are there in the background to ensure everything is running smoothly and to resolve any issues,” says Ryall. “For example, you can access IT support to troubleshoot tech issues and HR to help with employee benefits and complying with local employment laws.”

Frontline works with practices of all sizes and specialisations. “The size of the practice isn’t important, but offshoring does tend to work best for firms with good systems and training in place,” says Ryall. “Sound management practices will also help you get the most from your overseas workers.”

Could offshoring be your talent solution?

To learn how Frontline’s offshoring services can build more capacity in your business, register now to attend Frontline’s offshoring webinar on Tuesday 27 August at 11am AEDT.