Whether outsourcing, offshoring or Podsourcing®, the change process required by an accounting practice is not one to be taken lightly.

It is a shift of work from an internal team to an external one. This raises big questions around workflow, responsibilities and data security. But many successful firms use one – or more – of these methods as an integral part of their client service delivery.

Key steps

Choosing a provider requires a practice to start off with a list of requirements. This list should include things such as security accreditation (both physical and IT); the outsourcer’s values; understanding of the legalities of their work, particularly around employment/privacy and IT laws.

And then there are choices around offshoring, outsourcing or Podsourcing®. The former is in some ways more straightforward to get started as you effectively have a new ‘employee’ to train – someone who focuses only on your firm’s work (albeit from another country). Outsourcing retains more flexibility but requires careful sharing of workflows and processes to put in place – mainly because you may have different people working on client files. Podsourcing® uses a dedicated team, which is a multi-tiered and multi skilled group of people, to deliver the work.

The firm’s senior leadership team must be fully on board with the project, and support management in communicating the new direction of travel. We’d strongly recommended that employees impacted by the changes be told about the changes well in advance of them happening. Check out our ultimate guide to building a successful outsourcing strategy for accountancy and tax practices. But remember, it is relatively rare for outsourcing or offshoring projects to result in job losses – and job role changes from such a project are often for the better.

The champions

Who will your champions be? These are people within the practice to support and run the project – passing information backwards and forwards to other parties within the organisation as things progress.

These don’t necessarily need to be all ‘pro-outsourcers’ – sometimes those without great sentiment towards the project can feel empowered to have their views considered as things move on. They will be important post-project in terms of allaying fears or misconceptions.

Most of these projects should enhance the working lives of people impacted by the change. So, it’s important to communicate that the project is not just ‘cost savings’ - roles will develop and that should create opportunities and a ‘better’ or more interesting working environment to be within. For example, perhaps the hours worked will be lower and more consistent.

The outsourcer’s role

Advancetrack, or any good outsourcer, should be active in working with the accountancy firm during the change process – we consider ourselves having world-class processes and delivery models. So, it is inevitable that a firm working with us will have to modify what they do in some way shape or form.

Approach the communication aspect of change as clearly as appreciating and desiring the benefits. 

If you’d like to discuss strategic planning and communication for outsourcing, offshoring or Podsourcing®, get in contact with us.