HOW DOES AN ACCOUNTING FIRM FIND WAYS TO INTEGRATE ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE TEAMS

Following the pandemic, accounting firms have grown so accustomed to using offshore staffing that even the smallest businesses have begun to build their offshore teams. Accounting firms have made a significant move toward hiring Indians. Accounting firms have made a significant move toward hiring Indians.

Accounting firms' mindset about offshore hiring have shifted significantly in recent years, particularly in the post-pandemic era. Before the pandemic, approximately 6.2 percent of accounting firms employed offshore employment; today, that figure has risen to a startling 41.3 percent.

About Harper & Co:

Harper & Co. provides its clients with the resources they require to enjoy their business journey. Their 'Secret Sauce' is a community of devoted individuals who are committed to aiding them in expanding and reaching financial independence.

Entrepreneurs and business owners require and deserve more from their CPA firm than tax returns and financial statements. They want consultants who can assist them in a proactive manner. They also want a partner that can go beyond the financial aspects of their organization and give strategic operational guidance to help them go forward and flourish.

Initial Start with Entigrity:

Following the pandemic, Harper & Company had a severe staffing shortage. The workload was at an all-time high, and they simply couldn't afford to invest a significant amount of capital in finding, hiring, and training more local talent. Harper & Co came on the website for Entigrity Offshore Accounting while seeking a creative, sustainable, and effective solution as soon as possible. Entigrity provided them with an English-speaking offshore team that was highly skilled and well-educated, allowing their local team to focus on strategic goals.

Julie Says, “We discovered Entigrity after doing our due diligence and finding out that they do business with hundreds of firms like ours, we decided to leverage them for offshore resources. They provided us with highly educated and competent people who spoke English and wanted to be part of our team.  Our goal was to keep our local team strategically focused on our growing advisory services business.”

Harper & Co. did their due diligence and discovered Entigrity. They found out that Entigrity do business with hundreds of firms like ours, so they decided to leverage us for offshore resources. Their goal was to keep their local team strategically focused on our growing advisory services business. There are 3 offshore team members who work for them.

The following factors aided their offshoring:

• Integration and management of onshore and offshore teams at the same level.
• Empowering leaders and managers with the right team.
• Investment in onboarding and training.

From a back office aspect, offshore teams can handle anything that an onshore team can handle.

Initial challenges with Offshoring:

Harper & Co. had no challenges since they did such a wonderful job communicating in an open and transparent manner. They handle their offshore team in the same manner that they do their onshore team and integrate both teams on the same page. They desired to give customer relationships as well as high-quality work to offshore teams. They were enabling them to achieve more.

Glen Says, "The value we bring to our clients is relationship. It makes no difference where our employees work as long as they have great skill sets and the right mindset. If our team wins, the company wins, and the onshore - offshore employee wins and you don’t get these situations often.”

Successful Integration of Offshoring into the Firm

Harper & Company, have observed that even after accepting offshore staffing, many small and mid-sized accounting firms continue to struggle with onshore and offshore team Integration. It is thus imperative that they develop a consistent culture for the Onshore and Offshore Teams to grow and perform while pursuing common goals, regardless of geographical barriers, time zones, or cultural variations.

The "Buddy System" & “Onshore Anchor” are inventive methods toward a single goal: “integration of onshore and offshore staff”.

Buddy System: It is when an offshore staff is paired with one or two ( not more ) onshore staff. It enables a firm to function round the clock. This includes an offshore buddy who shares at least 50% of the time zone with an onshore buddy. To carry out the entire process smoothly, it is necessary to set up a streamlined overlap system.

Julie Says, “The buddy system encourages relationships to grow over time. Each buddy is driven to understand the other since it will eliminate confusion, help everyday work go more smoothly, and make everyone happier in general. Because no one enjoys a tense or uncomfortable working relationship, each team member is organically motivated to foster a positive working environment. We have found a great increase in the productivity and efficiency of our organization as a whole post positive integration of our offshore team with onshore team."

Onshore Anchor:

Onshore Anchor is a concept to nominate someone for handling operations, managing, building and creating trust and relationships with onshore and offshore staff. He or she is basically an advocate of offshore accounting, bridging the gap that is often evident when a offshore team newly joins a firm. It is imperative that there be someone who works towards establishing a positive rapport and building trust between the onshore and offshore teams. What you’ll need is a committed and qualified individual to train and assist both teams in getting on the same page.

Glen adds, “An onshore anchor is the vision keeper of our offshore staffing goals. He drives the end-to-end operations cycle and serves as HR for the onshore and offshore teams. They are advocates for cultivating changes in the business. The onshore anchor in your firm can facilitate lines of open communication amongst both onshore and offshore staff.”

Entigrity has an offshore account manager who is also the HR offshore, and on the other side, they have an onshore anchor. These two should be buddies. They must maintain a close relationship and communicate at least once a week. As these two will be buddies then only the integration of onshore and offshore staff will be successful. And these two people would have the firm's best interests at heart.

Why Entigrity is the right choice for your staffing needs?

Just like Harper & Co., it’s mostly about setting the wheel to roll once and get offshore staffing integrated into your systems. We have been solely working with accounting firms for over a decade now. We have helped firms like yours in hiring accountants, bookkeepers, tax associates, tax seniors, auditors, admin support staff, managers and all the other positions and offer guidance in building your offshore team. With our team of over 1600 professionals, operating from 7 secure offices across India, Entigrity is the perfect solution you are looking for in your accounting firm.

Entigrity™ is a trusted offshore staffing partner to over 600+ accountants, CPAs, and tax firms across the US and Canada. Our flexible and transparent hiring model gives helps firms of all sizes to hire staff for accounting, bookkeeping, tax preparation, or any other task for 75% less cost. As a firm 'run by accountants, for the accountants', Entigrity captures the hiring needs of accounting firms most precisely, providing staff that works directly under your control and management, still, you are left with least to worry about compliance, payroll taxes, overheads or any other benefits.