New Zealand accountancy firms outsourcing work to India

By ANI
Saturday, April 10, 2010

WELLINGTON - New Zealand may have 30,000 chartered accountants, but a large number of accountancy firms are outsourcing their work to India.

At least two New Zealand accountancy firms, including Polson Higgs, have been progressively outsourcing back-office accounting to India, taking advantage of cheaper labour and different time zones.

Polson Higgs chief executive Graham Crombie said the move to India, which began two years ago, was an increasing trend among New Zealand firms, particularly in the South Island where many were struggling with the brain-drain of mid-level accountants overseas.

“I think we are one of the first but a lot of people are looking at it,” Stuff.co.nz quoted Crombie, as saying.

Polson Higgs has 120 staff in Christchurch and Dunedin and seven chartered accountants in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, doing low-level accounting work.

All the work was done over a secure Internet portal and nothing physical was sent to India, Crombie said.

The outsourcing to India had not cost New Zealand jobs, he said, claiming no-one had been made redundant and the firm continued to hire New Zealand graduates.

Auckland firm Gilligan Sheppard has also out-sourced back-office accounting to India in the past three years and has started offering the service directly to small-scale rural accounting firms through a related company, Connect Accounting.

Partner Bruce Sheppard said while outsourcing could mean job losses in New Zealand, at his firm it had freed up accountants to spend more strategic time with clients rather than crunching numbers.

Connect Accountants has 50 chartered accountants in Chandigarh, seven of whom work for Gilligan Sheppard, with the rest outsourced wholesale to smaller accounting firms in New Zealand, Australia, and increasingly in Britain. (ANI)

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Discussion
September 22, 2010: 10:40 pm

Outsourcing is the way to go nowadays because of the advantages it offers. Of course, aside from the benefits on the client’s side, the BPO companies also get to hire more people, providing their countrymen with more jobs.

September 15, 2010: 9:22 pm

There really are many benefits to outsourcing - it saves you time, space and money. Companies, such as this one, are now realizing the advantages of outsourcing. There is a great potential for development sue to outsourcing. The cost saved can be used to enhance or develop more important core business strategies or projects.

April 25, 2010: 10:37 pm

I believe outsourcing is necessary in today’s business environment to save on cost. It has become necessary to cut the corner every where to remain competitive. Outsourcing BPO Services to India offers benefits not only in terms of cost reduction, but also in terms of increased productivity and quality. Companies along with their customers benefit since they can access some of the best talent and expertise in the industry at lower rates.

Julienne

April 16, 2010: 5:44 am

It’s great to see other countries outsourcing accountancy work to India. The benefits are much more than cost savings.

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