05 Jul COVID-19 leads to a rise in Offshore Accounting Jobs

The pandemic may have caused havoc to our well-planned work models, but it has compelled us to look beyond the existing ways of working. What businesses thought were the reliable and consistent work processes have turned out to be only one of the many work models a business can adopt. The pandemic has proven that remote working has been just as productive – some would say even more productive- as physically working in an office. This realization has opened the doors to a whole new level of offshore jobs.

Accounting jobs, primarily, are seeing a rise in offshore opportunities. Overseas entry-level accounting jobs are now open to chartered accountants students, who have completed the intermediate level of the examination. Earlier, this wouldn’t have been considered because of the sensitive and confidential data being handled by chartered accountants, and clients wanting to know exactly who is handling their numbers. However, the pandemic led all businesses to explore the wonders of technology, leading them to realise that they can communicate and get work done from professionals even on the other side of the globe.

India has always had an immense talent pool when it comes to accounts and finance. The number of graduates and postgraduates entering the job market every year looking for accounting jobs is higher than most countries. Maybe it’s the Indian genes or the stereotype that finance jobs are stable and in-demand, but the fact remains that there are many Indians who take the chartered accountancy examinations every year. It’s a small fraternity that has a pass percentage of anywhere between 3% and 10%, so you know for a fact that only the most brilliant accounting minds are entering the market. CAs in India are valued, both locally and globally.

However, while CAs are regarded as the pinnacle of the accounting and finance field, the pandemic has affected the number of opportunities available for them in the country. And so, offshore gigs have gained momentum at the right time. Global large, mid-sized, and small accounting firms, especially in the US and Canadian markets, have their eye on the Indian market. Today, there’s no need for them to set up physical offices in India since remote gigs are proving to be more tactical. Indians only have to be able to work around the time zone challenge. If they are able to balance that out, there’s a lot more opportunity in store for them in the near future.