Offshore Staffing for Accounting Firms That Want Capacity, Not a Vendor
Hire full-time bookkeepers, accounting assistants and staff accountants who work only for your firm, in your software, under your review process. Your clients, your sign-off, your name on the work. Talentige has made 1,750+ hires worldwide.
Fewer graduates, a CPA pipeline still recovering, and the same deadlines every year. Offshore staffing gives your firm dedicated people who work only for you, never shared with another firm, as full-time contractors who join your team. They're not an outsourced processing centre: you assign the work, your reviewers check it, your partners sign it.
Where an offshore hire fits in your year
See the data as a table
| Date | Federal deadline |
|---|---|
| Jan 15 | Q4 estimated tax |
| Jan 31 | W-2s and 1099-NEC |
| Mar 15 | Partnership & S corp returns |
| Apr 15 | Individual & C corp returns |
| Jun 15 | Q2 estimated tax |
| Sep 15 | Extended partnership & S corp |
| Oct 15 | Extended individual returns |
The same hire who prepares workpapers from January to April runs catch-up bookkeeping and monthly closes for your client accounting services (CAS) clients from May, so the seat earns its keep all year instead of becoming seasonal overflow.
Your review process doesn't change
- Your offshore hirePrepares: reconciliations, coding, workpapers, first-draft returns
- Your senior or managerReviews against your checklists, sends back notes
- PartnerSigns off, owns the client relationship
- Your clientGets the deliverable from your firm, under your name
Roles we fill for accounting firms
| Role | Typical work | Typical monthly pay |
|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper | Bank and card reconciliations, AP/AR, month-end close, catch-up and cleanup projects | Egypt $1,000–$1,300 · Morocco and the Philippines $1,200–$1,600 · Latin America $1,000–$1,600 |
| Accounting assistant | Transaction coding, client document requests, organiser and PBC follow-up, workpaper prep | $1,000–$1,600 by market |
| AP / AR and payroll support | Bill pay runs, collections, payroll inputs and 1099 prep for review | $1,000–$1,600 by market |
| Staff accountant / tax preparer | Workpapers, first-draft returns, financial statement prep for your review | Confirmed on your call |
| Client onboarding and practice admin | Engagement letters, portal set-up, scheduling, practice-management hygiene | $900–$1,800 by market |
Partners drowning in email? A remote executive assistant can run calendars and client follow-ups. For admin across the firm, see virtual assistants. Other professional-services guides: virtual assistants for law firms.
What a local bookkeeper really costs
See the data as a table
| Item | Per month |
|---|---|
| Median wage | $4,101 |
| Benefits & payroll costs | $1,763 |
| US total | $5,865 |
| Talentige bookkeeper (top of range) | $1,600 |
| Talentige bookkeeper, full range | $1,000–$1,600 |
For comparison, BLS median wages at accounting firms are $39.18/hr for accountants and auditors ($9,711 a month with benefits), $25.00/hr for tax preparers ($6,197) and $23.24/hr for administrative assistants ($5,760). You pay nothing until you hire, then a one-time fixed placement fee by role, with no retainer by default (a small optional retainer applies only if you want us to manage payment and admin monthly). You pay your hire monthly in USD, CAD, EUR, AUD or GBP, and they follow your firm's holiday calendar apart from one or two local holidays, including through busy season. Try the overseas hiring cost calculator for your mix.
Results from two firms
Anonymised Talentige clients, with the numbers as they reported them.
| Firm | Who we placed | The situation | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting firm, 14 employees | 2 bookkeepers (QuickBooks Online and Xero) | An accounting firm with 14 employees was overwhelmed by bank reconciliations, AP/AR, and month-end close tasks. Talentige sourced 2 bookkeepers experienced with QuickBooks Online and Xero. | The firm recovered 120 hours of senior staff capacity per month and reduced its monthly close cycle from 12 days to 7. |
| CPA firm | 2 accounting assistants | A CPA firm wanted to grow without adding expensive local overhead. We recruited 2 accounting assistants to handle transaction coding, reconciliations, and client document requests. | Within 8 months, the firm increased its client base by 34% without hiring another local accountant, while improving turnaround times. |
Client data and tax rules
Access on your terms. Your hire works in your systems with the permissions you set: your portal, your document management, your VPN or virtual desktop. Every hire signs an NDA and passes a background check before day one.
Tax return information. Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code and its regulations govern how tax return preparers use and disclose return information, with specific consent rules for some disclosures, including to people outside the United States. Build client consent into your engagement process before an offshore hire touches returns.
Safeguards. IRS Publication 4557 sets out the data-security steps expected of tax professionals; your written information security plan should cover remote staff. This isn't legal or tax advice.
Software and tests
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Sage Intacct
- NetSuite
- Bill
- Karbon
- Canopy
- TaxDome
- CCH Axcess
- UltraTax CS
- Lacerte
- Drake
We check software experience during screening. Candidates take written and oral English tests (French or Spanish if needed), a communication assessment and role tests: a bank reconciliation with planted errors, a transaction-coding exercise against a chart of accounts, and a client email asking for missing documents. For tax roles, the technical test is agreed with you on the call.
The first 30 days
Week 1: your systems, checklists and a few closed client files to learn from. Week 2: reconciliations and coding for a handful of clients, every item reviewed. Weeks 3–4: owns monthly close for a client group, with review notes shrinking. Day 30: you decide which work moves over next, and you're covered by the 90-day replacement guarantee.
Behind every hire: sourcing, screening, interviews, assessments, background check, a government-stamped, locally compliant contract, onboarding, payment and Hubstaff time tracking. We recruit accounting talent in the Philippines, Latin America (with strong pools in Argentina, Colombia and Mexico, all on US hours), Morocco and Egypt. See how it compares with an EOR or a marketplace in the EOR vs staffing agency vs Upwork guide.
Add capacity before the next deadline
Tell us your software, your service mix and your review structure. You'll meet 3–5 tested finalists in about 14 days.
Book a free hiring call →Pay nothing until you hire · 3–5 vetted finalists · 90-day replacement guarantee
Hiring in more than one market? See every role and region we recruit in and how our process works.
Offshore accounting staffing FAQs
What is offshore staffing for accounting firms?
What work can an offshore accountant do for a CPA firm?
How much does an offshore bookkeeper cost?
Can offshore staff work on tax returns?
Which accounting software can they use?
Do they work through busy season?
How fast can I hire?
What if the hire doesn't work out?
Sources
- AICPA & CIMA, "Accounting Firms Report Strong Hiring Outlook, AICPA Report Finds" (October 27, 2025), on 2025 Trends: A Report on Accounting Education, the CPA Exam, and Public Accounting Firms' Hiring of Recent Graduates. aicpa-cima.com
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 509, Tax Calendars. irs.gov
- Internal Revenue Service, Section 7216 information center. irs.gov
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 4557, Safeguarding Taxpayer Data. irs.gov (PDF)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services (NAICS 541200), median hourly wages via the BLS Public Data API: bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks (43-3031) $23.66 (series OEUN000000054120043303108); accountants and auditors (13-2011) $39.18 (series OEUN000000054120013201108); tax preparers (13-2082) $25.00 (series OEUN000000054120013208208); secretaries and administrative assistants (43-6014) $23.24 (series OEUN000000054120043601408). bls.gov
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation – June 2026 (released September 9, 2026), private industry: total compensation $46.89 per hour worked, wages and salaries $32.82. Multiplier 46.89 ÷ 32.82 = 1.43. bls.gov
- Client results: Talentige client engagements, anonymised at the client's request; figures as reported by the client.
- Talentige placement data (as of October 2026): 1,750+ hires in total, including 500+ in Morocco, 250+ in Egypt, 500+ in the Philippines and 500+ across Latin America; typical monthly pay ranges, timelines, screening process, holiday arrangements and payment currency are based on Talentige placements.