Offshoring Tax and Audit Procedures: Implications for U.S.-Based Employee Education

Abstract

Large accounting firms are increasingly performing audit and tax work for U.S.-based clients (and clients of other highly developed countries) in offshore locations, particularly India. Such arrangements are advantageous because of the availability of a skilled labor pool at a substantially lower cost than U.S. personnel, and the ability of the firms to operate nearly around the clock due to time differences between the U.S. and India. However, offshoring also creates substantial challenges in managing engagement teams comprised of individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds who rarely, if ever, communicate face to face. This paper identifies some of these challenges and their implications for the education of U.S.-based accountants.

Assessing the Impact of Monitoring, Information and Communication on Banks Performance in Ghana

“…Regarding monitoring as a component of internal control, periodic assessments of the effectiveness of internal controls by managers, internal auditors, and external auditors is one of the monitoring activities [14]. Studies by Wardiwiyono [7] found that monitoring in financing system should be implemented from the beginning to the end of process.…”

The Role of Tacit Knowledge in Auditor Expertise and Human Capital Development

“…Audit firms, like firms in many industries, now highly value college graduates with superior social skills—such as communication, teamwork, and leadership (Kuhn and Weinberger [], Deming []). Basic technical tasks, such as confirmations, that had been a priority of inexperienced auditors have been offshored (Daugherty, Dickins, and Fennema [], Hanes []). Offshoring enables inexperienced auditors to devote more time to assisting or performing socially complex tasks.…”

Taking on Too Much, Too Soon? An Exploration of Experiential Learning of Novice Auditors in an Offshoring Setting

“…Offshoring has become a common practice in the U.S. economy (Daugherty and Dickins 2009) and is expected to continue growing in the accounting profession, with key growth drivers being the need for efficient use of technology, the ability to work around the clock, the reduction of cost, and the utilization of talent across the world (Daugherty et al 2012). Audit firms use offshoring to delegate lower level audit tasks, such as accounts receivable confirmations, bank confirmations, and tying out of financial statements, to their offshore offices.…”

“…One such recent development is the use of outsourcing and/or offshoring in completing audit work. The growth of outsourcing and offshoring in accounting has influenced the types of learning experiences encountered by accounting professionals (Daugherty, Dickins, and Fennema 2012;Murphy 2014). Specifically, audit firms are pushing for lower level tasks to be performed by firm members outside the core audit team (PwC 2015).…”

“…In some respects, junior auditors are already asked to complete more challenging tasks, for example, when an audit firm experiences turnover (Andiola, Bedard, and Westermann 2016). Given that offshoring is used to reduce audit costs (Daugherty et al 2012) and that audit firms are under continuous pressure from clients to keep the costs of audits as low as possible, it is likely that audit firms will only increase the use of offshoring. As a result, we believe the scenarios where novice auditors are expected to perform higher level tasks early in their career will continue for the foreseeable future.…”