Southeast Asia, a region from the world’s largest continent, offers more than scenic tourist spots and rich cultural heritage. For firms affected by the ongoing accountant shortage, this tropical region can be an appealing destination for finding qualified professional accountants at competitive rates.
Let’s have a more thorough look at the accounting outsourcing industry in Southeast Asia, the key considerations when deciding where to outsource, and a more granular examination of each country’s accounting and outsourcing competitiveness.
Why Southeast Asia?
In its newsletter, the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) — an international organization of accountants and financial professionals — recognized Southeast Asia as a region that offers promising accounting opportunities.
“What we’re seeing in this region is increasing urbanization, a growing middle class, and a trend towards more manufacturing moving to Asia,” states Josh Heniro, the director of operations of IMA Southeast Asia. Heniro also adds that Southeast Asian countries aim to be viewed as the leading global accountancy hub for Asia Pacific, which triggers “a strong desire for international credentials to help with job seeking, both within and outside the region”.
OECD’s 2024 Economic Outlook report revealed that the Emerging Asian economies* are showing sustained resilience and have contributed strongly to global economic growth. The expansion of its services sector, which is driven by the development of high-technology-based services, also accounts for its continued progression. Southeast Asia is also a top choice for US companies when reshoring business functions, which makes this country as one of the main contributors to the bullish growth of the region’s outsourcing market.
Looking at the numbers of available accounting professionals (see image 1), six out of 11 countries from this region display a capacity to provide accounting outsourcing services to foreign clients. These are the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Image 1. A graph showing the three-year growth of the number of accountants who are active members of each Southeast Asian country’s recognized professional accounting organization (PAO) under AFA.
Source: ASEAN Federation of Accountants’ 2023 Annual Report.
While the quantity of accountants can be a good consideration when deciding where to outsource, it’s also good to note several other factors to check if a country can be a suitable accounting outsourcing destination. The next section enumerates the top aspects to consider when choosing an outsourcing location.
*The Emerging Asian economies is the collective term used to refer to the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the People’s Republic of China, and India.
Key factors to consider when choosing an outsourcing destination in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian countries have varying status when it comes to accounting outsourcing competitiveness, labor cost, and their ability to work effectively with foreign clients. The factors outlined below are some of the top considerations when checking a country’s capabilities and readiness to handle work from abroad.
1. Availability and quality of accounting professionals
For firms that have been hit by the ongoing accountant shortage, outsourcing to a country with a huge quantity of accounting professionals can be an easy way to fill talent gaps.
However, quantity alone wouldn’t suffice.
To maintain effective finance and accounting operations, one must also look at the quality of accounting professionals that they can source from a certain country. This can mean checking the technical expertise of accountants, their familiarity with international accounting standards, digital know-how, industry knowledge, and the like.
An education curriculum hinged on international standards and the presence of recognized professional accounting organizations (PAO) can also be useful in assessing how a country values the progression of their accounting industry.
2. Status of the outsourcing market
Assessing a country’s outsourcing market is important for determining their exposure to international trades and relations, experience handling work from abroad, the capacity of their physical and technological infrastructure, and their ability to meet the demands for quality talent.
3. English proficiency
Effective communication is essential towards achieving outsourcing success. English, being the international language of business, is a useful tool to facilitate proper communication between two or more parties. If both client and accountant cannot understand each other due to language barriers, getting anything done and doing proper work may be challenging.
Southeast Asian citizens are not native English speakers. Each country within this region has a distinct and exquisite national language and many other provincial dialects. This explains why adding English proficiency to your checklist is a must when weighing your options.
Education First’s English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), which ranks 113 countries by their English skills, is a credible resource to check a country’s English proficiency.
Image 2. Shows the English proficiency index rankings of Asian countries.
Source: Education First’s English Proficiency Index (EF EPI)
4. Ease of doing business
A country’s ease of doing business is a good indicator of how conducive their regulatory requirements are to starting and maintaining business operations. This economic assessment is based on different indices such as starting a business, trading across borders, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, and enforcing contracts.
5. Literacy rate
On average, Southeast Asia (all ASEAN member states) boasts a high literacy rate of 93.3%. Aside from basic education, the region’s access to higher education continues to increase as a result of a growing school-age population, an expanding middle class, and a rising demand for higher-level skills.
6. Data security
Data security is a major concern in the accounting industry. It’s also one of the reasons why some firms are still hesitant to outsource finance and accounting services. After all, cyber incidents can lead to monetary losses and even bring down an organization’s reputation and credibility.
The majority of Southeast Asian countries have so far enacted their own data and privacy laws. Many organizations from the region are also required to comply with EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Companies belonging to the outsourcing sector are also exerting efforts toward getting certifications relevant to their operations to further increase data protection and prevent leakages of sensitive data. An example is the HIPAA certification for those working with healthcare institutions.
7. Government support
It’s also worth checking if a country’s government has been supportive of its outsourcing industry. The more support it receives from the government, the more favorable the conditions will be for companies that are planning to outsource.
8. Cultural affinity
One of the most distinctive features of Southeast Asia is its cultural diversity. No two countries are alike; each nation has a unique and rich culture.
But as paradoxically as it sounds, these countries (except Thailand) also share one thing in common — all ASEAN countries have deep historical ties with the West due to the latter’s colonization. Such affiliation had left strong influences in each country’s economic policies, ethnic identities, political ideologies, and religious affiliation, and is expected to remain for a considerable time.
In modern times, this familiarity with Western culture can be a huge advantage, especially for those belonging to the outsourcing sector.
Southeast Asian countries in focus
Given the considerations outlined in the above section, let’s examine the six Southeast Asian countries that display a capacity to provide accounting outsourcing services to foreign clients:
Philippines
/ Number of registered accountants (Professional Regulatory Board – Accountancy via BusinessNewsAsia, 2023): nearly 200,000
/ English proficiency (EF Education First, 2024): High proficiency (Rank #20 globally)
/ Ease of doing business score (DB 2020): 62.8
/ Literacy rate (World Population Review, 2024): 96%
/ Average annual salary of accountants (PayScale, January 2025): PHP344,492 or US$5,838.16
Singapore
/ Number of registered accountants (Accountancy Workforce Review Committee via The Straits Times, 2024): 120,000
/ English proficiency (EF Education First, 2024): Very high proficiency (Rank #2 globally)
/ Ease of doing business score (DB 2020): 86.2
/ Literacy rate (World Population Review, 2024): 97%
/ Average annual salary of accountants (PayScale, January 2025): S$53,256 or US$38,834.87
Indonesia
/ Number of registered accountants (Indonesian Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the World Bank via Accountancy Monitoring Committee Indonesia, 2021): 20,162 Chartered Accountant members and 6,650 associate members
/ English proficiency (EF Education First, 2024): Low proficiency (Rank #79 globally)
/ Ease of doing business score (DB 2020): 69.6
/ Literacy rate (World Population Review, 2024): 96%
/ Average annual salary of accountants (PayScale, January 2025): RP54,000,000 or US$3,309.40
Malaysia
/ Number of registered accountants (from Malaysian Institute of Accountants via The Edge Malaysia Weekly, 2023): more than 38,500
/ English proficiency (EF Education First, 2024): High proficiency (Rank #25 globally)
/ Ease of doing business score (DB 2020): 81.5
/ Literacy rate (World Population Review, 2024): 95%
/ Average annual salary of accountants (PayScale, January 2025): RM47,798 or US$10,627.18
Thailand
/ Number of registered accountants (from the ASEAN Chartered Professional Accountant Coordinating Committee, 2018): 82,650 (based on TFAC membership)*
/ English proficiency (EF Education First, 2024): Very low proficiency (Rank #101 globally)
/ Ease of doing business score (DB 2020): 80.1
/ Literacy rate (World Population Review, 2024): 94%
/ Average annual salary of accountants (PayScale, January 2025): ฿360,000 or US$10,384.37
Vietnam
/ Number of registered accountants (from the ASEAN Federation of Accountants, 2023): 8,824 (based on VAA membership)*
/ English proficiency (EF Education First, 2024): Moderate proficiency (Rank #58 globally)
/ Ease of doing business score (DB 2020): 69.8
/ Literacy rate (World Population Review, 2024): 96%
/ Average annual salary of accountants (Economic Research Institute, 2024): VND465,457,278 or US$18,335.90
*Due to limitations on available data, the figures of registered accountants for Thailand and Vietnam presented above were only based on the number of members registered in each country’s recognized professional accountancy organizations (PAO). These numbers do not represent the actual numbers of accountants in the said countries and were only used for informational purposes.
Note that the pieces of information provided here are only meant to give you an idea about the accounting outsourcing potential of these Southeast Asian nations. You must still weigh the pros and cons and understand their current economic condition so you can make the right decision.
Choosing an outsourcing destination is just the beginning. Once you’ve decided where to outsource your accounting operations, you must then find, shortlist, and interview potential vendors. Doing these extra steps can help you choose the one that fits your criteria and can be a good long-term service provider for your company.
For the step-by-step process of outsourcing to offshore locations, check out this article: Your Comprehensive Guide to Outsourcing in Offshore Locations.
And if you’re ready to start your outsourcing journey, consider D&V Philippines. We’re a business process outsourcing company specializing in finance and accounting, audit, analytics, and admin. Headquartered in the Philippines, a renowned outsourcing destination due to its huge talent pool and $39-billion strong IT-BPM industry, we can assure you that we can provide you with professional accountants who meet your standards.
For more information about our services, get in touch with us through marketing@dvphilippines.com or send your inquiries here.
Marly Malis is a Vice President of Global Operations at D&V Philippines. She also spearheads the company’s Product and Solutions Unit. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
—Written in collaboration with Mary Milorrie Campos, a senior content and creative specialist at D&V Philippines
