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There comes a point in every growing CPA firm where the maths stops working. Staff are exhausted, partner hours vanish into review work, and yet turning away clients feels unthinkable. That’s usually when the phrase “we should look at offshore” appears in a partners’ meeting agenda.
Of course, the minute you type that into Google, you’re buried in options. India, the Philippines, onshore, offshore, AI-first, human-first – it’s not exactly a calm buying experience.
This guide narrows it down to seven offshore accounting providers that specifically understand CPA firm workflows in 2025 – plus where Madras Accountancy sits in that mix.
Before the list, a quick reality check. Firms don’t go offshore because it’s fashionable. They go because:
Offshore isn’t about “cheap labour”; it’s about building a sustainable capacity engine underneath a quality-focused firm.
Madras Accountancy has spent more than a decade focused on US CPA firms. That focus matters. Everything is built around tax workflows, CAAS, bookkeeping, and audit & assurance – not random back-office tasks.
They support 60+ US CPA firms with teams that slot into existing review chains. Think preparers, seniors, and managers who understand US busy season rhythms and “we need this 8879 yesterday” energy.
Beyond pure production, Madras has been layering in fractional CFO support, so firms can offer higher-level advisory without sacrificing compliance work. The security posture – SOC 2, GDPR, ISO 27001 practices, VDI – and BDO Alliance USA affiliation help calm risk-averse partners.
Unison Globus is another name that crops up frequently in CPA circles. Florida-based, with offshore delivery, they’ve spent nearly two decades supporting CPAs and EAs with bookkeeping, accounting, and tax preparation across US, UK, and Canada.
Their pitch is familiar but important: ISO 27001-level security, scalable teams, and experience across individual, corporate, and multi-jurisdictional tax.
Finsmart Accounting, based in India, offers outsourced accounting solutions for CPA firms and SMEs. Services typically include bookkeeping, payroll, and management reporting – the core engine room of many firms’ offerings.
Brand awareness may not be as high in the US and UK as some older players, but for firms willing to actively manage the relationship, the cost advantage can be significant.
Datamatics Business Solutions (often branded DatamaticsCPA in this context) is part of a broader BPO group. For CPA firms, they provide bookkeeping and tax prep capacity, leveraging the infrastructure of a large outsourcing organisation.
The upside is obvious: infrastructure, redundancy, process maturity. The trade-off is that you’re one line of business in a much larger machine, which may or may not suit firms that want a more boutique feel.
Whiz Consulting serves businesses and accounting firms in the US, UK, and Australia. They cover bookkeeping, payroll, virtual CFO, and related services.
For CPA firms, they can function as a bookkeeping and accounting capacity partner, but it’s important to align on review standards and documentation from the very beginning. They serve a broad set of clients, so you’ll want to tune the engagement to firm-grade quality.
Frontline Accounting has deep roots in supporting Australian accounting firms and, more recently, global practices. Their model leans heavily into dedicated staff – you effectively “rent” long-term team members who become part of your firm’s day-to-day operations.
The advantage is continuity. The main caution for US firms is ensuring sufficient US tax exposure and training, since their historical strength has been in the Australian market.
Botkeeper is a bit different from the others here. It’s an AI-driven bookkeeping platform with human oversight, built specifically for accounting firms that want to offload bookkeeping while keeping client relationships in-house.
If your firm’s main bottleneck is low-margin bookkeeping rather than tax or assurance, Botkeeper can be a way to scale that piece without building a huge team – though it’s not intended to replace human staff for complex tax or audit work.
Offshore selection isn’t just a price comparison. It’s a strategic decision. A few practical questions to ask:
For firms that want a CPA-only specialist with strong security and ties to a respected US network, Madras Accountancy tends to sit high on the shortlist. For others, a combination – say, Botkeeper for bookkeeping automation and an offshore team like Unison or Finsmart for tax prep – can make more sense.
The main thing is to be intentional. Offshore done well feels like extra oxygen for your firm. Done poorly, it just adds another layer of confusion to a busy season that was already too long.
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