The Rise of Offshore Accounting – with Atty. Jose Calsas, Jr. of D&V Philippines

In this episode of the Outsource Accelerator Podcast, Derek speaks with Atty. Jose Calsas, Jr. of D&V Philippines. He is the company’s Chief Financial Officer and VP for Global Operations. 

They talk about outsourced accounting, Philippine accounting practices, and new technology that’s disrupting financial processes.  

D&V Philippines

Jose gives a brief overview of D&V Philippines. 

“It’s a Philippine-based outsourcing firm [where] we cater finance and accounting services to our foreign-based clients. We have clients in the US, Australia, UK, New Zealand, some parts of Europe, and Asia.” 

Similar to many remote firms, Jose credits the COVID-19 pandemic to letting many companies see the value of outsourcing, which enabled D&V Philippines’ growth. 

“It made people and businesses realize that outsourcing was a major component [in] businesses surviving because a lot of people were working from home.”

Jose describes D&V Philippines’ general services. 

“For finance and accounting, we normally discuss bookkeeping and preparation of your accounts. 

The management [gets to know] how you handle the day-to-day finances [that] contribute to the success of a company and how [it] would later contribute to the growth, jobs, security, and other opportunities for people.

We do audits, we prepare high-end reports, but at the end of the day, these reports are translated to decisions [that] help grow a business.” 

He highlights the Philippines’ accounting and finance education, which is patterned after international standards. 

“It’s very easy for us to adapt. That’s why you can see that it’s very common [for] an accountant or auditor from EY Philippines or the Big Four to be absorbed abroad.

It’s the same here at D&V. We study each country’s tax and compliance rules, and we make our own experts.”  

The benefit of offshore accounting 

Getting into the meat of the discussion, Jose talks about offshore and outsourced accounting. 

“[Businesses] should consider account outsourcing, especially on the finance and accounting side. 

It’s not just about cost efficiency, but [also] the streamlining of the processes and focusing more on the valuable aspects of the business and the firm.”

He notes that many of his clients point to this reason for outsourcing.  

“[It’s] brought by a team that is highly experienced and values the automation aspect, the efficiency of the processes.” 

Jose gives a bit of advice to CFOs who are considering outsourcing. 

“I would say to our clients, when I start looking into an outsourcing provider, I would always check if [they] are ahead of the times [with] their own process to eliminate, standardize, and automate key processes.

You need to look into that particular need of your company [and] also on the skills [so] you don’t have to rely on the same group of people.

[If] there’s no supply of the skills you need, then probably it’s time to look for an outsourcing model where you can tap the great talents or potentials from all over the globe.”  

Evolving tech in the accounting space

Jose brings up their technology processes in D&V Philippines, including using the Xero accounting platform. 

“We created a Xero excellence team, [and] it’s been running for almost 10 years now. 

We train people to use the automated system, and in just one week, a staff member can be an expert in Xero.”

While he acknowledges that systems in the Philippines can be unreliable, he believes that “once [you] go [for] automation, there’s no turning back.” 

Though on board with the idea of automation, he also still sees the importance of the human touch. 

“[For] the repetitive processes, it’s okay to be automated because those are the voluminous part of the work. 

[But] the interpretation of the data would still depend on the particular person and how the person would use the data. The AI of today hasn’t yet developed that particular technology where accountants would be removed from the equation.”   

D&V Philippines can be reached via its website and LinkedIn profile. Jose also encourages people to visit the company’s various social media profiles, which can be accessed through its website.