What would my client think about outsourcing? Practical Strategies for taking client consent

MYCPE Client Experience

Outsourcing Gains More Acceptance Post Pandemic 

Since the pandemic, the stigma surrounding outsourcing in CPA and accounting firms has significantly diminished. Staffing shortages, Remote work and technological adoption have normalized outsourcing as a strategic solution rather than a taboo topic. Firms now view it as a valuable tool to enhance efficiency, access specialized talent, and adapt to evolving client demands. This change has opened the door to greater acceptance and integration of outsourcing into standard practice operations. 

Based on the experience of our extensive client base of over 1,000 firms, client objections to offshoring or outsourcing are now rare. Just like in other aspects of life, clients prioritize value above all else. Global offshore accounting staffing is simply another effective way to provide that value. According to our internal survey and client feedback, we recommend keeping the 90-9-1 Rule in mind when seeking client consent for offshoring or outsourcing 

Rule 90-9-1

At MYCPE ONE, we have devised the innovative 90-9-1 Rule.  

90% - Client are Indifferent: 

90% of our clients prioritize the value they receive from firm’s services rather than the specific methods we employ. They are primarily concerned with the quality of our work, the benefits they gain, and the superiority of our services, the are not concerned on how you do it. 

9% - Client Needs Clarification: 

9% of clients may need additional clarification or reassurance. These clients are cautious and want to ensure their interests are protected. 

1% - Clients with Significant Concerns or High-Value Clients: 

About 1% of clients may have strong objections to outsourcing, or they could be part of the top 2% of your high-value clients whose relationship is critical to maintain. In either case, we recommend prioritizing their preferences by avoiding offshoring and ensuring they are served locally to preserve trust and satisfaction. 

“Mostly clients are looking for a good service, wonderful experience available at a fair price, clients are also looking at value and stigma around offshoring is really going especially post-pandemic when the whole world start working remotely”  

Shawn Parikh, CEO, MYCPE  ONE 

Practical Strategies to Take Client Consent

There are two ways in which you can seek clients’ consent.  

Passive v/s Active 

Passive Consent: 

• The Go-To Approach: Based on our experience with multiple firms of all sizes, 90%+ of them choose this approach as it is straightforward and low-key. It involves mentioning offshoring in the engagement letter without prompting a deeper conversation.  
• Acceptance: The statistics from our experience show that a vast majority of clients, about 95%, typically don't object or inquire further, valuing the end service over the methodology.  
• Concerns: Only a small fraction, around 4%, might have concerns that are addressed through ready-to-share information, while 1% are not in favor of offshoring at all.

Active Consent: 

• Dialogue-Driven: Based on our experience, only about 10% of firms choose the active approach, which emphasizes open dialogue. In this strategy, offshoring is not merely mentioned but proactively discussed with clients. 
• Acceptance: About 80% of accounting firm clients remain indifferent here, too. 
• Concerns: The dialogue helps address the concerns of a slightly higher percentage, 15% upfront. Only 5% tend to be resistant, even after the conversation.

For ease and efficiency, many firms prefer using a 7216 consent form PDF, which clients can quickly fill out and return electronically.  

Most of our clients follow affirmative yet passive form of taking client consent. Here is a break up:

Passive vs. Active Consent Comparison: 

Objection Raised by Clients in Both Approach 

                                                                                      *Based on Internal Evaluation 

8 Strategies for Consent

1.With Whole Engagement Package: 

Always ensure the consent letter accompanies the complete engagement package, as clients often skim through engagement letters, typically focusing only on fees and overlooking other details before signing off. To make the consent process easier and avoid annual renewals, consider obtaining consent for multiple years at once. We've seen clients successfully use two effective approaches: 

• 10-Year/Multiple-Year Consent: Obtain a consent letter covering a specific range of years, such as 2025 to 2035, at the time of engagement. 
• Perpetual Consent Not Valid: Perpetual consent obtained from a client, intended to remain valid as long as the client stays with the firm, may not meet the requirements of IALS. The IALS specifically requires that the duration of the consent be clearly stated.

2. Build Buy-in:

It's crucial that all partners within the firm fully support offshoring. Achieving this involves highlighting successes and learning from failures and best practices of offshoring. We call this “Celebrating Success and Sun-shining Failures”. Deploying this for all the partners removes individual discretion and ensures uniformity and compliance. 

3. Firm-wide Mandate:

We have often seen firms keep it optional for partners or managers, which leads to hesitation in obtaining the necessary consent for outsourcing 1040 work. Imagine if, instead, every partner and manager fully embraced offshoring, making the 7216 consent process an integral part of the firm’s operations. This shift from optional to standard practice unifies the team and streamlines the process. 

4. Selective Approach for High Ticket Clients: 

Initially, consider exempting certain clients who are very high paying. For example, you may want to exclude clients with annual revenues exceeding $50K, from immediate consent requests. Later on, when the process is settled, we recommend having an active dialogue and taking consent from this specific set of clients.  

5. Uniform Pricing Strategy:  

It is essential to adopt a uniform pricing strategy, whether clients opt for offshoring or not. Offshoring aims to enhance efficiency without compromising quality. Differential pricing can lead to a lot of trouble, which is something we like to call "A Recipe for Disaster.". By keeping prices consistent, you reinforce the value and integrity of your services, avoiding the pitfalls of perceived unfairness and unnecessary complexity. 

6. Ease into Consent: 

For the clients for whom you need to have Active consent, begin by softly requesting consent, gradually transitioning to a mandatory requirement in subsequent years. For long-standing and old-age clients, consider not enforcing this immediately as they may find the change challenging. This strategy allows clients to gradually adjust. Experience shows that acceptance increases significantly by the second year, easing the transition process. 

7. Be transparent regarding offshoring: 

Offshoring or outsourcing isn't a taboo word anymore; it's become a universal phenomenon. However, we believe it's up to each firm to decide the right time to actively introduce this concept to their clients. We strongly recommend informing your clients that “Our firm has a dedicated offshore team in India and the Philippines.” Being open about offshoring and gradually introducing your offshore team builds trust. This strategy, adopted by the Big 4 and large public accounting firms for years, aims to shift 30%-40% of their billable hours to India. 

8. Take Electronically: 

Ensure that consent is obtained electronically. Electronic consent not only speeds up acceptance but also streamlines the process for clients, who often skim through documents and focus directly on signing. This approach facilitates an affirmative consent process, minimizes pushback, and enables quicker client onboarding. 

Strategies of Handling Objections or Concerns 

1. Understand and Acknowledge the Concern: 

Always begin by recognizing and validating every concern or objection raised by the client, no matter how minor or seemingly insignificant. It's essential to approach each issue with seriousness and empathy. As we often say, clients are akin to God—they have every right to voice their concerns or objections. Acknowledging these concerns demonstrates respect, attentiveness, and a commitment to addressing their needs. 

2. Explain the Rationale and Value:

Once the concern is acknowledged, delve deeper into explaining the reasoning behind your approach and the value it brings. Highlight how this solution enhances service quality by allowing your team to allocate more time to tax returns, enabling deeper insights and better tax planning. Emphasize how this approach improves turnaround times, ensuring faster and more efficient service. 

Additionally, outline the challenges the industry is facing, particularly with staffing shortages and the difficulty of finding skilled professionals. Mention how generational shifts in work preferences are impacting the availability and retention of talent. Reassure the client by sharing that your partner has extensive experience, having worked with thousands of staff members. Highlight their expertise and established relationships within the accounting firm community, ensuring confidence in your ability to deliver exceptional service. 

3. One to One Discussion:

Whenever objections arise or when clients need reassurance, prioritize one-to-one discussions. These personalized engagements provide an opportunity to address their concerns directly and build trust. In such discussions, you can clearly explain the rationale behind your approach, outline the value it brings, and provide tailored responses to their specific concerns. This is a meaningful One Time Investment and effort into the relationship—a one-time initiative to help the client understand and feel confident about the decision. Gaining a client’s buy-in once creates a lasting commitment. 

4. Transparency and Proactiveness:

Outsourcing is not a one-time gig; it’s a long-term strategic partnership that becomes an integral part of your practice. It’s important to approach it with a proactive and transparent mindset from the very beginning. Communicating openly about how outsourcing aligns with the firm's goals and growth strategy is crucial, as this is not a temporary fix but a sustained collaboration that will evolve with your practice over the years, not just for a single tax season or project. By embracing this approach, you ensure that outsourcing seamlessly integrates into the firm’s operations and contributes to its long-term success. However you may face some challenges initially. 

All you need to know about 7216 and AICPA Regulations on client consent for outsourcing. (Click here to read more) 

Usual Concerns & Solutions 

1. Data Security: 

One of the most important client concerns is data security, and it’s crucial to be prepared to address this confidently. Always have a due diligence pack ready, which includes all certifications, agreements, and necessary collaterals. This pack should be shared with clients whenever requested. Beyond that, reassure them that the partner you’re working with implements a level of data security that often surpasses local standards. 

To further alleviate concerns, consider demonstrating these measures through a video tour of the partner’s facilities and detailed documentation. Frame this in the broader context of global trends: many Fortune 500 companies, such as Microsoft, Google, SAP, and Salesforce, operate back offices in India, entrusting them with sensitive client data. If these global giants can rely on such setups, smaller firms can do the same with confidence. Make it clear to your clients that you’re working with credible, highly secure partners, ensuring the utmost protection for their information. 

2. Quality of Work: 

Ensure that clients are reassured about the quality and accountability of the work being performed. Emphasize that every task is thoroughly reviewed and verified by an onshore team, including yourself or your manager, before it is finalized. The firm takes full responsibility for the work, ensuring accuracy and compliance before any file is submitted to the IRS or other relevant parties. This commitment to quality control ensures the highest standards are upheld at every step. 

3. Quality of People Working:  

Assure clients that all offshore staff is competent and has relevant experience with internationally recognized qualifications.  Additionally, you can reassure clients by highlighting that the company that you have collaborated with, has robust training and development programs in place. This ensures that the talent working on their projects is well-trained, up-to-date on industry standards, and equipped to deliver high-quality results. 

4. Shipping Jobs Offshore:

Clients need to recognize the local staffing challenges they face, including difficulty finding qualified staff, rising salary and benefit costs, and retention issues. Interestingly, firms that integrate offshore staffing often end up hiring more onshore staff. While it may seem contradictory, offshoring actually enables local teams to focus on high-value, strategic advisory work and spend more time building strong client relationships, enhancing overall firm performance. 

Let them know  how the world is moving and if you tell them all your iPhones are manufactured in India and China. Still, you considered them most secured. Because it’s designed in California all patents lie here and the company's brand. Lastly, explain the rationale and vision behind offshoring and how the industry is moving towards offshoring. Provide examples of how other firms have migrated to offshoring and outline where your firm currently sits. Help clients understand how offshoring benefits them and how it aligns with their goals. 

5. Can I get discounted Price: 

Some firms consider adopting a differential pricing strategy, offering discounts for work completed offshore, or encounter clients requesting discounts. However, it’s important to emphasize that the level of service provided—and often enhanced—remains uncompromised regardless of where the work is performed. Implementing such a pricing strategy or entertaining discounts diminishes the perceived value of the services delivered and is not the right approach. 

6. Who’s the Partner:  

Tell clients that you work with a partner who has relationships with 1000+ other firms. Explain the due diligence process you have undertaken before selecting us as your offshoring partner. Let clients know that you work with one of the most credible partners in the industry, which has strong IT and privacy controls in place. Show them the agreement and explain that you have comprehensive confidentiality protection. Encourage clients to take a video tour of the offices.  

7. How things change for me ?

Some clients may express concerns about potential changes, and it’s essential to address these by reassuring them that, technically, nothing will change for them. In fact, the only change they’ll experience is an improvement in the level of service. With the integration of offshore support, you and your team will have more time to critically evaluate and analyze key aspects of their needs, allowing you to focus on delivering services that are of greater value and importance to the client and their business. This additional time ultimately enhances the client experience and strengthens the overall quality of service. 

8. Negative Perception In General:

Some clients have just perception issues, and you can address them by explaining the rationale and your vision with offshoring. Tell them about how you see the industry in 10 years and how other firms are already migrating to offshoring. Then outline where your firm currently sits, and what you need to do; to have the firm's goals obtained within the next 10 years. The more clients understand why you are doing this and how it benefits them, the more on-board they’ll be. The real "aha" moment for clients is when they start experiencing the benefits of your new structure! 

Offshoring is no longer just an option—it’s a forward-thinking strategy that empowers firms to deliver greater value, adapt to industry shifts, and enhance client satisfaction. By addressing client concerns with transparency, empathy, and a focus on quality, firms can not only maintain trust but also strengthen their relationships for the future. The world is evolving, and so are the ways we deliver excellence. Let’s embrace this change and lead the way in creating more efficient, impactful practices. 

Shawn Parikh

Co-Founder & CEO

Shawn Parikh is the CEO and Co-Founder of MYCPE ONE. A Chartered Accountant by qualification, he has over 15 years of experience of being a problem solver for small to mid-size firms and over time he has given consultation to thousands of CPAs, accountants and tax pros. Shawn has always been a big believer and advocate of social enterprises and small accounting firms & businesses. He consults and speaks on several topics ranging from Building Remote Team - Remote Working, Offshore Staffing, strategic planning, Scalability of Accounting Practice, cloud accounting, practice management, LinkedIn marketing, etc.