Financial services outsourcing is now more than just a cost-cutting measure. Recently, it has become a strategic imperative.
Winston Ong, CEO of talent outsourcing company BruntWork, has steered his company through this transformation and helped businesses achieve what many consider impossible: dramatic cost reductions without compromising quality.
The Unexpected Economics of Global Talent
Ong believes that businesses outsourcing financial services can achieve substantial cost savings. This is not just a marginal improvement; it involves a fundamental restructuring of business economics.
“When businesses first hear about cost savings of beyond 50%, they’re skeptical,” Ong says. “They assume there must be a proportional drop in quality or reliability. What they discover instead is that outsourcing financial functions often delivers higher quality work than they were getting domestically.”
This counterintuitive outcome stems from a simple reality, and that is countries like the Philippines, Colombia, and parts of Eastern Europe allow BruntWork to recruit financial professionals with advanced degrees and international certifications who command a fraction of Western salaries due to local economic conditions.
A U.S.-based bookkeeper might cost $65,000 annually plus benefits. The same position filled through BruntWork in the Philippines might cost $13,000 to $15,000 with no sacrifice in qualifications, experience, or work quality.
Beyond Simple Labor Arbitrage
Cost savings through outsourcing is not a new concept. What distinguishes BruntWork’s approach is its recognition that unlocking financial services outsourcing benefits requires more than simple labor arbitrage.
“We’re providing a comprehensive solution that includes recruitment, training, management, and quality control,” explains Ong.
The holistic approach addresses the primary concerns businesses have about outsourcing, such as quality control, communication barriers, and management complexity. BruntWork has systematized these elements, creating what amounts to a turnkey solution for businesses looking to reduce costs while maintaining or improving quality.
The Hidden Benefits
Cost savings may grab headlines, but the benefits extend far beyond the bottom line. Outsourcing financial services creates organizational flexibility that domestic hiring simply cannot match.
BruntWork’s outsourced service providers handle essential tasks, including general ledger management, accounts receivable and payable, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. This comprehensive approach allows businesses to focus on strategic growth rather than administrative financial functions.
The Cultural Integration Challenge
Perhaps the most significant hurdle in financial outsourcing is the cultural aspect. Financial functions often require deep integration with company operations and culture.
BruntWork addresses this challenge through cultural immersion training, where outsourced team members receive extensive education about their client’s business model, industry challenges, and company values.
The Future of Financial Work
COVID-19 accelerated remote work adoption globally, erasing many psychological barriers to outsourcing. “If teams can work from home effectively in the same city, why not from overseas?” says Ong.
This distributed approach creates resilience. Businesses relying on talent from multiple global regions become insulated from local economic disruptions, talent shortages, and even regional disasters.
Critics of outsourcing often focus on domestic job losses. A more nuanced perspective would acknowledge that companies typically do not eliminate their financial departments entirely. Instead, they elevate their local team members to more strategic roles while outsourcing the more procedural aspects.
This creates a virtuous cycle of upskilling. Local financial professionals focus on high-value activities like financial strategy, while routine processing moves offshore. The cost savings often enable companies to invest more in developing their local talent.
The Competitive Imperative
Businesses that do not adopt outsourcing models risk a significant disadvantage. When competitors achieve as much as 80% cost reductions in key operational areas, they gain pricing flexibility and investment capacity that can reshape entire industries.
Companies that are still hesitant about outsourcing financial functions may need to consider starting small, measuring carefully, and letting the results speak for themselves. Most clients begin with one narrow function and end up expanding their outsourced team as they see the benefits firsthand.
The dramatic cost efficiencies of financial services outsourcing have become too significant to ignore. The question is no longer whether businesses should consider outsourcing financial services, but how quickly and effectively they can implement it while maintaining the quality their operations demand.
