RISHI RAM: How the TOA Global Accelerator Program helped build an offshore team

Rishi Ram, partner at Optima Accountants, talks to us about setting up his offshore team, how he went about the offshoring process, and hiring a candidate from the TOA Global Accelerator Program. Optima Accountants is an independent accounting firm offering professional accounting services to individuals and business owners. The practice is based in Spring Hill, Queensland.

TOA Global Podcast · RISHI RAM: How the TOA Global Accelerator Program helped build an offshore team

Topics:

Advice on training a new team member
Tips on managing an offshore team
Measuring the offshore team’s success
Having a people strategy

Quotes:

On how offshoring has benefitted clients:

The best benefit I can think of is quicker turnaround times. Because we’ve offloaded initially payroll and then later on some bookkeeping work, we’ve built up capacity here in the office. And because of that, we’ve been able to turn around work much faster than we’ve previously been able to. So the results are there. And of course, it keeps the clients happy.

On whether offshoring has given more time back:

Definitely. In the last year we’ve been lagging behind in time, so we’ve been working long hours and putting that down to business development … So now with Monday work taken off us, it’s given us more time to focus on ourselves in upskilling ourselves.

On objections to offshoring:

Security will be the biggest thing we’re worried about. We can easily work from home, but what’s the arrangement in the Philippines? How do you guard security – that was our biggest concern last year. So once we thought, OK, we really need to jump on, that’s when I further inquired with you guys and you gave us all the reassurance that security is paramount for you guys and that’s when we thought, OK, let’s take the plunge.