Your Finance Role Is Being Offshored: What to Do Before and After the Announcement
It often starts with rumours. A consultant is seen talking to the CFO. Someone from head office asks detailed questions about how long each process takes. A “finance transformation” project is announced. Then the news comes. Parts of the finance team will move offshore or into a shared service centre.
For finance professionals in Australia and New Zealand, this is increasingly common. Transactional work such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll processing and reconciliations is often moved to teams in the Philippines, India or elsewhere. Sometimes management reporting and some analysis follow.
If your role or team is affected, it can be unsettling and upsetting. But you have more options than it may feel like. This article explains what to do before and after an offshoring announcement.
Why businesses offshore finance work
Understanding the reasons helps you respond. Businesses usually offshore finance work to reduce costs, standardise processes, access a larger talent pool or free up local staff for higher-value work.
The work most often moved is high-volume and rules-based. Invoice processing, supplier payments, receipts, reconciliations and routine reporting. Work that requires judgement, relationships and local knowledge is less likely to move.
Before the announcement: read the signs
Offshoring rarely happens without warning. Common signs include:
Consultants reviewing finance processes
Requests to document processes in detail
Time and motion studies or activity surveys
A new global or regional finance leader focused on efficiency
Other functions, such as IT or customer service, being offshored
A parent company that already uses shared services elsewhere
If you see these signs, it is sensible to start preparing, without panicking.
Before the announcement: strengthen your position
If offshoring is likely, focus on moving towards work that is less likely to move.
Take on more analysis, business partnering or commercial work
Build relationships with operational leaders
Get involved in controls, audit and review work
Volunteer for the transition project if appropriate
Develop systems and automation skills
People who help lead the transition often end up in the remaining local roles, such as overseeing the offshore team, managing quality or handling complex exceptions.
Before the announcement: update your materials
Update your resume and LinkedIn now, while you are calm and have time. Capture your achievements with numbers. It is much harder to do this well under the stress of a redundancy.
Also check your finances, your employment contract and your entitlements, so you understand your position if your role is affected.
After the announcement: understand what is happening
When the change is announced, find out the details. Which roles are affected? What is the timeline? Are there new roles being created locally? Is there a consultation process? What support is being offered?
In Australia, employers covered by a modern award or enterprise agreement usually have consultation obligations for major workplace changes, and redundancy pay may apply depending on your length of service and business size. In New Zealand, employers must follow a fair process, including genuine consultation before a final decision. Check your specific situation and get advice if you are unsure.
After the announcement: look at internal options
Offshoring often creates new local roles, even as others are removed. Common examples include:
Offshore team lead or relationship manager
Quality and controls reviewer
Process improvement or transition lead
Finance Business Partner, as the business shifts focus to analysis
Management Accountant or reporting roles that remain onshore
Express interest early if one of these appeals. Your knowledge of the current processes is valuable during the transition.
After the announcement: the transition period
If your role is affected, you may be asked to train the offshore team before you leave. This can be emotionally difficult. It is also an opportunity.
Doing it well protects your reputation and references. It also gives you experience in knowledge transfer, process documentation and working with offshore teams, all of which are valued by other employers. Many finance teams now include offshore staff, and people who know how to make that work are in demand.
After the announcement: start your search
Do not wait until your last day to start looking. Use the notice period to update your resume, contact recruiters and speak to your network.
Focus your search on roles that are less exposed to offshoring. Finance Manager, Financial Controller, Finance Business Partner, FP&A and commercial roles all involve judgement and relationships that are hard to move offshore. If you have been in a transactional role, now may be the time to step up. For guidance, see finance career paths.
Which finance roles are most exposed
Not all finance roles face the same level of risk. In general, the more rules-based and repetitive the work, the more likely it is to move.
Higher exposure: accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll processing, bank and balance sheet reconciliations, fixed asset registers, basic management reporting
Moderate exposure: general ledger accounting, month end journals, standard reporting packs
Lower exposure: business partnering, FP&A, commercial finance, controllership oversight, audit management, technical accounting, leadership roles
If most of your current work sits in the first group, it is worth deliberately building experience in the others.
Managing an offshore team as a career step
Some finance professionals turn offshoring into a promotion. They become the local lead for the offshore team, responsible for quality, service levels, training and improvement.
This kind of role builds leadership, process and stakeholder skills. It also gives you direct experience of modern finance operating models, which is increasingly valuable for Financial Controller and Head of Finance roles. If the option exists, consider it seriously.
What if you are asked to design the change?
Sometimes a Finance Manager or Financial Controller is asked to lead the offshoring project, including decisions that affect their own team. This is a hard position. You may be designing changes that lead to colleagues losing their jobs.
Handle it with honesty and care. Be as open with your team as you are allowed to be. Advocate for fair treatment and good support. Deliver the project professionally. People remember how leaders behave in difficult changes, and doing this well builds long-term trust and reputation.
Redundancy and your next role
If you receive a redundancy payment, use it to give yourself some space to find the right next role rather than rushing into the first one. It can also be a chance to invest in your development, such as completing a qualification or building systems skills that move you away from transactional work.
Think carefully about what you want next. For many people, an offshoring redundancy becomes the push they needed to step into a more senior or more interesting role.
Talking to your manager
If you are worried about offshoring but nothing has been announced, it is reasonable to have an open conversation with your manager about your development. You do not need to ask directly about offshoring. Ask instead which skills and areas of work will matter most to the finance team over the next few years, and how you can build them.
Their answer will often tell you a lot about where the function is heading, and it positions you as someone thinking about the future rather than resisting it.
How to explain it to employers
Being affected by offshoring is not a reflection on your performance, and employers know that. Explain it simply. “My role was one of twelve moved to the company’s shared service centre in Manila. I led the transition of accounts payable, trained the new team and documented all processes before leaving.”
That answer is factual, shows professionalism and highlights a useful skill. For more on explaining redundancy, see how to explain a redundancy without sounding defensive.
How to show it on your resume
Include your transition work as an achievement. “Led the transition of accounts payable to an offshore shared service centre, documenting 40 processes and training a team of eight, with no disruption to supplier payments” is a strong line. It shows leadership, organisation and reliability during change.
Looking after yourself
Offshoring announcements can be stressful, especially if you have been with the business for a long time. It is normal to feel angry, anxious or flat. Talk to people you trust, use any employee assistance program offered, and take care of your health.
It also helps to focus on what you can control. Your resume, your network, your skills and your next move. Clarity about next steps makes a difficult period easier to manage.
Keep your network close
Colleagues affected by the same change can be valuable contacts. Former team members will move into new roles across the market, and many will be in a position to recommend you later. Stay in touch, share opportunities and support each other. Finance communities in Australia and New Zealand are smaller than they look.
Common mistakes
Ignoring the warning signs until the announcement
Waiting until your last day to start looking
Refusing to engage with the transition, which can damage references
Not exploring new local roles created by the change
Staying in highly transactional work without building new skills
Explaining the redundancy defensively
Your next step
If offshoring is possible in your business, update your resume this month and have one conversation about taking on more analytical or business-facing work. If it has already been announced, find out which new local roles exist and contact two recruiters this week.
If you want your resume and LinkedIn ready for your next move, my Gold package covers your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn and positioning strategy.
If your role is affected and you want help planning your next step, book a complimentary Clarity Session.
