Have SOPs in Place? Why Is It Not Enough to Ensure Offshoring Success?

“We documented everything. Why are things still slipping?”

When offshoring, this emerges as one of the most common frustrations for accounting firms and business leaders. One of our clients once mentioned that they created a 60-page SOP document. While the offshore team was following it diligently, something seemed off. The output, somehow, didn’t match.

Before onboarding a CPA or accounting firm, at Finsmart, we lay a lot of emphasis on SOPs. In case our clients don’t have one in place, we make sure to get it created before things go into motion.

But here’s the thing. While SOPs are important, they aren’t the magic formula that can set everything straight.

A 2024 McKinsey study showed that more than 70% of process documentation fails to translate into consistent execution. This is because the teams lack clarity, context, or a collaboration structure.

When offshoring, you need more than SOPs. You need people, communication, tools, culture, and continuous improvement working in harmony. 

Let’s delve deeper into why SOPs are just a small part of your offshoring partnership: 

SOPs Set the Foundation — But Execution Requires More

Standard Operating Procedures create alignment, reduce ambiguity, and ensure consistency. But the challenge arises when the assumption is that documentation = execution.

Standardization vs. Real-World Adaptability

SOPs are built for an ideal scenario. But real-world accounting work isn’t always linear. Some common challenges in the industry include:

• Clients send missing documents late
• Constant regulatory changes
• Shift in tax workflows
• Priority jobs suddenly escalate
  

When an offshore team follows SOPs blindly, they may freeze when things fall out of the script. 

Because SOPs cannot capture the nuances of client expectations, the easy route to resolve exceptions, the subtle judgment calls that accountants need to make daily. While the SOPs can tell the teams what to do, they can’t be the human a firm needs.

So what do you need beyond SOPs? 

1. The Human Element: Training & Context Sharing

Even the most experienced firms may find gaps in the SOPs when deploying an offshore team. The most detailed SOP cannot replicate:

• Context
• Hands-on guidance
• Real-life examples
• Tribal knowledge
• Shadowing your best people
  

Unlike what many firms might think, SOPs can’t be treated as a replacement for training. Especially if you have critical clients. 

A checklist may say, “Review bank reconciliation discrepancies.” But a new hire must see how your team investigates and communicates those discrepancies.

Shadowing and guided practice help offshore teams understand when to escalate, when to wait, when to estimate and proceed, or how to interpret client patterns.

Role clarity is important. 

Offshore failures often come from unclear role boundaries, not poor SOPs. When there is a lack of clarity, it may lead to confusion in the ownership of a specific task, deciding when to pass on the baton, what “done” looks like, or how to judge an urgency.

2. The Communication Gap

SOPs can never become a substitute for communication. In fact, offshoring collapses happen more because of communication gaps than technical gaps.

Most firm owners or business leaders have faced asynchronous communication. Even a beautifully crafted SOP cannot solve:

• 12-hour delays in getting clarifications
• Long email chains
• “Let me check and get back to you,” loops
• Misaligned expectations
• Misinterpretation of instructions
  

A Deloitte report found that 47% of productivity loss in distributed teams happens due to communication delays alone.

So what is the solution?

When teams work in isolation, the chances of misinterpretation and confusion continue to exist. The most efficient solution lies in a couple of overlapping hours and real-time collaboration. This helps in: 

• Speedy decision-making
• Instant removal of ambiguity
• Established accountability
• Humanized relationships
  

When you combine SOPs with real-time communication, that’s when the magic of actual execution happens. 

3. Process Gaps & Continuous Improvement

SOPs are snapshots in time, and the offshore teams are constantly evolving. Every new thing becomes outdated fas,t and the teams have to keep up. 

For accounting firms, it is equally important to keep up with the changing trends and equip the offshore teams with all they need for optimum success. 

Consider:

• New accounting software features
• Compliance changes
• Client-specific workflow updates
• Shifts in workload distribution
• Better automation opportunities
  

If SOPs are not updated at least quarterly, they quickly become irrelevant. That is why regular process reviews are as important as regular task reviews. 

This gives the offshore teams space to: 

• Report what’s confusing
• Suggest improvements
• Highlight inefficiencies
• Document exceptions
  

This transforms SOPs from just static documents into living workflows. When firms engage in continuous improvement, that’s what turns SOPs into a scalable system. 

4. Cultural Alignment & Workstyle Differences

In an offshore partnership, one of the major challenges arises when there is no cultural alignment. Once firm owners start treating them as a third-party service provider, the cracks appear soon.

SOPs can never capture the tone or decision-making style. You can document a workflow, but what you can’t document are: 

• What “urgent” really means in your firm
• The tone you expect in client emails
• The escalation style you prefer
• How conservative or flexible your approach is
• How much judgment is your team allowed to use
  

These are learned through integration, not instructions. Right from the beginning, when you ensure cultural alignment, things start falling into place. Your offshore team should know about your firm’s story, your values, client philosophy, interpretation of quality, and how to communicate internally.

When they start feeling like a part of your team, the performance naturally aligns. Culture cannot be outsourced; it needs to be integrated. 

5. Technology & Tools Matter

Even the best SOPs will fail if your tools and workflows don’t support execution. The mismatch between the SOPs and tools led to: 

• Using outdated accounting software
• Not giving offshore teams full access
• Lack of automation in routine tasks
• Multiple disconnected systems
• Manual data transfer that increases error probability
  

Even when it comes to tools, the in-house and the offshore teams must remain completely aligned. When teams share the same accounting platforms, communication tools, project management systems, templates, and automations, execution becomes seamless and uniform across the firm.

It’s the tools that make SOPs work. Without the right tools, SOPs are like a map for a road that no longer exists.

It is important to understand that SOPs are not the strategy; they are merely the beginning. SOPs are essential for any offshore engagement. But the real success also needs effective communication, role clarity, cultural alignment, continuous process updates, right tools and systems, live collaboration opportunities, training, and context sharing. 

For offshoring success, it is important that the teams perform like an extension of your internal team and not just a third-party support unit. 

Before you offshore, here’s a checklist that will help you prepare better. Download the 10-Point Pre-Offshoring Checklist (PDF)

Ready to offshore? Book a free consultation with us.