Ask any SMB Finance leader in the US right now what their biggest challenge is and the response is very often = the struggle to secure top-tier Accounting and Finance talent without stretching the budget.

The current domestic hiring landscape doesn’t help. Marked by high salary demands, including for entry-level positions, the situation is making it increasingly challenging for companies to onboard qualified Accounting professionals without significantly inflating payroll expenses.

Take an Accounting Assistant in the U.S. This position can now command an annual salary of $40k to $47k, with additional costs for benefits, payroll, taxes, recruitment and onboarding driving the total expense up by 25% to 40%. This makes building a robust finance team increasingly cost-prohibitive for many SMBs.

There is an effective solution to this challenge though – remote hires. Particularly in countries like the Philippines where SMBs can tap into a highly-skilled talent pool.

Accounting professionals in the Philippines are well-versed in U.S. GAAP standards, as many of the university degrees there teach U.S. practices and financial SOPs. Testament to this is the recent announcement by the AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) to expand international testing availability of the U.S. CPA exam to the Philippines.

Then there are the cost advantages.

Here’s an overview of how 5 different Finance roles typically compare between the U.S. and the Philippines.

Note the above U.S. Salaries do not include additional overhead costs such as payroll, benefits, recruitment, and training. These would typically add another 25% to 40% on top of someone’s annual salary.

To put this into context, some of these roles in the Philippines equate to nearly half the cost of hiring domestically, without compromising on quality or productivity. Moreover, the savings are consistent across various roles, as can be seen from the table above.

One of the biggest success factors with this approach is that it enables Finance leaders to maintain lean operations, while ensuring that their teams are equipped with highly trained and competent professionals.

It’s an approach that many U.S. SMBs are starting to take advantage of so that they are able to overcome current hiring challenges posed by domestic salary inflation. Not only does it address immediate staffing needs but it also supports long-term financial sustainability and growth.