An offshore accountant from Offshored costs A$2,400 to A$3,400 per month, all-inclusive, and prepares your management accounts, reconciliations and BAS support to Australian standards in Australian business hours.
A qualified accountant, often a Philippine CPA, who works only for your business or your accounting firm. Recruited and managed by Offshored, employed in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC, and reporting to you or your supervising accountant every day.
An offshore accountant sits a level above bookkeeping. Where a bookkeeper records transactions, an accountant turns them into information: monthly management accounts, reconciliations that stand up to audit, cash-flow forecasts, budgets and the compliance workpapers your registered tax agent needs.
Australian businesses hire an offshore accountant when they have outgrown a bookkeeper but cannot justify a local senior hire. Australian accounting firms hire them to do compliance and management accounting work under a supervising accountant, which frees local staff for advisory work and client contact.
They work in your practice or business systems with the access you grant, following your review process. The offshore accountant prepares; your Australian accountant or registered agent reviews, signs and lodges.
Start with the first column and add the second as trust builds. Your team member follows your procedures and your approval limits, documented during onboarding.
Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online remain the core systems for Australian businesses and firms, so we recruit for those first. Practice management (XPM, Karbon), reporting (Fathom, Spotlight) and larger ERPs are common second requirements; tell us what your team uses and we shortlist for it.
An offshore accountant from Offshored costs A$2,400 to A$3,400 per month. That is one flat, all-inclusive fee per full-time team member, invoiced monthly in advance, in the finance, qualified band on our pricing page.
| Item | Offshore accountant |
|---|---|
| Monthly fee | A$2,400 to A$3,400 per month |
| Where in the band | Lower end for a degree-qualified accountant with two to three years of Australian work; upper end for a Philippine CPA with five or more years on Australian files, firm experience and supervisory responsibility |
| What is included | Everything: recruitment and vetting, employment in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC, salary, Philippine income tax and statutory contributions (SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG), 13th month pay, paid leave, HMO health insurance, payroll, timekeeping, HR and performance management, office space and equipment for office based team members, and replacement at our cost if the person leaves |
| What is not included | Your software subscriptions and practice licences, registered agent lodgment, and any hardware you choose to supply beyond what Offshored provides |
| Fees | No recruitment, placement or setup fees. One monthly invoice from Offshored Pty Ltd, an Australian company |
A local accountant at this level costs several times the monthly fee once salary, superannuation, leave, payroll tax and recruitment are counted. The 2026 offshore staff cost guide shows the sourced comparison, and the pricing page lists every band.
What Offshored looks for when shortlisting an offshore accountant for an Australian business:
You interview the shortlisted candidates yourself, and for accounting firms we recommend a short practical test on a sample file before the final decision.
Your offshore accountant works a full eight-hour day, Monday to Friday, at the times you set in your Australian time zone. Manila is two hours behind Sydney for most of the year, so the overlap is complete: they are online when you are, from your first coffee to close of business.
| Your office | Manila is behind by | Your 9am to 5pm day in Manila time |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart | 2 hours (3 hours in daylight saving, October to April) | 7:00am to 3:00pm (6:00am to 2:00pm in daylight saving) |
| Brisbane and Queensland | 2 hours, all year | 7:00am to 3:00pm |
| Adelaide | 1.5 hours (2.5 hours in daylight saving) | 7:30am to 3:30pm (6:30am to 2:30pm in daylight saving) |
| Darwin | 1.5 hours, all year | 7:30am to 3:30pm |
| Perth | No difference, same time as Manila | 9:00am to 5:00pm |
Team members work Australian public holidays unless the day is also a Philippine holiday, and Offshored gives you two business days' notice of any Philippine holiday that affects your team member's schedule. Every shift is logged on our timekeeping platform. See the FAQ on the Sydney to Manila time difference.
No. Only a registered tax agent can lodge on your behalf in Australia, and financial statements are signed by your Australian accountant or auditor. Your offshore accountant prepares the workpapers, journals and draft statements to your firm's standard, and your registered agent reviews, signs and lodges. That is the same review structure most Australian firms already use with junior staff.
Yes, both. Businesses hire one as an in-house management accountant reporting to the owner or CFO. Accounting and bookkeeping firms hire one or several to prepare compliance and management accounting work under a supervising accountant, which frees the local team for advisory work and client contact. Offshored has clients of both kinds.
A bookkeeper records and reconciles transactions and keeps the ledger current; an accountant analyses and reports on them, prepares management accounts, budgets, forecasts and compliance workpapers, and reviews the bookkeeper's work. If you need clean books, start with an offshore bookkeeper. If you need someone to close the month and explain the numbers, hire an offshore accountant.
Pick a time and William Smith, Offshored's co-founder, phones you. We scope the role, give you the monthly cost band and tell you honestly whether offshore staff will work for your business. No lock-in, no obligation.
Book a 20-minute call Call +61 437 228 350Prefer to type? Message us on WhatsApp or send the enquiry form. We reply within one business hour, 8am to 6pm AEST, Monday to Friday.