Pakistan, India or the Philippines: where should UK firms hire offshore accountants?
In short: India has the longest-established market and the most providers. The Philippines is strong on spoken English and service roles but sits seven to eight hours ahead of the UK. Pakistan has a large ACCA-trained talent pool, accountants who work UK hours and lower published prices. We recruit in Pakistan only, so read this as an informed view rather than a neutral one.
Three countries come up in almost every conversation about offshore accounting staff for UK practices. Each can work. The right choice depends on the work you want done, the hours you need covered and how much management time you have.
What to compare
Four things decide whether an offshore hire succeeds:
- Training. Have they studied a qualification aligned with UK practice, and worked on UK clients?
- Time zone. How much of your working day will they share?
- Communication. Can they write a clear query and explain their work?
- Cost. What do you pay in total, including the provider’s fee?
India
India is where most UK outsourcing providers have built their delivery teams, and it has decades of experience with UK accounts and tax work. That depth is its main advantage: providers are large, processes are mature and many staff have years of UK practice experience.
The time difference is 4.5 hours in the UK summer and 5.5 hours in winter, which gives a good overlap with the UK day.
The trade-offs are cost and model. Much of the Indian market is built around outsourced services rather than a dedicated person in your team. One UK-focused provider puts a dedicated full-time employee model at £1,500 to £3,000 a month. Demand for experienced UK-trained staff is also high, so turnover can be a concern. Ask any provider about staff retention.
The Philippines
The Philippines has a large, English-speaking workforce and a strong reputation in client-facing and support roles. Accountants there do not usually train on UK tax or UK practice work, so check that candidates have real UK experience rather than assuming it.
The main challenge for UK firms is the clock. Manila is seven hours ahead of the UK in summer and eight in winter. A normal Philippine working day ends around the time yours starts, so overlap means evening or night shifts for the accountant. Some people do that well for years. Others move on.
On cost, one provider’s 2026 guide lists annual salaries of US$13,200–$17,400 for an accountant and US$17,400–$26,400 for a senior accountant, citing Salary.com. That is roughly £830 to £1,650 a month at about £0.75 to the dollar, before any provider fee is added.
Pakistan
Pakistan is less well known to UK practices, but the fundamentals are strong.
- Talent pool. A Pakistan-based offshoring co-founder quoted in ACCA’s AB magazine estimates the country produces 60,000–70,000 finance and accountancy graduates each year. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan had 10,096 members in 2024.
- UK-aligned training. ACCA, a UK professional body, is widely studied in Pakistan. Candidates learn UK-style financial reporting and can sit UK tax and law variants of the exams.
- Time zone. Pakistan is four hours ahead of the UK in summer and five in winter. Your accountant works 9:00am to 5:30pm UK time, Monday to Friday. In Lahore that’s an afternoon and evening shift, so your working days line up fully, all year round.
- Cost. Through DigiHyre, a dedicated bookkeeper starts at £750 a month, an accountant at £1,100 and a senior accountant at £1,500, all-in and excluding VAT.
The trade-offs are real too. The market is younger, so there are fewer established providers and less of a track record to check. Power cuts and internet outages happen, which is why backup power and backup connections should be a condition of any arrangement, not an optional extra. And as with India and the Philippines, Pakistan has no UK adequacy decision, so you need a transfer agreement in place under UK GDPR.
Side by side
| Factor | India | Philippines | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours ahead of UK | 4.5–5.5 | 7–8 | 4–5 |
| Daytime overlap with UK | Good | Limited without evening or night shifts | Good |
| Typical model | Outsourcing providers, some dedicated staffing | Dedicated staffing | Dedicated staffing |
| Published monthly cost | £1,500–£3,000 (provider fee, dedicated FTE model) | approx. £830–£1,650 (salary only) | from £750 (DigiHyre, all-in) |
| UK adequacy decision | No | No | No |
The cost figures come from different sources and measure different things, so use them as a guide only. Currency conversions are approximate.
How to choose
- You want jobs done, not a person to manage: an established outsourcing provider, most likely with an Indian team.
- You need client-facing phone support in UK hours: the Philippines is worth a look, if the accountant is happy with the shift.
- You want a dedicated accountant working your hours, with UK-aligned training, at a cost-effective monthly fee: Pakistan deserves a place on your shortlist.
Whichever country you choose, the person matters more than the passport. Test technical skills on UK work, interview candidates yourself and insist on a replacement guarantee.
To see what a Pakistan-based accountant would cost, see our pricing, or read how to hire an offshore accountant.
If Pakistan is on your shortlist, see what an offshore accountant from Pakistan costs, how we screen and test every candidate, and how UK GDPR transfers to Pakistan are handled.
- ACCA Accounting and Business magazine, “Building offshore momentum” (December 2025)
- Wikipedia, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
- QX Accounting Services, “How Much Does Outsourcing Accounting Services Cost for UK Practices?”
- TOA Global, “Hire Offshore Accountants Philippines: The Why and How (2026)”