Talent Shortages & Tech Gaps: Why Canadian Accounting Firms Can’t Afford to Wait

Industry Insight

Talent Shortages & Tech Gaps: Why Canadian Accounting Firms Can’t Afford to Wait

Executive Summary

Canada’s accounting profession is at a crossroads. Firms are grappling with increasingly complex client demands, rising operational costs, and a shrinking domestic talent pool. Simultaneously, technology—from AI to cloud accounting—offers new levers for efficiency and growth. This piece argues that offshoring, when done smartly and securely, can help Canadian CPA firms bridge the gap: enabling them to manage costs, retain talent, scale advisory services, and adopt tech more confidently in the coming years

What’s Changing in the Canadian Accounting Landscape

Canadian accounting firms aren’t just keeping up—they’re trying to get ahead. According to Xero’s “2025 State of the Industry Report,” 80% of Canadian accounting and bookkeeping (AB) firms are optimistic about future growth. Seventy-five percent have increased revenue, and 76% have seen profits rise. Xero Yet despite this optimism, several underlying pressures are intensifying:

Talent shortages & recruitment struggles. The Robert Half & other surveys report that firms are having a hard time recruiting qualified CPAs, especially for senior technical/advisory roles. BNN Bloomberg+1
Burnout & unsustainable workloads, especially during tax season. With fewer hands on decks, existing teams are stretched thin.

Technology adoption gap. While cloud accounting is widely available (86% of practices use cloud software in 2025), it is applied in only about 59% of client engagements—showing a gap between having tools and using them effectively. Xero+1
Regulatory & compliance pressures. Firms must stay current with evolving tax rules, reporting standards, and data privacy laws—which adds effort, especially for smaller and mid-sized firms with limited staff

Why Offshoring Isn’t Just an Option—it’s Becoming a Strategic Imperative

Offshoring (or staff-leasing / virtual staffing) can address several of these pressures. Here’s how:

Cost & Capacity Flexibility: Offshoring non-core or semi-core roles (administrative support, data analytics, financial reporting, second-tier review) helps firms scale their teams when demand spikes—tax season, client onboarding, year-end work—without the full fixed costs of onshore hires.
Technology Enablement: Firms integrating offshored teams often find themselves forced to standardize processes, improve documentation, and adopt better collaboration tools. This often accelerates tech adoption because remote/virtual work highlights inefficiencies that on-site teams have been masking.
Talent & Retention: Moving routine or repetitive tasks offshore frees up senior accountants for higher-value work (advisory, client strategy, business growth). That not only improves morale and retention but also positions the firm higher up in terms of service offerings and differentiation.
Risk Mitigation: With proper governance, data security, and training, offshoring can be structured to comply with Canadian regulatory and privacy requirements—helping firms avoid the risks that come with overloading small in-house teams or improvising workflows under pressure.

Common Objections & How to Address Them

Of course, offshoring isn’t risk-free, and many firms have legitimate concerns. Here are some common ones—alongside ways to plan in order to mitigate them:

Objection	What Firms Often Fear	How to Mitigate / Plan Ahead
Loss of control /quality	Fears that offshored staff won’t meet Canadian standards, misunderstand tax/reg compliance, have communication issues	Use phased onboarding; ensure robust training; maintain oversight; use senior review; keep key client‐facing work domestic
Data security & privacy concerns	Canadian firms are regulated tightly and worried about cross-border data risk	Ensure offshore partner adheres to strong security standards; use secure platforms; limit sensitive data exposure; ensure compliance with PIPEDA or other relevant Canadian privacy law
Cultural & time-zone gaps	Misunderstandings or lag in collaboration, especially with tight timelines	Hire people who are familiar/capable with North American business culture; schedule overlapping work-hours; build communication rituals (standups, feedback loops)
Regulatory compliance & licensing	Especially for audit, reporting, advisory, certain work must be done by licensed CPAs in Canada	Offshore more “supporting” roles; ensure final work reviewed locally; don’t offshore anything that violates professional or legal requirements

What Leading Canadian Firms Could Do Now

Here are practical steps firms can take now to explore offshoring (or expand their existing offshore
staffing) with confidence:

Audit Your Workflow and Identify Bottlenecks Map out recurring periods of overload (tax season, year-end, audit cycles, etc.). Identify which tasks are high volume but low margin—or tasks that don’t require full CPA accreditation—and could be offshored or delegated.
Pilot Small & Measure
Start with a small, well-defined offshore team (or even one role) handling non-core yet mission -critical work. Track metrics: cost savings, turnaround times, error rates, employee satisfaction /perceived relief.
Invest in Tech & Documentation
The success of remote or offshore teams depends heavily on clarity: documented workflows, strong communication tools, secure systems. The firms that lag here tend to struggle even if they hire more people.
Build Governance & Compliance Protocols Ensure you have policies for data security, client confidentiality, and regulatory review. Train offshore staff on Canadian tax rules, privacy laws, and firm culture. Maintain local oversight
especially on high-risk deliverables.
Position Advisory & Value-Based Services Use the efficiencies gained via offshoring to free up internal capacity. Shift firm offerings toward
advisory, forecasting, business planning—value-based services that clients increasingly expect. These have higher margins and help future-proof the firm.

The Bottom Line & GSC’s Role

Canadian CPA firms are entering a mature phase: clients expect more than compliance—they expect insights, strategy, and agility. With costs rising and recruitment increasingly tough, offshoring isn’t just a fallback—it can be a strategic enabler when executed wisely.

Global Staff Connections has observed that when offshored roles are chosen carefully and integrated with strong oversight, firms can both reduce cost pressures and unlock time for higher-value work. For practices willing to pilot this shift, the potential gains include better margins, happier senior staff, and more resilient service delivery.

Sources

Xero (2025). Canada State of the Industry Report. Xero
KPMG Canada (2024). AI in Financial Reporting. KPMG
National surveys (Robert Half, CPA Ontario) – on talent shortages. BNN Bloomberg+1
CPA/Accounting-sector reports on cloud adoption, advisory services growing in prevalence. Fintech.ca+1

Industry Insight