NetSuite Accountants Are in Short Supply—But Not in the Philippines

In the West, NetSuite accountants are practically unicorns. Finding them is hard to begin with, but hiring and retaining them can be even more difficult.

In the States, the accountants with NetSuite experience know that they’re scarce. That’s why it’s not uncommon for them to demand a high salary and go where the grass is greener with little hesitation.

With such a mindset, it wouldn’t be surprising if many US companies are reluctant to train regular accountants in NetSuite in-house. Chances are, their competitors might just wind up enjoying the fruit of their labor.

In the Philippines, it’s a different story for many reasons.

A Century-Old Tradition

In 1923, the accountancy profession was legalized in the country. So, next year will be the 100th anniversary of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy (BOA).

According to BOA chairman Joel L. Tan-Torres himself, the institution is arguably the oldest in Asia.

In other words, accountancy is in the DNA of many generations of Filipino workers. This profession comes with great prestige, and its appeal to students is enduring.

An Abundance of Accountants

The Philippines has 460+ accounting schools, perhaps the highest number in the region. A graduation rate of less than 20% is not unheard of, a testament that only the brightest earn a diploma.

With vital educational reform in place, the Philippine government expects to attract more enrollees and produce more quality professionals from here on out. 

On average, 7,250 certified public accountants enter the country’s labor market every year. By 2018, there had been more than 188,000 CPAs across the archipelago.

Despite the above figures, a great number of Filipino micro entrepreneurs balance their own books and do their taxes for compliance.

As a result, most accounting professionals in the country tend to support bigger local businesses and foreign companies of all sizes.

A Magnet for Accounting Giants

There’s truth to the statement that the Philippines is the accounting department of the world. The sheer number of locations KPMG, PwC, EY, and Deloitte have across the islands is enough evidence of that.

What’s more, Manila owns the distinction for being the host of NetSuite’s largest office outside of the US. Filipinos power this cloud computing vendor’s product development, quality assurance, tech support, and back-end operations.

The long-standing presence of these global brands means that the world’s best accounting practices are the standard in the Philippines.

Final Word

Filipinos have been alleviating labor shortages in various professions in virtually all regions for decades. Accountancy is no exception.

Since the stars have aligned, there’s no doubt that it’s easy to find or churn out loyal NetSuite accountants that can remotely support US businesses whatever the time zone may be.