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| APAC and MEA Finance and Accounting Managed Services |
The finance and accounting managed services industry in Asia Pacific and Middle
East & Africa (APAC and MEA) region has seen tremendous growth in the past
decade. Several factors have contributed to this rising demand for outsourcing
finance and accounting functions to third-party service providers. Let's take a
deeper look at some of the key drivers and analyze the future outlook of this
industry in the region.
Rise of Digital Transformation
Digital disruption has impacted businesses across all industries in APAC and
MEA. Companies are under immense pressure to enhance their operational
efficiency, streamline business processes, and improve cost management to stay
competitive. As a result, digital transformation initiatives focusing on
migrating to cloud-based financial applications, automation of repetitive
manual tasks using robotic process automation (RPA), and adoption of artificial
intelligence (AI) for advanced analytics have seen a substantial rise. Finance
and accounting managed services providers are playing a crucial role in helping
companies navigate this digital journey and optimize their finance operations
through the deployment of next-gen technologies.
Leveraging Center of Excellence Models
Many organizations, especially large multi-national companies, are leveraging
center of excellence models for finance and accounting functions located in
standardized, optimized shared service centers. APAC
and MEA Finance and Accounting Managed Services nations like India, Philippines, and Malaysia
have emerged as preferred locations for setting up such centers of excellence
due to availability of low-cost highly-skilled talent. Managed service
providers based out of these countries are helping companies worldwide in
establishing and managing centralized finance hubs that deliver standardized
processes on a global scale in a cost-effective manner. This has drastically
increased the demand for specialized managed services across the region.
Changing Skill Requirements
The evolving technological landscape and growing complexities of global
business environments have increased the skill requirements for finance and
accounting personnel. Keeping pace with the latest developments requires heavy
investments that many companies are unwilling or unable to make. Outsourcing
non-core finance activities allows organizations to focus internal resources
only on strategic functions while leveraging external experts who are equipped
with advanced technical know-how, regulatory compliance expertise, and
multi-faceted industry experience. As skill expectations rise continuously,
managed services are becoming more important way for companies to fill their
competency gaps.
Cost Optimization Needs
In a dynamic economic scenario, cost optimization is a top priority for most
businesses. Finance and accounting operations traditionally consume a huge
portion of the overall overhead expenses. By outsourcing non-core finance
functions that do not provide competitive advantage, companies are able to
achieve upwards of 15-30% cost savings on their finance infrastructure
maintenance and operational expenditure. Managed service providers deliver
services at a fraction of the in-house cost by leveraging economies of scale,
standardized best practices, and region-specific advantages. This makes
outsourcing an attractive proposition for companies looking to maximize profits
through fiscal discipline.
Regulatory Compliance Support
Continuous evolution of accounting standards, tax laws, and other regulatory
mandates across countries require specialization that most in-house teams lack.
Non-compliance can lead to severe financial and reputational penalties. By
partnering with regulatory and domain experts, finance and accounting managed
services providers ensure adherence to all applicable guidelines for their
clients—both domestic and international. This takes away compliance related
challenges and risks from companies' plate and allows them to focus on their
core businesses seamlessly.
Proliferation of Startups
The APAC and MEA regions have witnessed massive growth in technology startups and
young companies across various sectors in recent times. Building internal
finance teams may not be viable for these new entities in the initial phases
due to budgetary and resource constraints. Outsourcing to managed service
providers offers a cost-effective way for startups to access specialized
finance capabilities without making heavy investments. It also provides them
scalability and flexibility to ramp up or reduce services on demand as business
needs change. This makes managed services a preferred choice among the growing
startup ecosystem.
Future Outlook
With growing digitalization, rising regulatory compliances, intensifying cost
pressures, and proliferation of startups—the demand for finance and accounting
managed services is expected to rise exponentially across the APAC and MEA
regions over the next decade. Advanced technologies like RPA, AI, cloud, and
analytics will transform managed services delivery. Providers will focus on
innovation by launching tech-led value-added services. Growing investments in
shared services centers and captive units will boost service capabilities.
Emerging F&A processes like accounting transformation and working capital
optimization will be important areas. Overall, the industry seems
well-positioned for continued double-digit growth fueled by the region's
economic progress and digital adoption.
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