Finding good accountants is hard. Finding ones who fit your culture, in a market running dry, is a different problem entirely. That was the reality facing Suntax, an Australian accounting firm that had spent months looking for staff it simply could not find at home.
So, they looked elsewhere. And it worked.
Key takeaways
Suntax’s experience with TGT Global shows what a well-matched offshore partnership can look like in practice.
- Culture fit matters as much as skill. Suntax struggled to find local accountants who matched their culture, which made an experienced offshore team in Manila a natural solution.
- Trusted recommendations lead to better decisions. Suntax chose TGT Global after industry peers vouched for us, then confirmed that choice with their own comparison.
- A strong offshore team supports real growth. Suntax used the capacity it gained to expand into financial planning without incurring a significant increase in costs.
Why Suntax started looking offshore
The shortage was not just about numbers. It was about fit. Shannon Buchan from Suntax explains what pushed them to consider offshoring in the first place.
“The reason we looked into offshoring was not being able to find staff in Australia who we found were capable of fitting into our culture. There seemed to be a bit of a scarcity around the particular staff we wanted.”
Offshoring was new territory for the team at the time. But the gap in the local market was real – it was not improving and waiting was not a strategy.
Why Suntax chose TGT Global
The decision was not made in isolation. It came from people already in the industry, people Suntax trusted.
Shannon explains how they landed on TGT Global over other options they considered.
“We chose TGT mostly because other people in our industry, or people we knew, were using them. That was suggested to us. We did look at other firms but found that TGT was the best fit for us.”
A trusted recommendation, backed by their own research. That combination gave Suntax the confidence to move forward and start building its offshore accounting team in Manila.
What does the offshore team actually look like?
Once the right people were in place, the talent gap that started the search closed quickly. The quality of staff available surprised Shannon.
“We’ve found there are quite high-quality, Australian-experienced accountants here. They’ve worked for other companies. Some of them are completing all of the study required.”
Today, the Suntax offshore team includes accountants, superannuation specialists, bookkeepers, support staff, and a paraplanner.
Cost played a role in the decision, but it was not the main driver.
The offshore team gave Suntax the capacity to keep growing without a heavy increase in expenditure, solving both the talent gap and the budget pressure at once.
The team became part of the business
What stood out beyond the balance sheet were the people themselves. Suntax treats its Manila team as a real extension of the business.
Shannon puts it plainly:
“Our Filipino team is amazing. They bring so much fun to the workplace and are full of love, kindness, and care. It’s a true privilege to work with them.”
Suntax flies team members to Australia once they have stayed with the firm for five years, bringing them to the annual conference helps to build a relationship which works both ways.
That does not happen by accident. It happens when the partnership is built on the right foundation from the start.
What comes next for Suntax
Suntax has since expanded into financial planning, and Shannon expects that side of the business to keep growing. The offshore team made that expansion possible by giving the firm the operational room to move into new territory without stretching itself too thin.
For firms still weighing the decision, Shannon’s advice is simple. Do the research, find a partner whose values line up with yours, and commit. The results tend to follow.
Start building your offshore accounting team with TGT Global
