Opportunities for freelance bookkeepers to expand their presence in the global market remain untapped.

 

Despite the vast potential for earning foreign currency through freelance bookkeeping and accounting services in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, Bangladesh has yet to fully capitalize on this opportunity and secure a significant share of the global outsourcing market.

 

 

Presently, the country boasts approximately 650,000 IT service freelancers engaged in domestic and global markets, providing web-based services. Additionally, there are approximately 1,600 team-based freelancing organizations, as reported by the Information and Communication Technology Division.

 

The current market size of local IT-enabled services (ITES) stands at approximately Tk 1,000 crore, with Bangladesh earning around $1.4 billion annually through the export of ITES and software, according to the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS)

 

According to a recent study conducted by the Oxford Internet Institute, Bangladesh ranks as the world's second-largest provider of online labour, capturing 16 percent of the market share, just behind India, which holds the highest share at 24 percent.

Interestingly, freelancers in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector do not necessarily require an academic background to offer their services. Many acquire the necessary skills through training programs offered by various private and public initiatives, both online and offline.

 

Regrettably, Bangladesh is missing out on the opportunity to earn a substantial amount of foreign currency from the online bookkeeping market. Numerous unemployed business and accounting graduates remain unaware of this potential avenue. Freelancers with relevant skills from such educational backgrounds are highly sought after in this sector.

 

The accounting market encompasses a wide range of services, including payroll services, tax preparation, bookkeeping, financial auditing, and other accounting services.

 

Freelance bookkeeping tasks involve maintaining transaction records, daybooks, petty cash books, and ledgers, generating financial reports, conducting reconciliations, utilizing cloud accounting software, managing journals, overseeing debt and credit control, and calculating VAT returns, among other responsibilities.

 

Increasingly, many small business owners, both domestic and international, are turning to freelance bookkeeping services as a cost-saving measure, hiring freelancers on a quarterly or annual basis rather than maintaining a full-time staff.

 

Not only does outsourced finance and accounting work offer more lucrative compensation compared to other similar jobs undertaken by freelancers and companies in Bangladesh, but it also presents opportunities for business and accounting graduates to secure high-paying offshore jobs while remaining in their home country.

 

However, the country's graduates and freelancers face challenges in competing and succeeding in the global market due to a lack of awareness and essential skills, including proficiency in English, basic IT knowledge, and marketing strategies.

Falling behind

 

Experts within the industry express concern that Bangladesh is significantly trailing behind other South Asian countries in terms of earning foreign currency from the global market in this sector.

 

According to the Accounting Services Global Market Report of 2022, the accountancy market is projected to grow from $1,175.88 billion in 2021 to $1,324.77 billion in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7 percent. It is further anticipated to reach $2,019.02 billion by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 11.1 percent.

 

Wahid Sharif, President of the Bangladesh Association of Contact Center and Outsourcing (BACCO), reports that approximately 250 freelancing companies are involved in software and IT-related projects in both domestic and global markets. Among them, about 25 companies provide bookkeeping or accounting services, while numerous individuals offer such services independently.

 

Sharif emphasizes that the global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market is valued at over $500 billion, with India holding the largest share of $150 billion, followed by the Philippines with $30 billion, and Sri Lanka with a share of $8-10 billion. In contrast, Bangladesh's current earnings from BPO amount to only $400-500 million annually, out of the $1.4 billion generated by the IT sector. Thus, the country has yet to secure even a mere 1 percent of the global market.

 

Sharif suggests that the limited demand for IT and accounting services from local freelancers by banks, financial institutions, and insurance companies hinders Bangladesh's position in the global freelancing market. He believes that if these entities were to engage more with local freelancers, it would enhance Bangladesh's reputation in the global market and provide freelancers with solid references for securing offshore jobs.

 

To support the freelancing sector, the government has endorsed 55 international online marketplaces, enabling freelancers to qualify for a 4 percent cash incentive against their earnings from these platforms in IT-enabled services (ITES), software, and hardware exports. Currently valued at $600 million, the industry is projected to reach $1 billion by 2025.

The academic landscape

 

As per the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, approximately one-fourth of the country's total population, which accounts for around 45.9 million individuals, are youths, with a significant number of them being unemployed.

 

University Grants Commission (UGC) data reveals that in 2020, there were 899,749 students enrolled in business-related faculties and departments across both public and private universities and institutes throughout the country.

 

According to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB), the country currently has approximately 2,200 registered chartered accountants (CAs), with approximately 32,000 individuals having cleared various levels of the CA exams, while 8,000 are yet to appear for the examinations.

 

Moreover, since 2019, a total of 8,724 students (4,187 under the old syllabus and 4,537 under the new syllabus) have registered to sit for examinations at the Institute of Cost Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB).

While having a background in business studies can provide an advantage in freelance bookkeeping and accounting, industry experts assert that youths from various educational backgrounds still possess opportunities to venture into this sector.