Outsourcing Professions

http://money.cnn.com/2003/12/30/pf/offshorejob/
New York (CNN/Money) - If a tax preparer gets you an unexpected refund this year, you may have an accountant in India to thank.
That's because accounting firms are joining the outsourcing trend established years ago by cost-conscious American manufacturers.
In fact, companies in a number of unexpected industries are now sending work overseas. From scientific lab analysis to medical billing, the service-sector workforce has gone global.
CPA firms are just one example. In the 2002 tax year, accounting firms sent some 25,000 tax returns to be completed by accountants in India. This year, that number is expected to quadruple.
The reason lies in the numbers; accountants in the United States typically earn $4,000 a month. In places like India it's closer to $400, says David Wyle, CEO and founder of SurePrep, a tax-outsourcing firm based in southern California that's employed more than 200 accountants in Bombay and Ahmedabad, India.
"We've estimated firms will save between $40,000 to $50,000 for every 100 returns that are outsourced," adds Wyle, whose firm expects to do 35,000 returns in the coming year. That's up from 7,000 last year.
Xiptax, of Braintree, Mass., is another tax firm that's moved much work overseas for "a whole number of reasons," besides money, says CEO Mark Albrecht.
"Most CPAs do between 45 to 50 percent of their work in two months out of the year. It makes for an extremely stressful time," says Albrecht, who adds that accounting firms must then "strain" to find qualified staffers to help fill in during the crunch.
By hiring full-time staff in India, CPA firms like SurePrep and Xiptax don't have to worry about finding staff here.
Instead, they simply send tax information to a permanent team of qualified accountants in India. American accountants then review the returns before signing off on them.
"The real important part of returns isn't taking a number off a W-2 form and putting it in Box No. 1," notes Albrecht. "The real value is what's retained within the CPA firm -- the tax planning and the review."
I think outsourcing jobs especially professions benefits corporations but hurts us people.

Computer readable tags(XBRL)

In spite of the enhanced efficiency it has proven to deliver, a new accounting technology, known as XBRL or Extensible Business Reporting Language, is failing to attract the support expected, according to reports. Referring to it as a 'revolutionary technology', Reuters suggested the technology has the capacity to standardize the way corporate results are reported and speed up trading decisions but has yet been unable to stimulate any real interest in the business community.
The technology works by labelling financial information with computer-readable tags so regulators, investors, managers and other stakeholders can make like-for-like comparisons in financial statements.
Though it has been around for eight or so years, has secured the support of approximately 400 organizations, and boasts the endorsement of US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, the wider investment community appears reluctant to entertain the new technology.
Critics of the technology, however, have insisted it is an unpopular choice because it is complicated and lacks simple-to-use software.
But while the technology is still being espoused by some of Wall Street's major players, it is surely too soon to disregard the potential for a future revolution in accounting technology.
In my opinion, labelling financial information with computer readable tags will save time ,reduce cost and increase the efficiency of the organization that uses it.
http://www.cbronline.com/news/new_accounting_technology_failing_to_catch_on