Grant Thornton Australia to cut EA jobs, taps Philippine vendor
- Grant Thornton Australia confirmed a small number of executive assistant job cuts.
- The firm has engaged an experienced vendor based in the Philippines.
- The change creates a National Administrative Operations model.
- KPMG is offshoring three-quarters of its 260 EA roles to the Philippines.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Grant Thornton Australia will cut a small number of executive assistant jobs after engaging a vendor in the Philippines, with some of the roles potentially moving offshore. The mid-tier firm joins KPMG and PwC among the large professional services firms in Australia that have shifted executive assistant work to the Philippines.
A national admin model
The firm confirmed the changes after professional services gossip Instagram account The Aussie Corporate posted that it would cut local executive assistant roles and outsource some to the Philippines, according to Accounting Times. Grant Thornton did not confirm how many executive assistants will be affected.
“As part of this change, we have engaged an experienced vendor based in the Philippines, and unfortunately, there will be a small number of job losses as we transition to the new model,” a Grant Thornton spokesperson said.
The firm calls the new structure a National Administrative Operations model. “To support our firm’s strategy and future growth, we have designed a simpler, more standardised National Administrative Operations model to ensure we have the right mix of skills and roles that can grow with the firm’s needs,” the spokesperson said.
Limited to admin, the firm says
Grant Thornton said the change is focused on its administrative support function “and is not part of broader plans to make similar organisational changes across other areas of the firm.” It added that it began reviewing the function well before entering exploratory conversations to join Grant Thornton Advisors, and partners voted in August to complete a buyout agreement with the multinational platform.
“While these decisions are never easy, we are committed to supporting our people through the process as we create a more flexible model that will also deliver consistency and quality across our firm nationally,” the spokesperson said.
Following the bigger firms
Executive assistants at some of Australia’s biggest firms have faced similar change. PwC Australia made over half of its executive assistants Manila-based in the middle of the year, and KPMG is offshoring three-quarters of its 260 executive assistant roles to the Philippines, Accounting Times reported.
For Australian firms, the move shows offshore support reaching back office roles that sit close to partners, not only processing work. Firms weighing offshore outsourcing for assistant roles can ask vendors how they manage time zones, confidentiality and continuity for the people they support, and compare providers on the top 40 BPO companies in the Philippines list.
Related news
- 86% of top U.S. accounting firms now use offshore staff: IPA · 16 Oct
- Bendigo Bank cuts 140 jobs in outsourcing push · 23 Sep
- KPMG Australia to offshore 200 support roles to Philippines · 6 Feb
Disclosure: Outsource Accelerator uses AI tools in the backend of its editorial workflow. Every article is reviewed and verified by a human editor before publication.
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