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Country guides
Outsourcing Accounting to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
Two growing South Asian outsourcing destinations for UK accountancy work, each with strong professional qualification links to the UK
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Quick answer
Outsourcing accounting to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh suits UK firms that apply the same controls regardless of destination: restricted access by role, a time budget on every job, UK review before client delivery, and a signed outsourcing agreement, NDA and DPA with a UK GDPR transfer safeguard.
Why do UK accountancy firms outsource to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh?
Both countries have growing pools of accounting staff with strong links to UK-recognised qualifications, competitive availability of skilled talent and English widely used in professional and financial services work.
Sri Lanka has a long-standing relationship with UK accounting bodies — CIMA and ACCA have a significant presence there, and many Sri Lankan accountants hold or are studying towards UK-recognised qualifications. Bangladesh's outsourcing sector is younger but growing quickly, drawing on a large, English-educated graduate pool and increasing interest from UK and international outsourcing providers.
Neither market's growth or qualification links removes the UK firm's need to build its own access controls, time budgets and review process — those come from your systems and contracts, not the destination.
What goes wrong when firms outsource to these markets without controls
A UK firm working with a small Sri Lanka-based provider sends client working papers by email because the provider doesn't use a shared system. There's no time budget on the job, so nobody can tell whether the four hours billed match the actual complexity of the work.
When the finished accounts come back, there's no record of who prepared them or whether a second person reviewed the figures before they were sent. On a separate job with a Bangladesh-based provider, a preparer emails the client directly to request missing bank statements, without the UK office being copied in or aware.
A staff member at one of the providers leaves partway through a project. The UK firm only finds out weeks later, by which point nobody has checked whether that person's access to shared files was ever removed.
Signs you've lost control
- Work is sent by email with no shared task system or access log
- No time budget is agreed before a job starts
- There's no record of who reviewed work before it went to the client
- Offshore staff have contacted clients directly without UK sign-off
- You don't know who currently has access to your files at the provider
- No outsourcing agreement, NDA or DPA has been signed
How to outsource accounting work to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh properly
- 1
Sign an outsourcing agreement and NDA
Cover scope, confidentiality and non-solicitation before sharing any client data.
- 2
Put a DPA and transfer safeguard in place
Neither country has a UK adequacy decision, so transfers typically need an IDTA or UK Addendum plus a transfer risk assessment. [VERIFY] current status.
- 3
Restrict access by client and role
Give access only to the clients and tasks each person is actively working on.
- 4
Set a time budget for every job
Agree expected hours upfront so you can spot overruns rather than guess at them.
- 5
Build in a UK review stage
No work reaches a client without a UK-based reviewer checking it first.
- 6
Keep client communication with the UK office
Use controlled email templates rather than allowing offshore staff to contact clients directly.
- 7
Confirm an offboarding process with the provider
Access should be removed the same day someone leaves, and you should be told when it happens.
Who owns each step of an outsourced job?
1. Assign
UK office
A UK team member creates the task with a clear brief and time budget, replacing an ad hoc email.
2. Prepare
Offshore team
The Sri Lanka or Bangladesh-based team completes the work, logging queries as subtasks rather than emailing the client.
3. Review
UK reviewer
A UK reviewer checks the completed work against the brief and the time budget.
4. Approve
UK partner
A partner signs off with a dedicated approval subtask, recording who approved and when.
5. Send
UK office
The UK office sends the final output using controlled email templates.
How does Remindoo support outsourcing to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh?
Remindoo gives smaller and growing offshore teams in either market the same structure as a large provider: a detailed task for every job, with priority, assignee, deadline, subtasks and attachments in place of an email chain. Roles and permissions restrict which clients, tasks and dashboard areas each person can see, useful where a provider is a small team working across several UK firms. Estimated time allocation sets a budget on every job, and service time analysis by employee shows how it compares to actual hours logged. Subtasks assigned to preparer, reviewer and approver record the sign-off trail, and the client timeline captures the full history for each client. Unlimited users means the whole offshore team, however small or large, is added at no extra per-user cost, and you can send your outsourcing agreement, NDA and DPA for e-signature within the same platform. It's free for 60 days.
Roles and permissions
Control who sees and edits client data.
See featureDetailed task creation
Set priority, assignee and deadline on every job.
See featureEstimated time allocation
Plan capacity with expected effort per job.
See featureService time analysis by employee
Compare time spent by service and person.
See featureClient timeline
Full history of notes, emails and actions.
See featureUnlimited users
Add every team member with no per-user charge.
See featureWhat changes when you move off email and WhatsApp?
| Area | Email, WhatsApp and spreadsheets | Remindoo |
|---|---|---|
| How work is sent | Email with no shared system | Detailed tasks with full brief |
| Access to client files | Broad or informal | Restricted by role and client |
| Time tracking | No budget set | Estimated time vs actual per job |
| Client contact | May happen directly from offshore | Controlled by the UK office |
| Review record | No trail | Preparer, reviewer, approver subtasks |
| Leaver access | Often discovered late | Removed centrally when flagged |
See your offshore set-up working
A 30-minute walkthrough of teams, roles, time budgets and review steps.
What are the time differences between the UK and Sri Lanka or Bangladesh?
Sri Lanka is UTC+5:30 and Bangladesh is UTC+6, so both run roughly 5 to 6 hours ahead of UK winter time, narrowing to around 4 to 5 hours during UK summer time.
In practice, teams in both countries are well into their working day before a UK office opens, which suits overnight preparation being ready for UK review the same morning.
| UK time | Sri Lanka (UTC+5:30) | Bangladesh (UTC+6) |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00am GMT | 2:30pm | 3:00pm |
| 12:00pm GMT | 5:30pm | 6:00pm |
Public holidays differ significantly between the UK, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, including festivals that shift each year — build these into internal deadlines. [VERIFY] specific dates each year.
What does UK GDPR require for transfers to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh?
Neither country currently has a UK adequacy decision, so transfers of personal data generally need an ICO IDTA or the UK Addendum to EU SCCs plus a transfer risk assessment.
This applies alongside an Article 28 data processing agreement covering how the provider may use, store and delete client data. [VERIFY] the current adequacy position for each country before relying on this.
General guidance, not legal advice. Take advice on your contracts and data transfers.
Frequently asked questions
Is outsourcing accounting work to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh legal for UK firms?
Yes, provided the UK firm keeps responsibility for the work and AML compliance and puts a UK GDPR transfer safeguard and Article 28 DPA in place with the provider.
Do Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have UK GDPR adequacy?
No — neither country currently has a UK adequacy decision, so transfers generally need an IDTA or UK Addendum plus a transfer risk assessment. [VERIFY] before relying on this.
What's the time difference between the UK and Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka is UTC+5:30, roughly 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of UK winter time and 4 hours 30 minutes ahead during UK summer time.
What's the time difference between the UK and Bangladesh?
Bangladesh is UTC+6, roughly 6 hours ahead of UK winter time and 5 hours ahead during UK summer time.
Are Sri Lankan accountants qualified to UK standards?
Many hold or are studying towards ACCA or CIMA qualifications, which have a significant presence in Sri Lanka, though this should be confirmed per individual and provider. [VERIFY] specifics.
Should I tell clients their work is prepared in Sri Lanka or Bangladesh?
Professional body guidance recommends disclosure, typically through engagement letter wording, so clients know their work may be prepared offshore.
What contracts do I need before outsourcing to either country?
An outsourcing agreement, an NDA, an Article 28 DPA and a UK GDPR transfer safeguard such as an IDTA, plus engagement letter wording disclosing outsourcing to clients.
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Sources
Last updated: . General guidance, not legal advice. Take advice on your contracts and data transfers.
Why recording every task matters in an accountancy practice
Accounting firms run on deadlines: VAT returns, payroll, confirmation statements, accounts and Self Assessment. Recording every job as a task, with an owner and a date, is the simplest way to make sure nothing is missed.
Avoid penalties
HMRC and Companies House charge penalties for late filing. A task for every deadline, with an internal date before it, gives the team a buffer.
Nothing depends on memory
Recorded tasks mean work continues when someone is off sick, on leave or has left the firm.
Consistent quality
Subtask checklists make every job follow the same steps and reviews, whoever does the work.
Visibility for managers
Filters by owner, status and deadline show at a glance what is late, what is due and who needs help.
Practical tips from UK practice
- Set an internal deadline two to four weeks before every statutory deadline.
- Use recurring tasks for repeat work such as VAT, payroll and bookkeeping.
- Break larger jobs into subtasks, including a review step.
- Comment on the task instead of by email, so the history stays with the work.
Related Remindoo features
Written and reviewed by Waqas Sagar ACA FCCA FMAAT, Chartered Accountant with 18+ years in practice. Founder and MD of Accotax, an ICAEW, ACCA and AAT regulated London practice that has served over 5,000 clients, and founder of Remindoo. Guidance is general; check current GOV.UK and professional body guidance for your firm.
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