Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Our operations are strictly WISP (Written Information Security Plan) compliant. We require all US CPA firms to secure Section 7216 taxpayer consent before granting our offshore professionals access to tax data. Furthermore, our staff works via a Zero-Trust architecture - they log into your VDI/Cloud environments. No client data is ever stored on local Vance & Cole machines.

Our primary delivery center in Cebu IT Park is a physical clean-room. This means our operations floor is ring-fenced by biometric scanners. Employees are strictly prohibited from bringing mobile phones, USB drives, cameras, or even paper and pens to their desks. If data cannot be removed physically or digitally, risk surfaces drop to zero.

Yes. Every candidate must pass a rigorous multi-layer background check. This includes a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance in the Philippines, education verification, previous employment verification, and a financial credit review before they are permitted to join our roster.

Every active client contract includes a $1,000,000 Errors & Omissions (E&O) and Cyber Liability policy. While it is the US CPA partner's ultimate fiduciary duty to sign and file returns, our infrastructure provides comprehensive insurance backing for our entire operational footprint.

They are 100% dedicated, full-time W-2 equivalent employees of Vance & Cole. We do not use gig workers. When you hire an accountant through us, they work 40 hours a week exclusively for your firm, integrating directly into your daily stand-ups, Slack, and corporate email.

We exclusively hire the top 4.5% of applicants. The baseline for a Senior hire is 3-5 years of direct experience preparing US taxes or producing US GAAP financials. The majority hold Active CPA licenses in the Philippines, which mirror US public accounting curriculum standards.

That is entirely up to you. Many of our partners have our Seniors directly handle "client-facing" email threads for document collection and basic Q&A, issuing emails from an @yourfirm.com address. All of our professionals pass EF SET English proficiency benchmarks.

Our professionals generally come pre-trained on major US tax suites like Drake, CCH Axcess, ProSeries, Lacerte, and UltraTax. For bookkeeping, they are certified in QuickBooks Online and Xero. If you use proprietary software, they act as rapid learners capable of adapting within days.

You do. We provide the facility, HR, legal compliance, and IT security—but you provide the accounting work. The talent operates exactly like an in-house employee. They log into your workflow management tool (e.g., Karbon, Canopy, Asana) and take direction from your domestic managers.

You pay a flat monthly retainer to our US Entity (Velmer Digital LLC, NM). There are no hourly surprises, payroll taxes, benefits administration overhead, or IT hardware costs for you to manage. We take care of all HR, healthcare (HMO), bonuses, and 13th-month pay on our end.

No 20% headhunter fees. We charge a nominal $1,500 one-time setup fee per seat. This covers the immediate procurement and configuration of an enterprise dual-monitor workstation, dedicated fiber allocation, biometric registration, and HR onboarding.

You are responsible for provisioning the software seats your talent needs (e.g., an extra Lacerte seat, a Microsoft 365 license, Karbon access). Just like a domestic hire, you allocate standard software access credentials, while we provide the physical hardware and security infrastructure.

No. We believe in earning our place in your firm every single month. We utilize simple, clean agreements with our US LLC that can be scaled down or canceled completely with a standard 30-day trailing notice.

Absolutely. Our operational facilities operate 24/7. When you hire an accountant, they are aligned perfectly to your firm's timezone (EST, CST, MST, or PST). If your team works 9-to-5 EST, your Vance & Cole accountant is online, at their desk, and available on Teams/Zoom during those exact same hours.

Your offshore team mirrors standard US holidays (e.g., Thanksgiving, July 4th, Labor Day), ignoring local Philippine holidays to prevent disruptions during tax season. Every talent receives an allocation of accrued PTO days (Paid Time Off), which they must request approval for from you, just like local staff.

Standard deployment takes 14 to 28 days depending on the complexity of the role. Following an introductory strategy call to map your requirements, we will present 2-3 shortlisted, vetted candidates within a week for your final interview and approval.