For Texas CPA Firms

Offshore accounting for Texas CPA firms.

Texas has the second-largest CPA firm population in the US behind California, with roughly 75,000 licensed CPAs and over 5,000 firms across Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Fort Worth. This page covers Texas-specific considerations for CPA firms evaluating offshore accounting support, including Texas State Board of Public Accountancy rules.

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Texas context

Texas CPA firm environment

Texas has specific characteristics that make it a strong market for offshore accounting support:

Scale and firm composition

Roughly 5,000+ CPA firms across the state
Four major metros (Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio) with distinct client bases
Strong oil & gas, real estate, construction, technology, and healthcare practice specialties
Top 100 firms have meaningful Texas presence (Weaver, BKM Sowan Horan, Whitley Penn, Calvetti Ferguson, Maxwell Locke & Ritter)
Also strong mid-market and independent firm population

Tax season and capacity pressure

Texas CPA firms face the same tax season capacity pressure as firms nationally, often more acute because:

Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth tech growth creates high demand for tax and CAS services
Oil & gas clients have specialized tax needs requiring senior specialist time
Real estate and construction clients (major Texas industries) have tax complexity beyond standard 1040/1120
US tax staff hiring in Texas metros is competitive; salaries have risen faster than national averages

Texas State Board rules

Texas-specific CPA board requirements for offshore

The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA) has specific rules governing use of offshore staff on engagements:

Disclosure requirement

Texas Rules of Professional Conduct require disclosure to clients when non-US-licensed personnel perform services. The TSBPA interprets this to require written client notification when offshore accountants contribute to attest engagements or tax work with disclosed tax return information.

Supervision requirement

Texas-licensed CPAs remain responsible for work product regardless of who prepared it. Supervision must be substantive, not nominal. Documentation of review and sign-off required, especially for attest engagements subject to peer review.

§7216 consent (federal but applies in Texas)

IRS §7216 consent for disclosure of tax return information to third-party preparers applies in Texas as everywhere else. See our §7216 consent template.

Data protection

Texas has specific data breach notification requirements under Chapter 521 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code. Offshore providers handling Texas resident data should have incident response procedures compliant with Texas requirements.

For the broader state-by-state matrix see our state CPA board disclosure matrix.

Good news: Texas rules are relatively practitioner-friendly compared to some other states. Clear disclosure requirements and supervision standards exist, but Texas doesn't prohibit or heavily restrict offshore use. Firms that follow standard compliance documentation (engagement letter disclosure, §7216 consent, peer review documentation) operate without friction.

Common engagement patterns

How Texas CPA firms typically use offshore

Tax season capacity

Most common entry point for Texas CPA firms: add 2–8 seasonal offshore tax preparers for January 15–April 30. Scope: 1040s, 1065s, 1120-S for smaller entities. US senior reviewers handle review and partner sign-off.

CAS practice scaling

Texas CPA firms with strong CAS practices (particularly Dallas and Austin firms serving tech and professional services clients) use offshore bookkeepers and accountants for CAS delivery. See our CAS services page.

Industry-specific work

Texas-specific industry patterns we support:

Oil & gas: working interest accounting, joint interest billing (JIB), depletion calculations, severance tax
Real estate: partnership accounting, 1031 exchange tracking, cost segregation coordination
Construction: WIP schedules, job costing, AIA billing – see construction page
Restaurants: multi-unit franchise accounting, tip reporting compliance, USALI for hotel groups

Audit support

Texas firms doing attest engagements use offshore audit seniors for workpaper preparation, substantive testing documentation, and PBC request coordination. Peer review documentation maintained throughout. See peer review package.

Why this works for Texas

Why offshore works well for Texas firms specifically

Time zone overlap. Central Time has better overlap with India and Philippines than East Coast. Live collaboration windows are slightly better for Texas firms than for New York or Boston firms.
US staff salary pressure. Texas metros (especially Austin) have seen accounting salaries rise 20–35% since 2020. Offshore cost differential is therefore larger in Texas than in markets where US salaries have been flatter.
Industry fit. Texas's oil & gas, real estate, construction, and tech industries have accounting requirements that offshore specialists can address competently.
Firm size distribution. Texas has many mid-market firms (20–100 staff) where offshore economics work particularly well – small enough that offshore capacity is meaningful, large enough that operational investment is manageable.