The outsourcing of IT programming jobs to India is now commonly understood after years of this trend. However, more recently some accounting functions have also begun to flow into India’s large technically trained and English-speaking work force. For example, the number of U.S. tax returns completed in India rose dramatically from 2003 to 2011 (25,000 in 2003 to 1.6 million in 2011). Some estimate that over 20 million U.S. tax returns will be prepared in India within the next few years. Outsourcing accounting functions may affect the job and career prospects for accounting-oriented business school graduates. Tax accountants in Bangalore, India, are much cheaper than those in Boston or Baltimore. Moreover, tax accountants in India often work longer hours and can therefore process many more tax returns than U.S.-based CPAs and tax accountants during the crunch period of the U.S. tax filing system. Other services once thought to be immune to offshoring are also experiencing vulnerability. One example is the rise in medical tourism for major medical treatments to handle everything from joint replacements, weight loss, dental problems, and infertility. It is estimated that over 14 million patients traveled from one country to another seeking medical treatment in 2016 alone.

1. Which aspects of accounting do you think are more likely to resist the outsourcing trends just discussed? Think about what aspects of accounting are the high-value activities versus the routine standardized ones. (If it’s been a while since you took your accounting courses, reach out for information to someone in your strategy class who is an accounting major.)

2. What industries do you think may offer the best U.S. (or domestic) job opportunities in the future? Which industries do you think may offer the greatest job opportunities in the global market in the future? Use the PESTEL framework and the five forces model to think through a logical set of reasons that some fields will have higher job growth trends than others.

3. Do these types of macroenvironmental and industry trends affect your thinking about selecting a career field after college? Why or why not? Explain.