PwC Australia moves more executive assistant positions to its Manila hub, mirroring a February decision by rival KPMG to offshore 200 similar roles to the Philippines. KPMG chooses to work through an outsourcing agency whereas PwC builds its own offshore capability, reshaping how partner support is delivered.
Executive assistant roles based in the Philippines at PwC jump from 38% of the total to 58%. That marks a clear break from the firm’s historical reliance on locally based support staff.
Partners joining PwC since 2019 receive assistant support from staff in the Philippines instead of Australia, embedding offshoring into the firm’s default operating model. Local leadership still uses a mix of Australian and Manila-based assistants, with the Australian chief executive retaining some domestic executive assistants.
Several roles within that executive support team already sit in the Manila hub, underscoring the steady transfer of internal support functions. Internal reviews drive these changes, according to PwC, which frames the cuts to Australian-based assistants as part of a broader push for sustainable performance and growth.
Rival firms’ moves indicate that offshoring high-touch support roles is becoming standard practice in Australia’s big professional services sector. The combination of KPMG’s outsourced Philippine team and PwC’s in-house Manila hub suggests a structural shift in how back-office and executive support work is sourced.
Staff in Australia now face ongoing uncertainty as internal reviews keep scrutinising which roles stay onshore and which move offshore.
