Iris, the accounting software group, is to provide practices with an offshore processing service through a tie-up with outsourcing expert MIS.

The knowledge process outsourcing service utilises web and SQL server technology, and will allow accounting practices to outsource statutory and management accounts production.

The deal is a response to research from Iris which showed that its 15,000 customers were facing a shortage of trained bookkeepers, which placed firms under increasing pressure to meet deadlines in peak processing times.

Providing an offshore processing service helps accountants meet these deadlines and offers cost-saving opportunities.

MIS is a market leader in knowledge process outsourcing and already supplies 60% of Iris's current customers.

'The new service will offer high-quality, secure transaction processing,' said Iris chief executive Martin Leeuw. 'Customers can do management accounts by simply scanning in data and downloading it to SQL, and then producing accounts in the house style.'

The service already has a team of 80 accountants based in Chennai.