Office Administrative Services
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 33,000 office administrative services companies provide a wide range of services that support the internal operation of a workplace. Firms reduce administrative burdens by providing contract talent resources and tools that enable clients to better control personnel costs by using services as needed. Service categories include bookkeeping and compilation, accounting, payroll, tax preparation, billing and record keeping, document processing and editing, copying and reproduction, strategic management consulting and implementation, information technology and network management, project management, human resources, and bundled services.
Labor-Intensive
The office administrative services industry is highly dependent on skilled workers, including accountants, bookkeepers, and experienced payroll professionals.
Increased M&A Activity in Business Process Outsourcing
US businesses are increasingly outsourcing front- and back-office functions to reduce overhead costs, generating business process outsourcing (BPO) growth that has produced strong valuations and a rise in mergers and acquisitions.
Industry size & Structure
The average office administrative services provider operates out of a single location, employs about 19 workers, and generates about $2-3 million annually.
- The office administrative services industry consists of about 33,000 firms that employ over 630,000 workers and generate about $80 billion annually.
- The industry is fragmented with the top 50 companies accounting for about 10% of industry revenue.
- Firms that generate less than $1 million annually account for over 50% of companies and 9% of industry revenue. Firms that generate $5 million or more annually account for 8% of companies and almost 65% of industry revenue.
- Large firms, such as ADP and Robert Half, may have international operations.
Industry Forecast
Office Administrative Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Oct 31, 2024 - Accounting Groups Propose Alternate Path for New CPAs
- To alleviate a nationwide shortage of accountants, two national accounting groups have proposed a streamlining of the educational process for becoming a CPA, according to The Wall Street Journal. Under current standards in all 50 states, students must complete 150 college credit hours – amounting to an additional year of college – to attain a CPA license. Industry observers suggest that fewer students pursue accounting in recent years due to the time and expense of additional schooling and more competitive salaries in comparable fields such as tech or banking. The American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy have suggested an alternate path to becoming a CPA, which allows candidates to replace the extra schooling with one year of work experience. Several states are considering the change. However, some industry insiders say the existing requirements ensure that candidates meet the same standard nationwide.
- Economic forecasters’ view of the US labor market is mainly optimistic, according to the most recent survey of economists by The Wall Street Journal. Overall, the panel of 66 economists’ view of the jobs situation was generally in line with the previous survey in July 2024. They expect the US employment rate will be about 4.2% by the end of the year and that the US will add an average of about 130,400 jobs per month over the next year. While the forecasters’ view does mark a slight cooling of the US labor market, they do not expect a significant increase in unemployment.
- US average shift work volume decreased by 1.9% in October compared to the prior month, according to data compiled by HR solutions firm UKG. The drop in shift work was attributed to the disruptions caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. However, UKG noted that shift work patterns outside the affected regions were at or near the historic monthly rate. The public sector industry led the October decline in shift work with a drop of 5.3%, followed by manufacturing, which fell 2.1%. Healthcare shift work increased 0.6% in October and retail, foodservice and hospitality was flat. The hurricanes caused a 3.7% decline in shift work in the Southeast in October. Shiftwork also fell 1.4% in the West and 1% in the Midwest. Shift work in the Northeast was flat.
- The troubled office space market may be turning a corner as major companies require workers to spend more time in the office, according to The Wall Street Journal. Amazon, Dell, and 3M have recently issued requirements for more office time for some of their teams. In the third quarter of 2024, a third of all firms required workers to be in the office five days per week, according to workplace strategy tracking firm Flex Index. The push for more in-office time comes amid a cooling of the US white-collar jobs market, which has shifted the balance of power back to companies. While industry observers doubt if workplace occupancies will ever return to pre-pandemic levels, some believe the market may have finally hit bottom. In the second and third quarters of 2024, the amount of occupied office space has remained stable after eight consecutive quarters of contractions, according to data firm CoStar. Office occupancy is a key demand driver for office administrative services.
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