The Unstoppable Accountant - Grow your Accounting Firm
For all things business, entrepreneurship and finance!
Hi Arun here, in this podcast I will happily share my ideas, successes and failures in growing my businesses, investment ideas, and juggling this all in a rapidly changing world.
If you are looking to grow your business, build a global team, or just need inspiration to make it happen, you have come to the right place for inspiration and action.
If you have enjoyed this podcast, make sure you check out my youtube channel, and also my global accountancy company webpage - https://sameraglobal.com/
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Arun
The Unstoppable Accountant - Grow your Accounting Firm
Expanding Horizons: How Offshoring to India Could Revolutionize Your Accounting Firm
Ready for a voyage across borders that could transform your accountancy firm? Arun Mehra, the visionary CEO guiding Samara's expansion beyond the UK, shares the fascinating tale of embracing offshore accounting services in India. His expertise in healthcare accounting and the quest to address UK labour market challenges laid the path for this strategic evolution. We unpack the meticulous process of setting up shop in India, from mastering local laws to establishing banking relations. Arun's candid conversation reveals how assembling a motivated and skilled team overseas has not only bolstered their ability to tackle everything from bookkeeping to tax preparation, but also opened doors to a global clientele, proving the universal appeal of their accounting acumen.
As we delve into the world of offshore partnerships, Arun highlights the unshakable trust that bonds UK firms with distant resources. Discover the rigorous recruitment protocols, unwavering GDPR compliance, and the UK-based support system that keeps client concerns at bay. In an industry where personal connections often dictate success, Arun shares plans for an exclusive trip to India, inviting clients to connect with their offshore team and immerse in Indian culture – a visit to the majestic Taj Mahal included. This is more than just an episode; it's an invitation to witness a day in the life of offshore accounting, where cultural bridges are built and the foundation of trust is fortified. Join us for these stories and strategies that may well redefine the future of your business accounting solutions.
Hi guys, Welcome today with a new venture that we're going to start with our company. As the title suggests, new chapter. We're going to be talking about offshore accounting here with my CEO, Aaron Merrow.
Speaker 2:How are you Aaron? Hey, Proj, I'm good. Thanks, how are you doing today?
Speaker 1:Not too bad today.
Speaker 2:Good, good, good, right, so it's a new chapter. Well, it is a new chapter, it is a new chapter more than willing to start.
Speaker 1:So let's begin with your story, Aaron. Tell us your background. What's your journey been so far?
Speaker 2:Sure, sure, sure, okay. So I started off Samara over 20 years ago as an accountancy firm in the healthcare sector, predominantly for dentists, and over the years we've grown the firm. We've got more clients dentists Now we've added doctors, pharmacies, you name it. We deal with all healthcare clients. But over the years also, we found that it was really difficult to actually find good resource, good staff here in the UK, an aging population, less people coming into accounting. So we realized that, okay, we need to find an alternative solution. So we started using offshoring firms overseas, in India, and that worked pretty well for a while. But then we realized, you know what, we can do this ourselves.
Speaker 2:So in the last few years we've set up our own team in India and this team is now supporting our existing clients okay, our existing Samara clients the doctors, the dentists, the pharmacies, all that type of thing. But also now we're now supporting other accountancy firms with their needs, with their resourcing needs, because this problem isn't going away. This problem is actually just probably growing. Okay, less people are coming into accounting. Accountancy firms need your resource and if you're serious about growing your firm, you need good people. And if you haven't got good people, you're just going to stagnate or die. So that's kind of. That's the story in a nutshell, pradju.
Speaker 1:That's a great story so far, I would say so. You mentioned the team in India. You mentioned how most of the work regarding offshore accounting goes there. Do you want to briefly tell us about the team in India, who they are and what their roles would be?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the team is vast now. Okay, it's growing at a rate of adding new members every week. Just literally got off the call with someone now who we're hiring, who will start in the next week or so. So we've got a range of people people who are who started at the beginning of their journey in terms of their bookkeepers. We've then got people who are experienced, who can do year end accounts. We've got people who can do tax returns. Some are qualified with UK qualifications, some have got Indian qualifications, some are training to become UK qualified. So we've got the full range of expertise.
Speaker 2:But I think, more importantly, rather than their qualifications and experience, it's their personalities and their hunger, and I think that's the thing that I've really realized with the team in India. They're motivated, they're driven and they really want to do well. Okay, they want to achieve something, not just for themselves, for their families. So we've really really kind of been lucky that we've got a team of people that really want to succeed. Okay, so that's kind of it sums it up. I could bore you to tears about all about the team, and I think we'll get the team on a separate webinar in the future so you can meet them in the future.
Speaker 1:But in a nutshell, they're fantastic be perfect to actually know who these people are, so that our clients know exactly what they're in for. Of course, I'm sure you must have hired a brilliant team so going about offshore accounting as a whole. I'm pretty sure you must have faced a lot of challenges before starting this venture. Could you just tell us the journey of how you started offshore accounting, why and what are the specific challenges that you faced to date?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, if you look at the specific challenges it's about, actually setting up something in the UK is not too hard work not too hard work, especially if you're based here and you know what you're doing. But when you're setting up a team overseas, you've got to deal with all the local company legislation, the banking regulations, the labour, employment laws over there. So it takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of patience and it's not easy. But when you get to that point and you've achieved all those things, then you can think OK, now we've got to establish infrastructure in place and we can then basically recruit additional staff, take on more clients and support our client base here in the UK. And I say here in the UK, we're not only just doing the UK, we're actually starting to get inquiries from the US and we'll be dealing with clients from the US and similarly elsewhere in the world as well. We'll take on clients as well because our office infrastructure and our team in India can support, because the basic premise of accounting is bookkeeping and tax returns and obviously there are different nuances for different jurisdictions, but we've got the team who are keen, hunger and ready to learn to add to that.
Speaker 2:So, in terms of the challenges, I think the biggest challenge is the first step, going into the unknown. We overcame that and I have a luckily enough. I've been dealing with India for a number of years. I've got Indian heritage, so I've got a lot of contacts and know how and understand the culture of how things work there and what you need to do and how to get things done. So that really gave me the confidence to do this, because I know a lot of people would be very kind of think oh my God, how do I do that? And I understand that and that's why we set this up so we can help other firms. We can help them with their offshoring needs without them having to set up a company, without them having to employ people. We provide that infrastructure for them.
Speaker 1:I think going into the unknown is something every CEO can relate when they go into a new venture. Pretty sure everyone can say that it's not exactly an easy beginning and of course you're going to face a lot of challenges. But it's great to know that you've gone through it and of course I mean I'm here. So one of the many reasons why we have started this new venture. I'm so happy to be a part of it, aaron.
Speaker 2:So going into more sorry, go on, carol.
Speaker 1:So going into more Samira as a whole, I know that we don't only do just offshore accounting. We have other services as well. Do you want to briefly talk about what else do we offer to our clients and as to what exactly started this company?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So, as I said earlier, I think we have two kind of groups of clients now. One are our healthcare clients, and to those healthcare clients we basically offer the full solution bookkeeping, accounting, tax returns, company accounts, corporation tax, payroll, paye, you name it. We do it all. In addition, for those types of companies, if they need to raise finance to acquire another business, to acquire equipment, to grow businesses, we also can help them raise finance Because we're an FCA regulated commercial finance broker. So that's one part of the business which sits separately and that's the support UK-orientated healthcare businesses.
Speaker 2:The second side of the business is no doubt the offshoring solution, as we've mentioned, and that's supporting accounting firms and other businesses that require accounting support.
Speaker 2:So if you, for instance, we're running a business or running a firm here, prudhu in the UK, you're an accountant and you haven't got enough resource, you need a bookkeeper or you need an accountant to do tax returns you would approach us and you say, oh, I need someone to do this, can you find me someone? And then we'd find someone suitable. They'll join our team in India and then they would work for you, dedicated for you and for your needs, and that's kind of what we do and that's working very, very well and it provides an infrastructure to many, many firms. And if I had to say who are our target clients? Our target clients for that part of the business are certainly the small to medium size accounts, that's he firms here across the UK where they don't have the knowledge, where they don't have the know how or the resource or the contacts to set up their own function in India, but they want to benefit from an offshoring solution to help them grow their firm.
Speaker 1:So that's kind of where we are quite unique in that space. That's great to know. Also, another thing is in terms of most industries. So all these practices, they require high levels of trust, openness. It goes beyond regular business partnerships, especially offshoring. Considering businesses are giving a lot of their time and effort to a team in India to take care of, let's say, bookkeeping, what would you ensure that this remains strong throughout the relationship between the team in India and the clients that we get?
Speaker 2:A very good question. Trust is at the heart of what we do as charter counters. We're dealing with sensitive information, sensitive numbers, and therefore trust has to be at the heart of it. If we lose the trust of any one client, all these game over for us, that client will never come back to us. We firstly ensure that we hire the right resource in India. We do all the background checks. We then obviously make sure they've got the prerequisites skill set to do the job and if not, we can train them up to an ability or to a standard that meets the requirement. Similarly, in terms of data transfer, we comply with all the GDPR regulations here in the UK and obviously with the Indian Data Acts as well. But most importantly, I think it goes back to people. You can have all the pieces of paper out there in the world that say you do this, you do that, but inevitably sometimes things might not work out, things might not go right. But having the ability for the client here in the UK or in the US to pick up the phone and say, aaron, you know what? This isn't right. I'm not happy with this. Can you sort this out? That's a big difference, I think, with many other firms that we deal with.
Speaker 2:We're here in the UK. We're not going anywhere. We're an established firm. It's not just me. I have other team members here in the UK. We're a growing team and we're here to provide that solution. We're not sitting in far away in India. My team, my UK team, are based here and the door's always open, happy to meet for a coffee, happy to meet for lunch, happy to have a discussion at your offices or mine, and that builds that trust. And offshoring is ultimately a relationship business, as was anything in professional services, and we welcome anyone's custom and if they have questions, we would love to discuss these issues and their thoughts with us.
Speaker 1:Well, that's a strong point, I would say, in terms of trust, obviously speaking to the Indian team and also to the team in the UK. There's also an event that I guess you're hosting in about August or September for clients to come and visit us in India for about five days. Do you want to talk to clients? Exactly what?
Speaker 2:that's about.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure that's one way our clients will be more open and more trustworthy towards us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, great point. Actually, it's now October. I've pushed it back I'll be honest with you, prudy because we've got so much going on. I just don't have the time in the diary to do everything.
Speaker 2:But we know that trust is at the heart of this and I know for many people who are thinking about offshoring, the big hurdle for them is thinking oh my God, I'm going to send all my information or client information to a foreign country, and who are these people over there? And India is an exotic place, but I don't know anyone over there. I don't know what it's like. How can I trust them? And the way to break down barriers is ultimately to get to know, to get to know people, and therefore we're more than happy to invite clients and potential clients with us to India, and we're planning to go in October.
Speaker 2:All the details are on our website and you can make an application. Come with us and we'll show you how we do things. Meet some of the team, understand what we do, how we can potentially help you. You'll get to understand the Indian people a little bit more as well and their culture, which I think is very, very important.
Speaker 2:Don't see offshoring as just someone who you're just handing something over to and forgetting about it. You'll get the best out of your people and best out of your team and best out of your offshoring team if you get to know the people and you can build the relationships with them. So we will encourage that and we would invite you and extend an open invitation to you to come and join us in October. All the details are on the website and if it's your first time in India, you'll get a real pleasant surprise and in addition, we'll certainly make a trip to. I know everyone's heard of the Taj Mahal, so we'll even make a plan trip for a day trip there as well, from Delhi as well. So if you need any help and are interested in coming, please do come along.
Speaker 1:Well, if any of our clients are actually planning their holidays, do work your way around this, because it's gonna be a great trip if you just come with us. No, it sounds like a business trip, guys, but trust me, it's gonna be worth a holiday. Last but not least, I would just wanna ask we talked about the background in the beginning of this webinar, but what I really wanna know more about it is your journey. You as a person, like from the point where you started working college all the way up to now. Go Samira, that will be a journey as a whole, because it's been about I could bore you to tears with this Prudy, but I'll give you a snapshot.
Speaker 2:Maybe we can do a separate webinar on this subject. Actually my journey. I'm not sure everyone or anyone would be particularly interested, but I happily do. I can give a potted version today.
Speaker 2:So, as some people will know, I have a degree in engineering actually okay and I got a first in engineering from Bristol and then I decided you know what, I'm gonna go into finance. So I joined PWC or Coopers and Library I do what's called in those days in London, trained there as an accountant for a few years, went into the city, worked in investment banking, absolutely hated it, married a dentist and then decided you know what, there's an opportunity. And that's when I stopped off Samera. I married a dentist and saw my wife Smith, as knowledge of finance and the business affairs was slim, to say the least. So I saw the opportunity and that's where we grew from there.
Speaker 2:And has it been a smooth ride along the way? No, okay, certainly hasn't. Has it been bumpy? Absolutely. Would I do it again? 100% okay, I've enjoyed every moment of it and I'm still enjoying it now. And I'm really enjoying it now, having now the ability to build a team in India and meet new people and expand there.
Speaker 2:And I think one of the things that really thought to our growth here in the UK I'll be honest with you, and I think that's the case with many small to medium sized firms was manpower. And by now having this available manpower that I can tap into and grow and build, it's really, really made, kind of given a real zest back into the business, a real excitement back in the business. So and I can see things are moving in the right direction. So it's actually a really, really exciting time to be part of it. So that's a very potted history project. I won't go into more detail now because I think there's a whole webinar and a half on this I could talk about and we could do that one day separately. So I'll answer your question in a short way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll say I guess short way that's great, but yeah, like you said, a good webinar about a whole story. Yeah, a lot of people are here roller coaster of emotions, just like what most people are gonna face in their lives, and honestly, it's great to hear from your side, aaron, about offshore accounting, about yourself, about the team in India and about this new venture. So let's say all the best to this new chapter and let's kick the ground running.
Speaker 2:Okay, thanks, Prodigy. Thanks very much. Okay, Watch out for our next webinar. I'm sure there'll be plenty coming, okay.
Speaker 1:There'll be plenty of stories, plenty of ideas coming through, that's for sure.