UK Hiring Crisis: Build Your Own GCC Now

1 00:00:17,210 - > 00:00:20,969 Arun: Hi everyone to the second edition of the GCC webinar with 2 00:00:20,969 - > 00:00:23,289 Deep and Arun of Samara Global. 3 00:00:23,289 - > 00:00:24,170 How are you guys doing? 4 00:00:24,170 - > 00:00:26,090 Good, good. 5 00:00:26,090 - > 00:00:26,649 All good. 6 00:00:26,649 - > 00:00:29,850 Yes, of course. 7 00:00:29,850 - > 00:00:30,730 All good. 8 00:00:30,730 - > 00:00:34,650 So for all of our attendees, thank you so much for if you do 9 00:00:34,650 - > 00:00:37,289 attend the webinar right now, thank you so much for attending. 10 00:00:37,289 - > 00:00:40,170 And if you don't attend it, the live stream will be available 11 00:00:40,170 - > 00:00:41,049 after the webinar. 12 00:00:41,049 - > 00:00:44,409 So just to kickstart, today's webinar, the topic we're going 13 00:00:44,409 - > 00:00:49,369 to be exploring is the current situation in the UK and how you 14 00:00:49,369 - > 00:00:51,210 can build your own offshore team. 15 00:00:51,210 - > 00:00:55,369 This can go for an accounting firm, a DSO, or for any company 16 00:00:55,369 - > 00:00:58,250 that's actually interested in solving their current hiring 17 00:00:58,250 - > 00:00:58,730 issues. 18 00:00:58,730 - > 00:01:03,689 So, guys, straight away the first question What's the real 19 00:01:03,689 - > 00:01:07,129 problem that mid-tier firms or accountancy firms are actually 20 00:01:07,129 - > 00:01:08,409 facing in the UK? 21 00:01:10,329 - > 00:01:13,289 As a firm owner, finding manpower. 22 00:01:13,289 - > 00:01:18,890 Finding good manpower for decent rates and who are capable 23 00:01:18,890 - > 00:01:19,210 to do it. 24 00:01:19,210 - > 00:01:20,569 I think that's the bottom line. 25 00:01:20,569 - > 00:01:21,689 Period. 26 00:01:21,689 - > 00:01:22,009 Okay. 27 00:01:22,009 - > 00:01:25,689 I'm a firm owner, but I speak to many other firm owners, and 28 00:01:25,689 - > 00:01:27,289 they all find the same problem. 29 00:01:27,289 - > 00:01:29,849 They struggle to find people, whether it's accountants, 30 00:01:29,849 - > 00:01:34,009 whether it's auditors, whether it's tax people, but across the 31 00:01:34,009 - > 00:01:36,409 sector, there's an issue finding people. 32 00:01:40,169 - > 00:01:43,930 Deepak: As Arun rightly said, uh getting the right talent is the 33 00:01:43,930 - > 00:01:46,650 uh foremost issue which the West faces. 34 00:01:46,650 - > 00:01:50,090 And it's not just the UK, but almost all the Western 35 00:01:50,090 - > 00:01:50,650 countries. 36 00:01:50,650 - > 00:01:55,050 I recently had to uh happen to have read an accountant CH 37 00:01:55,050 - > 00:01:58,650 report uh of Feb 25 edition, which stated that there's a 38 00:01:58,650 - > 00:02:02,729 significant accountancy skill shortage uh in the accounting 39 00:02:02,729 - > 00:02:03,210 sector. 40 00:02:03,210 - > 00:02:07,289 Uh then if we talk about the mid firms specifically, so there 41 00:02:07,289 - > 00:02:10,409 are large players like big fours and corporates, they can 42 00:02:10,409 - > 00:02:13,610 offer hybrid work culture, they can offer global exposure, 43 00:02:13,610 - > 00:02:14,409 higher pays. 44 00:02:14,409 - > 00:02:18,490 So it's a bit tough for the mid firms to compete in those uh 45 00:02:18,490 - > 00:02:19,129 areas. 46 00:02:19,129 - > 00:02:23,290 And if you see the uh reports from major accounting bodies, 47 00:02:23,290 - > 00:02:27,050 you'll see a downward trend in the new admissions in these 48 00:02:27,050 - > 00:02:31,370 courses, be it ECCA, be it ICAW, uh CA. 49 00:02:31,370 - > 00:02:34,010 So there's been a downward trend in the number of new 50 00:02:34,010 - > 00:02:34,890 admissions. 51 00:02:35,849 - > 00:02:40,090 Praju: So is this an issue in terms of let's say the quality 52 00:02:40,090 - > 00:02:42,890 of people that are available right now on the market, or is 53 00:02:42,890 - > 00:02:46,330 it just because like it's it's too expensive to get to get 54 00:02:46,330 - > 00:02:47,610 these people on board? 55 00:02:48,170 - > 00:02:50,010 Arun: I don't think it's expensive, I think it's just the 56 00:02:50,010 - > 00:02:52,890 quality of people, and I think less people are entering the uh 57 00:02:52,890 - > 00:02:54,010 accounting profession. 58 00:02:54,010 - > 00:02:57,129 So people are retiring at the top end, but less people are 59 00:02:57,129 - > 00:02:57,689 coming through. 60 00:02:57,689 - > 00:03:00,969 Yet the requirements for compliance and everything, 61 00:03:00,969 - > 00:03:02,890 honestly, it's still significant. 62 00:03:02,890 - > 00:03:07,689 Um, so it just keeps um keeps going, you know, it just keeps 63 00:03:07,689 - > 00:03:11,610 keeps um it's it's it's it's the point where you just need 64 00:03:11,610 - > 00:03:11,849 people. 65 00:03:11,849 - > 00:03:14,570 And I've seen it in my own firm where I struggled for many 66 00:03:14,570 - > 00:03:18,010 years, and the only way I could solve that is by building a team 67 00:03:18,010 - > 00:03:20,969 overseas to support me um and my firm. 68 00:03:20,969 - > 00:03:24,490 Otherwise, you'd have a revolving door of people, you 69 00:03:24,490 - > 00:03:27,370 think they're good, you pay a recruiter's fee, um, they come 70 00:03:27,370 - > 00:03:29,849 on board, and then you realize they don't have the skill set, a 71 00:03:29,849 - > 00:03:32,409 poor attitude, it could be a variety of things, and you're 72 00:03:32,409 - > 00:03:35,849 back at square one, just and you've built, but you all those 73 00:03:35,849 - > 00:03:38,170 relationships you've built with clients is just getting damaged, 74 00:03:38,170 - > 00:03:41,129 or clients decide, you know what, I've got I've had enough. 75 00:03:41,129 - > 00:03:44,650 Um we can't we can't um stay with that accountancy firm 76 00:03:44,650 - > 00:03:44,969 anymore. 77 00:03:44,969 - > 00:03:48,250 So I think that that that is the big issue. 78 00:03:48,250 - > 00:03:51,290 And I think as you deeper rightly pointed out, we've we've 79 00:03:51,290 - > 00:03:54,810 as a firm as Samara Global, we've just taken on our first 80 00:03:54,810 - > 00:03:56,330 kind of US clients. 81 00:03:56,330 - > 00:03:59,290 Um, and because the same issue is sitting over there, it's 82 00:03:59,290 - > 00:04:01,370 there in Canada, it's in Australia, it's it's everywhere, 83 00:04:01,370 - > 00:04:02,890 not just the UK thing. 84 00:04:03,290 - > 00:04:07,370 Praju: So would you say, like for mid-tier firms, like hiring 85 00:04:07,370 - > 00:04:11,050 locally, is it is it on the verge of going completely? 86 00:04:11,370 - > 00:04:12,250 Arun: I don't think no, no, no. 87 00:04:12,250 - > 00:04:13,290 I don't think it's on the verge of going. 88 00:04:13,290 - > 00:04:16,569 You need good people locally, you still need good people, you 89 00:04:16,569 - > 00:04:19,050 need people, um, and there's there are good people, of course 90 00:04:19,050 - > 00:04:22,329 there are, but you need to augment that with other team 91 00:04:22,329 - > 00:04:24,889 members because the people who locally might want to do uh 92 00:04:24,889 - > 00:04:28,170 higher skilled work or more interesting work potentially, 93 00:04:28,170 - > 00:04:31,049 and so then some some of the simpler work can be put overseas 94 00:04:31,049 - > 00:04:32,810 um into another team. 95 00:04:32,810 - > 00:04:35,769 But even there, I think that we were finding team members 96 00:04:35,769 - > 00:04:39,129 overseas want good quality and interesting work to do as well. 97 00:04:39,129 - > 00:04:42,250 So um, so it's important you you don't just think I'm gonna 98 00:04:42,250 - > 00:04:45,209 just outsource or offshore the the kind of basic work because 99 00:04:45,209 - > 00:04:47,769 many, many people won't necessarily think it when even 100 00:04:47,769 - > 00:04:49,129 when they're offshore, though I don't want to do that. 101 00:04:49,129 - > 00:04:51,289 I want more interesting work, they want to grow, they want to 102 00:04:51,289 - > 00:04:51,689 develop. 103 00:04:51,689 - > 00:04:56,649 So it's a um, so it's it's key to hire the right people in your 104 00:04:56,649 - > 00:04:59,129 local market, but also the right people in your overseas 105 00:04:59,129 - > 00:05:00,649 kind of domain as well. 106 00:05:01,609 - > 00:05:05,849 Praju: So with the we just said don't just offshore the basic 107 00:05:05,849 - > 00:05:08,649 work or just don't offshore any work, right? 108 00:05:08,649 - > 00:05:12,409 So if you're on an accountancy firm right now and today, like 109 00:05:12,409 - > 00:05:15,529 what roles are most effective right now to offshore first? 110 00:05:15,529 - > 00:05:19,930 Not necessarily just India, could be any country, but what 111 00:05:19,930 - > 00:05:23,289 roles are most effective right now for for the currency firm to 112 00:05:23,289 - > 00:05:24,810 offshore first right now? 113 00:05:25,049 - > 00:05:27,129 Arun: Well, Deepak, you'll probably know better than this 114 00:05:27,129 - > 00:05:28,889 as you worked in this space a long enough time. 115 00:05:28,889 - > 00:05:31,449 You've seen it many years over many years. 116 00:05:31,449 - > 00:05:34,810 Which which roles have you seen offshore or outsourced from 117 00:05:34,810 - > 00:05:35,289 your perspective? 118 00:05:35,449 - > 00:05:39,049 Deepak: So, Praju, uh frankly speaking, I think uh a lot of 119 00:05:39,049 - > 00:05:42,810 the uh work which is done in the West can be offshore and is 120 00:05:42,810 - > 00:05:45,689 being outsourced to India presently, starting from 121 00:05:45,689 - > 00:05:48,649 bookkeeping to preparing your management accounts, your EN 122 00:05:48,649 - > 00:05:50,089 counts, your personal tax returns. 123 00:05:50,089 - > 00:05:52,250 You name it, and we have a process over here. 124 00:05:52,250 - > 00:05:55,289 Other than that, we have also seen insurance claims, you know, 125 00:05:55,289 - > 00:05:58,489 bank end insurance claim settlements, uh, schedule 126 00:05:58,489 - > 00:06:00,569 appointments, uh customer support. 127 00:06:00,569 - > 00:06:04,649 So there's a there's a whole array of uh you know uh 128 00:06:04,649 - > 00:06:07,609 operations which can be outsourced, uh, particularly if 129 00:06:07,609 - > 00:06:10,089 we talk about the outer accountancy firm. 130 00:06:10,089 - > 00:06:13,769 So to start with, I think for any firm uh who is you know 131 00:06:13,769 - > 00:06:16,489 entering this venture for the very first time and to gain 132 00:06:16,489 - > 00:06:19,689 momentum and confidence, the first step is will be to 133 00:06:19,689 - > 00:06:22,489 outsource maybe some bookkeeping, train the teams in 134 00:06:22,489 - > 00:06:26,250 India because training and uh preparing that culture, that uh 135 00:06:26,250 - > 00:06:29,209 imparting proper training is really important if we need 136 00:06:29,209 - > 00:06:30,489 quality output, right? 137 00:06:30,489 - > 00:06:34,889 What you it's it's as simple as that, what you input, uh uh the 138 00:06:34,889 - > 00:06:36,409 the outcome is based on that. 139 00:06:36,409 - > 00:06:39,129 So training is an important element, and I think to start 140 00:06:39,129 - > 00:06:40,889 with, we can start with bookkeeping work. 141 00:06:40,889 - > 00:06:43,930 Gradually it can be moved on to preparing management accounts. 142 00:06:43,930 - > 00:06:47,209 Then we can train the teams to provide your ear end teams to 143 00:06:47,209 - > 00:06:49,849 support year end work, personal translators. 144 00:06:49,849 - > 00:06:53,769 So the the flow has to be transitional and in phases. 145 00:06:53,769 - > 00:06:56,729 You can't just dump into everything in one go, that will 146 00:06:56,729 - > 00:06:57,289 be a mess. 147 00:06:57,289 - > 00:07:00,729 But gradually, starting from bookkeeping to higher end, uh, 148 00:07:00,729 - > 00:07:02,089 you know, like due diligence. 149 00:07:02,089 - > 00:07:05,289 We have started doing due diligence from our India team, 150 00:07:05,289 - > 00:07:06,649 the India team completes lab. 151 00:07:06,649 - > 00:07:10,569 So I think audit should use, audit support, everything can be 152 00:07:10,569 - > 00:07:13,370 uh transitioned to India, but to start with, it will be 153 00:07:13,370 - > 00:07:16,169 bookkeeping and slowly transition to other phases, and 154 00:07:16,169 - > 00:07:18,329 training will play a vital role here. 155 00:07:18,889 - > 00:07:19,289 Arun: Correct. 156 00:07:19,289 - > 00:07:22,409 Training is imperative here, but the capability is there in 157 00:07:22,409 - > 00:07:22,729 India. 158 00:07:22,729 - > 00:07:25,209 It's just people just need to be guided and trained in the 159 00:07:25,209 - > 00:07:25,930 right way. 160 00:07:26,729 - > 00:07:29,370 Praju: Okay, but in terms of like let's say training and 161 00:07:29,370 - > 00:07:32,569 let's say finding the right people, when someone thinks of 162 00:07:32,569 - > 00:07:35,289 offshoring or outsourcing or something, the first thing that 163 00:07:35,289 - > 00:07:38,810 comes into your head is I've done this before, or I've heard 164 00:07:38,810 - > 00:07:42,810 stories, I've heard people say like good things, bad things, 165 00:07:42,810 - > 00:07:43,049 right? 166 00:07:43,049 - > 00:07:45,049 There's there's both sides of the coin. 167 00:07:45,049 - > 00:07:48,569 I think right now what people would be looking for more is 168 00:07:48,569 - > 00:07:52,569 like it feels very transactional when you do outsourcing and 169 00:07:52,569 - > 00:07:52,969 offshore. 170 00:07:52,969 - > 00:07:56,889 I want something that's a bit that's a bit more long-term 171 00:07:56,889 - > 00:08:00,649 focused, something that I would say that I would say is a bit 172 00:08:00,649 - > 00:08:05,930 more they want to have control, they want a bit more ownership 173 00:08:05,930 - > 00:08:06,569 to it. 174 00:08:06,569 - > 00:08:08,649 What what would you suggest to them? 175 00:08:08,649 - > 00:08:10,089 Like, what would be the model for them? 176 00:08:10,489 - > 00:08:12,089 Arun: Uh it's very clear to me. 177 00:08:12,089 - > 00:08:17,930 As someone who as a firm at Samera Global, we we we we 178 00:08:17,930 - > 00:08:20,729 initially started providing outsourcing and offshoring 179 00:08:20,729 - > 00:08:24,009 services to accounts, but the pushback I got from clients or 180 00:08:24,009 - > 00:08:26,649 potential clients was saying, Well, actually, I want to have 181 00:08:26,649 - > 00:08:28,009 control over it myself. 182 00:08:28,009 - > 00:08:31,449 So if you're gonna go into this on a long skip long-term basis, 183 00:08:31,449 - > 00:08:34,090 the only option really is to set up your own operation 184 00:08:34,090 - > 00:08:37,529 overseas, okay, and make that be a subsidiary of your business. 185 00:08:37,529 - > 00:08:40,090 The kind of fancy term that everyone's using now is called 186 00:08:40,090 - > 00:08:42,169 global global capability center. 187 00:08:42,169 - > 00:08:46,570 That's what people are using, and so effectively that team is 188 00:08:46,570 - > 00:08:50,330 part of your overall organization, um, and they're 189 00:08:50,330 - > 00:08:52,410 part of your culture, and you build that team culture 190 00:08:52,410 - > 00:08:54,730 globally, not just locally in the UK. 191 00:08:54,730 - > 00:08:59,690 So, so the way we've done it is we have UK Samara Limited in 192 00:08:59,690 - > 00:09:02,410 the UK, we have Samara Professional Services PVT 193 00:09:02,410 - > 00:09:03,450 Limited in India. 194 00:09:03,450 - > 00:09:06,810 That is a subsidiary company of our UK business. 195 00:09:06,810 - > 00:09:07,210 Okay. 196 00:09:07,210 - > 00:09:12,009 Um, so our team in India consists of HR directors, admin 197 00:09:12,009 - > 00:09:14,170 directors, obviously lots of accountants, various people 198 00:09:14,170 - > 00:09:17,450 doing the work, but we're we comply with Indian labour law 199 00:09:17,450 - > 00:09:19,690 and taxes and stuff on the Indian company. 200 00:09:19,690 - > 00:09:22,250 Um, but that's all the admin side. 201 00:09:22,250 - > 00:09:26,570 The the real benefit really comes into it that we've got an 202 00:09:26,570 - > 00:09:30,170 integrated team as part of one global organization. 203 00:09:30,170 - > 00:09:33,050 So when you have offshoring and outsourcing sourcing, still a 204 00:09:33,050 - > 00:09:37,370 very vendor um customer relationship, and the vendor can 205 00:09:37,370 - > 00:09:41,610 put the price up, and and uh you have little control as the 206 00:09:41,610 - > 00:09:43,530 client sitting here in the UK. 207 00:09:43,530 - > 00:09:48,970 Whereas if you own that entity sitting in India or wherever it 208 00:09:48,970 - > 00:09:50,810 may be, you have full control. 209 00:09:50,810 - > 00:09:53,370 You can change things, you can organize things, you can recruit 210 00:09:53,370 - > 00:09:56,889 new people, you can change pricing, you can put salaries 211 00:09:56,889 - > 00:09:58,090 up, you can do whatever you want. 212 00:09:58,090 - > 00:10:01,050 Okay, and honestly, that is a game changer. 213 00:10:01,050 - > 00:10:05,129 That's that's that's when you really have control, but most 214 00:10:05,129 - > 00:10:07,850 importantly, you have control over your culture, okay. 215 00:10:07,850 - > 00:10:11,290 And I think that is the thing that so many people who've 216 00:10:11,290 - > 00:10:14,490 failed in this whole area of offshoring and outsourcing, and 217 00:10:14,490 - > 00:10:17,050 I think this is where more and more of these large offshoring 218 00:10:17,050 - > 00:10:19,690 and outsourcing vendor firms are failed or failing their 219 00:10:19,690 - > 00:10:23,930 clients, is because the culture isn't translated across. 220 00:10:23,930 - > 00:10:27,370 But if you can get the culture right, and I'm not saying we 221 00:10:27,370 - > 00:10:30,970 have it perfect, far from it, but our intention is to build a 222 00:10:30,970 - > 00:10:34,650 global culture for a global team that feels part of a global 223 00:10:34,650 - > 00:10:37,450 organization, and that's what we are trying to do. 224 00:10:37,450 - > 00:10:39,370 Deepak, any thoughts? 225 00:10:39,690 - > 00:10:42,570 Deepak: Yeah, just to add to Arun's thing, uh, one of the 226 00:10:42,570 - > 00:10:46,410 issues with the outsourcing model is that uh the resource 227 00:10:46,410 - > 00:10:49,050 retention, you know, you have little to no control over 228 00:10:49,050 - > 00:10:50,330 resource retention. 229 00:10:50,330 - > 00:10:53,290 Someone, a manager or a teammate's been working 230 00:10:53,290 - > 00:10:54,090 perfectly for you. 231 00:10:54,090 - > 00:10:56,730 You want him to interact with your clients, but then these 232 00:10:56,730 - > 00:10:59,290 vendors, the outsourcing vendors, have constraints, have 233 00:10:59,290 - > 00:11:00,170 restrictions. 234 00:11:00,170 - > 00:11:03,290 And you know, uh keeping because they because there's a 235 00:11:03,290 - > 00:11:04,250 third party involved. 236 00:11:04,250 - > 00:11:08,250 So there have to be a margin being uh placed in terms of the 237 00:11:08,250 - > 00:11:09,850 Indian outsourcing partners. 238 00:11:09,850 - > 00:11:13,370 So if a if a resource if a resource is too costly for them, 239 00:11:13,370 - > 00:11:17,290 either they move it to a new client or you you actually the 240 00:11:17,290 - > 00:11:20,570 the story, the gist is that you have little to no control over 241 00:11:20,570 - > 00:11:22,009 resource retention. 242 00:11:22,009 - > 00:11:24,970 They may provide you an alternate resource if you have 243 00:11:24,970 - > 00:11:27,210 issues with the quality, with the concern, but you are not 244 00:11:27,210 - > 00:11:31,050 very sure whether the second resource will be as impactful, 245 00:11:31,050 - > 00:11:32,810 as efficient as the first one. 246 00:11:32,810 - > 00:11:36,250 So then you have little control over that, and then that that 247 00:11:36,250 - > 00:11:40,170 results into you know failures and deliveries, agitation from 248 00:11:40,170 - > 00:11:42,009 clients, escalations from clients. 249 00:11:42,009 - > 00:11:45,930 So these issues in your own in your own GCC, you can train the 250 00:11:45,930 - > 00:11:49,690 person in your culture as per your expectations, which is very 251 00:11:49,690 - > 00:11:51,690 hard in a third-party arrangement. 252 00:11:52,330 - > 00:11:53,690 Arun: Correct, correct, correct. 253 00:11:53,690 - > 00:11:55,930 That's that's paramount, that's the key point. 254 00:11:57,050 - > 00:12:01,690 Praju: Well, well, like going by all what you guys have said, I 255 00:12:01,690 - > 00:12:04,970 mean it sounds it sounds really good on paper, but I'm pretty 256 00:12:04,970 - > 00:12:09,210 sure there's like a process that this goes in terms of setting 257 00:12:09,210 - > 00:12:12,009 up your own entity when someone actually they probably love the 258 00:12:12,009 - > 00:12:12,570 idea now. 259 00:12:12,570 - > 00:12:15,530 Like, now I finally get ownership, I finally get 260 00:12:15,530 - > 00:12:17,930 control, I finally get to take decisions that will be 261 00:12:17,930 - > 00:12:20,970 benefiting my firm in a way that I want to do it. 262 00:12:20,970 - > 00:12:26,970 So, in your expertise and what you've done, what would be a 263 00:12:26,970 - > 00:12:28,250 roadmap for these guys? 264 00:12:28,250 - > 00:12:29,290 How do they start? 265 00:12:29,290 - > 00:12:30,970 What's the next steps? 266 00:12:30,970 - > 00:12:32,889 And how does it end? 267 00:12:34,730 - > 00:12:38,650 Arun: So I'll yeah, you take it, you go for it. 268 00:12:38,970 - > 00:12:42,889 Deepak: So, uh Praju, what we uh literally do, or what we have 269 00:12:42,889 - > 00:12:48,250 the plan uh to set up a GCS in India is uh 30 days or a nine 270 00:12:48,250 - > 00:12:52,170 months, uh three months, sorry, 30 days, 90 days, three months, 271 00:12:52,170 - > 00:12:53,850 systematic phase-wise plan. 272 00:12:53,850 - > 00:12:57,690 So we divide the 90 days into three phases: phase one, two, 273 00:12:57,690 - > 00:12:58,250 and three. 274 00:12:58,250 - > 00:13:01,850 Phase one is as you said, is the blueprint, a lot of 275 00:13:01,850 - > 00:13:05,610 documentation, brainstorming, calls with the client, getting 276 00:13:05,610 - > 00:13:07,530 the processes done on the paper. 277 00:13:07,530 - > 00:13:10,889 So that's the actual work we do on the papers. 278 00:13:10,889 - > 00:13:15,769 The second phase comes from uh 31 to 60 days, which is wherein 279 00:13:15,769 - > 00:13:20,330 we set up the structure, the map we have prepared on papers in 280 00:13:20,330 - > 00:13:20,970 actual life. 281 00:13:20,970 - > 00:13:22,250 We give life to that. 282 00:13:22,250 - > 00:13:26,009 So that means incorporating an entity into a company, finding 283 00:13:26,009 - > 00:13:29,370 your local Indian director if you don't have one, setting up 284 00:13:29,370 - > 00:13:32,570 your major processes, SOPs for them, setting up the 285 00:13:32,570 - > 00:13:36,490 infrastructure, the IT side of things, arranging the vendors, 286 00:13:36,490 - > 00:13:41,210 and then talking the potential uh resources for your production 287 00:13:41,210 - > 00:13:42,330 resources for your team. 288 00:13:42,330 - > 00:13:46,330 And then comes the 61 to 90 day, which is the third phase, 289 00:13:46,330 - > 00:13:50,570 wherein we anticipate going, keeping the transactions live. 290 00:13:50,570 - > 00:13:54,570 So that's the one month wherein we support with the operations, 291 00:13:54,570 - > 00:13:58,889 we overlook the operations, and we help your Indian, the GCC 292 00:13:58,889 - > 00:14:03,690 Indian team to integrate with the headquarters US UK, the uh 293 00:14:03,690 - > 00:14:05,930 foreign entity, the parent company. 294 00:14:05,930 - > 00:14:07,530 So it's a mix, of course. 295 00:14:07,530 - > 00:14:11,610 Looking at the uh you know, compliances in India, uh other 296 00:14:11,610 - > 00:14:14,970 things to be complied, be the labor laws, the GST laws, the 297 00:14:14,970 - > 00:14:19,930 statewise laws, there can be uh increase or a decrease in this 298 00:14:19,930 - > 00:14:24,970 tenure, but the the proposed plan or the broad map which we 299 00:14:24,970 - > 00:14:31,050 follow is a 90-day plan wherein we aim to uh you know aim to go 300 00:14:31,050 - > 00:14:32,570 live with operations. 301 00:14:33,290 - > 00:14:37,210 Arun: And if I could just add one thing, but prior to going 302 00:14:37,210 - > 00:14:41,050 down that 90-day route, we would always do a feasibility for the 303 00:14:41,050 - > 00:14:41,450 client. 304 00:14:41,450 - > 00:14:45,290 It's no point going down that route of 90 days and spending 305 00:14:45,290 - > 00:14:47,450 time and money and everything if we don't actually think it's 306 00:14:47,450 - > 00:14:48,650 actually worthwhile you doing. 307 00:14:48,650 - > 00:14:51,290 So we'd always do quite a detailed feasibility at the 308 00:14:51,290 - > 00:14:55,370 outset, working out the ROI, working out what are your 309 00:14:55,370 - > 00:14:57,930 longer-term plans, and then kind of factoring that into a plan. 310 00:14:57,930 - > 00:15:00,490 It's and it's that plan if you're then happy with, we would 311 00:15:00,490 - > 00:15:02,650 then implement over those 90 days. 312 00:15:03,610 - > 00:15:06,570 Praju: I mean, Arun, I think you can give a bit more of like I 313 00:15:06,570 - > 00:15:09,370 know Deepak's given like a 90 day rollback, but you can say 314 00:15:09,370 - > 00:15:12,330 from experience, like you took time and effort to build 315 00:15:12,330 - > 00:15:13,850 something like this in India. 316 00:15:13,850 - > 00:15:18,410 And Deepak also mentioned like the 31 to 60 days, the 317 00:15:18,410 - > 00:15:20,570 importance of a local director in India. 318 00:15:20,810 - > 00:15:23,129 Arun: Yeah, I think these things I think we've mastered the plan 319 00:15:23,129 - > 00:15:23,370 now. 320 00:15:23,370 - > 00:15:25,690 We've mastered it, we've kind of we've learned from our own 321 00:15:25,690 - > 00:15:28,490 experience of how to do it and who you need and what you need, 322 00:15:28,490 - > 00:15:30,490 and what paperwork you need, which people you need, which 323 00:15:30,490 - > 00:15:33,769 lawyer, which accountant, which kind of um which kind of 324 00:15:33,769 - > 00:15:36,889 ministry you need to be dealing with, which bank account to deal 325 00:15:36,889 - > 00:15:38,250 with, uh, which company. 326 00:15:38,250 - > 00:15:44,650 So these are all um very, very kind of important things to 327 00:15:44,650 - > 00:15:49,450 cover, but it can take time if you're doing it on your own and 328 00:15:49,450 - > 00:15:50,810 you're not sure how to navigate. 329 00:15:50,810 - > 00:15:54,250 And I again I have an in-road into India but through my 330 00:15:54,250 - > 00:15:57,129 history, through my family, through connections and working 331 00:15:57,129 - > 00:15:58,410 with India for so many years. 332 00:15:58,410 - > 00:16:01,290 But I appreciate many people might not have that direct link 333 00:16:01,290 - > 00:16:05,050 into India and don't know what what it's all about. 334 00:16:05,050 - > 00:16:07,610 It's a far foreign land from the UK or US. 335 00:16:07,610 - > 00:16:10,330 Um, but we're there to bridge that gap to help people 336 00:16:10,330 - > 00:16:13,850 understand okay, what um you need to understand kind of 337 00:16:13,850 - > 00:16:17,530 administratively and paper-wise and financially, legally wise, 338 00:16:17,530 - > 00:16:19,450 so on, but also culturally as well. 339 00:16:19,450 - > 00:16:22,970 And that's that's an important thing that shouldn't be negated. 340 00:16:22,970 - > 00:16:25,370 I think it's the culture, cultural understanding is more 341 00:16:25,370 - > 00:16:26,970 important than the other things, okay. 342 00:16:26,970 - > 00:16:30,650 Um, but the key the key point here is if you're going to set 343 00:16:30,650 - > 00:16:34,330 up your own GCC operation out there, this team sitting 344 00:16:34,330 - > 00:16:37,850 overseas in India is not just people sitting over in India, 345 00:16:37,850 - > 00:16:40,810 they are part of your global organization, they're part of 346 00:16:40,810 - > 00:16:41,530 your global group. 347 00:16:41,530 - > 00:16:44,330 You're turning yourself into a global business ultimately. 348 00:16:44,330 - > 00:16:48,650 Um and you just happen to have a great team sitting in India to 349 00:16:48,650 - > 00:16:50,570 support your global business. 350 00:16:51,610 - > 00:16:55,690 Praju: So when a so when a company tries to set up a GCC in 351 00:16:55,690 - > 00:16:59,690 India right now, what is it that they're missing about India 352 00:16:59,690 - > 00:17:01,450 that's not making them take this step? 353 00:17:01,450 - > 00:17:02,570 Like what are they missing? 354 00:17:02,570 - > 00:17:04,650 Like what's maybe what what do you think? 355 00:17:04,650 - > 00:17:07,289 Like if you look at a like a client's mind, a potential 356 00:17:07,289 - > 00:17:10,410 client's mind, what's making them not take that action or 357 00:17:10,410 - > 00:17:12,329 that step to actually do this? 358 00:17:12,730 - > 00:17:16,490 Arun: Fear, fear, fear, the fear of the unknown. 359 00:17:16,490 - > 00:17:19,529 Okay, I'll be brutally accountants are risk-averse 360 00:17:19,529 - > 00:17:19,690 people. 361 00:17:19,690 - > 00:17:22,009 So most of our we're targeting our accountants. 362 00:17:22,009 - > 00:17:22,890 I'm an accountant. 363 00:17:22,890 - > 00:17:26,250 I'd say I'm probably not the norm, okay, but I'm quite an 364 00:17:26,250 - > 00:17:28,009 entrepreneur, business owner, and stuff. 365 00:17:28,009 - > 00:17:30,809 But fear, fear, oh my god, what will my clients say? 366 00:17:30,809 - > 00:17:34,730 Fear, oh what can people in India do this work? 367 00:17:34,730 - > 00:17:37,769 Fear that um, is my data secure? 368 00:17:37,769 - > 00:17:40,650 All of these things, it's the fear, okay. 369 00:17:40,650 - > 00:17:43,850 But all of these fears can be overcome and they can all be 370 00:17:43,850 - > 00:17:44,650 addressed, okay. 371 00:17:44,650 - > 00:17:47,529 You can have the secure data systems, the data results, you 372 00:17:47,529 - > 00:17:49,130 have the GDPR rules in place. 373 00:17:49,130 - > 00:17:52,730 You you have a good team like ourselves, can help hire the 374 00:17:52,730 - > 00:17:55,289 right people in the first place that you know that you're not 375 00:17:55,289 - > 00:17:56,650 getting swizzed, okay. 376 00:17:56,650 - > 00:18:00,809 You're that the fear of kind of um in India, there are great 377 00:18:00,809 - > 00:18:04,090 people, but there are also rogues as well, just like 378 00:18:04,090 - > 00:18:05,610 anywhere else in the world as well. 379 00:18:05,610 - > 00:18:10,329 Okay, so you need to know how to navigate that and understand 380 00:18:10,329 - > 00:18:10,569 that. 381 00:18:10,569 - > 00:18:14,890 And but if you can overcome that barrier of fear, so you 382 00:18:14,890 - > 00:18:18,170 know what, this makes sense, and commercially, honestly, this 383 00:18:18,170 - > 00:18:19,850 makes huge sense, okay. 384 00:18:19,850 - > 00:18:23,769 And that's this is the thing I suppose is quite um quite funny. 385 00:18:23,769 - > 00:18:26,410 I see sometimes is that people, oh no, I can't do it, it's a 386 00:18:26,410 - > 00:18:26,890 long way away. 387 00:18:26,890 - > 00:18:32,170 And people in India um the yet people will pay five times the 388 00:18:32,170 - > 00:18:35,130 salary for someone here who's very average, okay. 389 00:18:35,130 - > 00:18:36,970 Very average at best, okay. 390 00:18:36,970 - > 00:18:40,730 Yeah, I can get someone in India for 20 20% of the salary 391 00:18:40,730 - > 00:18:43,450 or quarter of the salary that's of someone in the UK who can do 392 00:18:43,450 - > 00:18:46,730 a damn good job, and then you could get two people, even three 393 00:18:46,730 - > 00:18:49,529 people that would cover the salary of this person in the UK, 394 00:18:49,529 - > 00:18:52,009 and therefore just think about the efficiencies you can have, 395 00:18:52,009 - > 00:18:53,930 just to think about the deliverals you can have, just 396 00:18:53,930 - > 00:18:56,410 think about all the other services you can then provide. 397 00:18:56,410 - > 00:18:59,370 So I think it's a great question you highlight, Project, 398 00:18:59,370 - > 00:19:04,009 but it's the fear on and also the the the backstory that India 399 00:19:04,009 - > 00:19:11,210 is um backwards and um it's uh it's full of poor people and the 400 00:19:11,210 - > 00:19:13,610 nonsense that's out there, and there is an element of racism, 401 00:19:13,610 - > 00:19:16,090 and I shouldn't really say this, but I I do see it, okay. 402 00:19:16,090 - > 00:19:22,410 Um I do see it, and it's it's it's hugely disappointing, okay, 403 00:19:22,410 - > 00:19:23,930 um, to see that. 404 00:19:23,930 - > 00:19:29,610 But um what I see personally as a business owner, yes, and this 405 00:19:29,610 - > 00:19:30,730 is my business, okay. 406 00:19:30,730 - > 00:19:34,410 I see the pool of unbelievable people out there, the 407 00:19:34,410 - > 00:19:38,329 unbelievable talent that's out there, and until people see that 408 00:19:38,329 - > 00:19:40,009 for themselves, they won't know. 409 00:19:40,009 - > 00:19:41,289 I get that. 410 00:19:41,289 - > 00:19:44,410 Um, but if we can help bridge that gap and introduce them to 411 00:19:44,410 - > 00:19:47,690 quality people, as we are doing, as I mentioned the other day, 412 00:19:47,690 - > 00:19:51,850 we just took on a client in the US and he's hired someone who's 413 00:19:51,850 - > 00:19:52,490 fantastic. 414 00:19:52,490 - > 00:19:55,769 Okay, we've got clients here in the UK we're hiring for. 415 00:19:55,769 - > 00:19:59,529 I think it's you've just got to get over that kind of mindset 416 00:19:59,529 - > 00:20:01,370 that oh, India's backwards. 417 00:20:01,370 - > 00:20:03,850 That's where the future is in terms of manpower. 418 00:20:03,850 - > 00:20:06,569 70% of the population is under 35. 419 00:20:06,569 - > 00:20:07,850 They're tech savvy. 420 00:20:07,850 - > 00:20:10,730 Why do you think Google's just opening up their largest data 421 00:20:10,730 - > 00:20:11,049 centers? 422 00:20:11,049 - > 00:20:14,569 Not in California or in London, it's going to be in a place 423 00:20:14,569 - > 00:20:18,170 called Vizag in eastern India, Andhra Pradesh, their largest 424 00:20:18,170 - > 00:20:19,850 data center in the world. 425 00:20:19,850 - > 00:20:24,490 Who uses um chat GPT more than anywhere in the world? 426 00:20:24,490 - > 00:20:25,130 It's India. 427 00:20:25,130 - > 00:20:27,690 The users inject the volume is India. 428 00:20:27,690 - > 00:20:29,850 Why do you think they're setting up centers over there? 429 00:20:29,850 - > 00:20:33,210 So I think whilst the large corporates see this, okay, it's 430 00:20:33,210 - > 00:20:35,690 the average small businesses that don't really see that. 431 00:20:35,690 - > 00:20:39,370 And we're we're in a perfect position to actually assist 432 00:20:39,370 - > 00:20:41,529 people to get into that space. 433 00:20:41,529 - > 00:20:45,049 Um, so I think if people can get over that fear and that kind 434 00:20:45,049 - > 00:20:48,410 of mindset that, oh no, Indian people or India won't be able to 435 00:20:48,410 - > 00:20:48,650 do it. 436 00:20:48,650 - > 00:20:52,809 I think you if that's you, then we certainly can't help you. 437 00:20:52,809 - > 00:20:54,170 I'll be brutally honest with you. 438 00:20:54,170 - > 00:20:56,410 We don't probably want clients like that, okay? 439 00:20:56,410 - > 00:20:59,210 But if you think, you know what, I've got good people, I 440 00:20:59,210 - > 00:21:02,650 want to find good talent overseas, and um who will 441 00:21:02,650 - > 00:21:06,329 deliver, who will be affordable, who will go out of their way to 442 00:21:06,329 - > 00:21:09,610 please the clients, then we are definitely the people who can 443 00:21:09,610 - > 00:21:10,410 help help. 444 00:21:10,410 - > 00:21:15,130 And sorry, I went on a rant there, but um, feel free. 445 00:21:15,289 - > 00:21:17,289 Praju: Of course, it's a webinar, so people need to know. 446 00:21:17,289 - > 00:21:18,650 Deepak, what about you? 447 00:21:18,650 - > 00:21:21,370 You've been in you've been you've been working in India for 448 00:21:21,370 - > 00:21:22,569 for a very long time. 449 00:21:22,569 - > 00:21:25,850 What have you seen the changes over the years that people may 450 00:21:25,850 - > 00:21:26,410 not know? 451 00:21:26,730 - > 00:21:29,289 Deepak: Uh, before that, uh Praju, I'll just add one thing 452 00:21:29,289 - > 00:21:30,090 to Arun. 453 00:21:30,090 - > 00:21:33,049 So last week we were having a call with a potential client, 454 00:21:33,049 - > 00:21:34,170 uh, Big Dental Group. 455 00:21:34,170 - > 00:21:35,370 Arun was along with. 456 00:21:35,370 - > 00:21:37,850 I think you and Arun both were there in the call. 457 00:21:37,850 - > 00:21:41,210 So one of the fears, as Arun was talking about, the fear, one 458 00:21:41,210 - > 00:21:44,569 of the fears one of the directors had was the long 459 00:21:44,569 - > 00:21:48,009 processes and stringent compliances, complex compliances 460 00:21:48,009 - > 00:21:51,850 wherein it is uh, you know, showed with bribery, corruption, 461 00:21:51,850 - > 00:21:52,890 and things, stuff like that. 462 00:21:52,890 - > 00:21:54,009 He talked about that. 463 00:21:54,009 - > 00:21:58,009 So uh one of the things is that uh I assure that the team in 464 00:21:58,009 - > 00:22:02,250 India and we are there, as Arun said, or will act as a bridge 465 00:22:02,250 - > 00:22:05,930 between the authorities in India and the UK headquarters. 466 00:22:05,930 - > 00:22:08,170 So that's keeping uh side. 467 00:22:08,170 - > 00:22:11,210 Uh you know, uh things have changed a lot. 468 00:22:11,210 - > 00:22:14,730 So I have seen wherein accounts were prepared manually in 469 00:22:14,730 - > 00:22:18,730 India, uh, returns were filed manually, but now India is one 470 00:22:18,730 - > 00:22:22,650 of the economies which has been drastically digitalized. 471 00:22:22,650 - > 00:22:26,569 You talk out any process incorporating a company, the 472 00:22:26,569 - > 00:22:28,170 process is totally digital. 473 00:22:28,170 - > 00:22:31,130 You don't have to visit the registrar's office, it's totally 474 00:22:31,130 - > 00:22:31,529 digital. 475 00:22:31,529 - > 00:22:34,890 You upload your documents, they get verified, you pay the fee, 476 00:22:34,890 - > 00:22:36,410 your entity is incorporated. 477 00:22:36,410 - > 00:22:39,130 You need your digital signatures, you need your bank 478 00:22:39,130 - > 00:22:42,490 card, you need your GST number, everything is digitalized. 479 00:22:42,490 - > 00:22:46,730 And in the recent times, in the recent times, even the even the 480 00:22:46,730 - > 00:22:49,930 tax returns and the tax assessments, the process has 481 00:22:49,930 - > 00:22:51,850 been paperless, faceless. 482 00:22:51,850 - > 00:22:54,890 You don't have to visit the office, it's all you need to 483 00:22:54,890 - > 00:22:58,329 just upload the document, you get the correspondence from the 484 00:22:58,329 - > 00:23:00,809 tax authorities, you revert to them, and the assessment gets 485 00:23:00,809 - > 00:23:00,970 over. 486 00:23:00,970 - > 00:23:05,289 So this India has transitioned, you know, as I run was saying 487 00:23:05,289 - > 00:23:09,850 that 70%, 70% of the population is under 35, and this population 488 00:23:09,850 - > 00:23:14,009 is tech savvy, and they give importies to digitalization. 489 00:23:14,009 - > 00:23:18,490 India is amongst the top countries using the UPI 490 00:23:18,490 - > 00:23:19,289 payments. 491 00:23:19,289 - > 00:23:22,170 You know, none no economy uses that. 492 00:23:22,170 - > 00:23:25,450 So this transition to digitalization is vast, and it 493 00:23:25,450 - > 00:23:29,450 is seen in every sector, every authority, be it incorporating 494 00:23:29,450 - > 00:23:32,730 an entity or compliance, once you are incorporated into India, 495 00:23:32,730 - > 00:23:35,850 once you start your operations, everything is digitalized. 496 00:23:35,850 - > 00:23:38,730 So, of course, there are elements of bribery corruption. 497 00:23:38,730 - > 00:23:42,569 I'll not deny that, but then the situation has really changed 498 00:23:42,569 - > 00:23:46,329 now, and the ease of doing business is really good in 499 00:23:46,329 - > 00:23:46,650 India. 500 00:23:46,650 - > 00:23:49,049 Some of these states even provide you incentives for 501 00:23:49,049 - > 00:23:50,569 setting up these entities. 502 00:23:50,569 - > 00:23:53,450 If you have large capitalist to invest, they provide you 503 00:23:53,450 - > 00:23:54,890 incentives, right? 504 00:23:54,890 - > 00:23:58,090 Has that investment that has that talent? 505 00:23:58,410 - > 00:24:01,930 Arun: Yeah, and I think I think you're right, it's it's so much 506 00:24:01,930 - > 00:24:05,130 easier um now to do things in India. 507 00:24:05,130 - > 00:24:07,930 Maybe but 10-15 years ago it was a lot harder. 508 00:24:07,930 - > 00:24:11,370 But the technology's evolved, uh, the the processes have 509 00:24:11,370 - > 00:24:14,490 evolved, the talents younger, and and and we're seeing an 510 00:24:14,490 - > 00:24:18,009 economy that's growing at seven odd plus percent per year, okay. 511 00:24:18,009 - > 00:24:22,569 Um, and that's why countries like the UK are having a trade 512 00:24:22,569 - > 00:24:25,049 agreement with India, they want to get in into India, they want 513 00:24:25,049 - > 00:24:26,250 to do things with India. 514 00:24:26,250 - > 00:24:30,410 Um, and um, and in order to do that though, you need to set up 515 00:24:30,410 - > 00:24:30,890 operations. 516 00:24:30,890 - > 00:24:34,009 And a great starting point, if even if it's if you're not you 517 00:24:34,009 - > 00:24:36,890 might set up your global capability center in India, and 518 00:24:36,890 - > 00:24:40,410 that's your first step into the Indian market to have certain 519 00:24:40,410 - > 00:24:41,850 processes managed in India. 520 00:24:41,850 - > 00:24:44,170 But once you understand that, you can then start thinking 521 00:24:44,170 - > 00:24:47,529 maybe actually I want to offer services to the Indian market as 522 00:24:47,529 - > 00:24:50,809 well, or products of the Indian market once you've set up 523 00:24:50,809 - > 00:24:51,049 there. 524 00:24:51,049 - > 00:24:56,170 So there's there's vast opportunities for those who have 525 00:24:56,170 - > 00:24:58,569 the foresight, but also you're gonna you've got to have some 526 00:24:58,569 - > 00:24:59,130 balls, okay? 527 00:24:59,130 - > 00:25:01,049 You're gonna have the guts to to do it. 528 00:25:01,049 - > 00:25:07,049 Um, but I think the key message here is India's changed 529 00:25:07,049 - > 00:25:09,370 drastically in the last 20 years, okay. 530 00:25:09,370 - > 00:25:12,809 And um, for those who still think it's quite the back back 531 00:25:12,809 - > 00:25:15,690 end of beyond, I think you'll get a real wake-up call if you 532 00:25:15,690 - > 00:25:16,410 did go and visit. 533 00:25:16,410 - > 00:25:20,090 And by all means, come visit us in India, meet meet Leebook, 534 00:25:20,090 - > 00:25:21,690 meek, meet other team members out there. 535 00:25:21,690 - > 00:25:25,289 I'd they'd be happy to show you around and show you the amazing 536 00:25:25,289 - > 00:25:27,130 places that are there in India. 537 00:25:27,690 - > 00:25:29,850 Praju: Well, someone just mentioned in the chat earlier 538 00:25:29,850 - > 00:25:31,529 India was a tech talent pool alone. 539 00:25:31,529 - > 00:25:34,009 Now India is starting out to be a finance talent hub too. 540 00:25:34,009 - > 00:25:36,009 Teams are evolving a lot. 541 00:25:36,170 - > 00:25:37,529 Arun: Well, agree, agreed. 542 00:25:37,529 - > 00:25:40,650 Sorry, just to add to that, I actually think and and the 543 00:25:40,650 - > 00:25:44,569 Indian tech talent pool of finance is vast, okay. 544 00:25:44,569 - > 00:25:48,490 And they have what 400,000 chartered accountants in India, 545 00:25:48,490 - > 00:25:51,370 800,000 in training as students, okay. 546 00:25:51,370 - > 00:25:55,690 Um, plus all the people who are doing ACCA or part qualified 547 00:25:55,690 - > 00:26:00,569 accountants, the pool is vast, and India is perfectly placed to 548 00:26:00,569 - > 00:26:06,650 be that kind of financial kind of center or hub for global 549 00:26:06,650 - > 00:26:07,370 businesses. 550 00:26:07,370 - > 00:26:12,009 Um, it just takes people with a bit of balls and guts to do it, 551 00:26:12,009 - > 00:26:14,809 but if you do it, the rewards will be vast. 552 00:26:16,009 - > 00:26:19,130 Praju: So you also mentioned the FTA agreement that was recently 553 00:26:19,130 - > 00:26:20,250 signed in July. 554 00:26:20,250 - > 00:26:23,769 And I don't think a lot of businesses are actually aware of 555 00:26:23,769 - > 00:26:27,289 how this FTA agreement can help them or like what they can 556 00:26:27,289 - > 00:26:28,329 benefit out of it. 557 00:26:28,329 - > 00:26:32,650 Has it become, let's say, a little bit a little bit more 558 00:26:32,650 - > 00:26:35,130 easier, a little bit less stressful for businesses to do 559 00:26:35,130 - > 00:26:36,569 some things, and what are certain facts? 560 00:26:36,890 - > 00:26:39,210 Arun: I think it's yeah, I think it's early days yet on the FTA 561 00:26:39,210 - > 00:26:39,529 to be honest. 562 00:26:39,529 - > 00:26:41,930 You know, no one really knows, but there's certain sectors that 563 00:26:41,930 - > 00:26:47,289 may benefit, such as jewellery or um kind of clothing or 564 00:26:47,289 - > 00:26:48,730 various things that could benefit. 565 00:26:48,730 - > 00:26:51,690 I think we won't know until we start seeing maybe two or three 566 00:26:51,690 - > 00:26:52,730 fuse down the line. 567 00:26:52,730 - > 00:26:56,970 Um, but I think what you can see though, and this is this is 568 00:26:56,970 - > 00:27:01,289 a it's this is very apparent to to uh to someone living here in 569 00:27:01,289 - > 00:27:02,009 the UK. 570 00:27:02,009 - > 00:27:06,410 You see now you get three flights a day from on British 571 00:27:06,410 - > 00:27:08,970 Airways that will go to Delhi from the UK, okay. 572 00:27:08,970 - > 00:27:10,329 London to Delhi, okay. 573 00:27:10,329 - > 00:27:13,529 You've got Indigo, another large operator out of India now 574 00:27:13,529 - > 00:27:15,130 flying to Manchester and London. 575 00:27:15,130 - > 00:27:18,809 Okay, the volume of traffic between the UK and India is 576 00:27:18,809 - > 00:27:19,690 growing, okay. 577 00:27:19,690 - > 00:27:22,329 And it's not just people going back to see family, yes, that's 578 00:27:22,329 - > 00:27:25,130 all there, but the volume of business that's increasing is 579 00:27:25,130 - > 00:27:25,370 vast. 580 00:27:25,370 - > 00:27:27,769 So if you're not doing this in India, you're missing out. 581 00:27:27,769 - > 00:27:30,410 Every time I've been to India four times this year, you go on 582 00:27:30,410 - > 00:27:31,210 the plane, it's packed. 583 00:27:31,210 - > 00:27:32,970 Whether you're in economy, whether you're in business 584 00:27:32,970 - > 00:27:36,730 class, it's packed of all shapes and sizes, of all colours, of 585 00:27:36,730 - > 00:27:37,769 all races, okay. 586 00:27:37,769 - > 00:27:40,329 And remember, London is a hub, people are flying in from 587 00:27:40,329 - > 00:27:44,490 Canada, people are flying from the US for that, because the US 588 00:27:44,490 - > 00:27:47,289 is a long way from India, it's like 24, 20 odd hour flights. 589 00:27:47,289 - > 00:27:50,170 So it's a real hub, India is now. 590 00:27:50,170 - > 00:27:53,769 And by virtue of BA, big operator, virgin, bigger 591 00:27:53,769 - > 00:27:56,809 operator, there's big flights going to all these places. 592 00:27:56,809 - > 00:28:00,730 In addition, the international hubs of airports in India are 593 00:28:00,730 - > 00:28:00,970 vast. 594 00:28:00,970 - > 00:28:04,970 You've got the big operators: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, 595 00:28:04,970 - > 00:28:08,329 Chennai, and Hyderabad, those are probably the five biggest 596 00:28:08,329 - > 00:28:08,809 airports. 597 00:28:08,809 - > 00:28:11,930 All flight, you get all flights direct from London now, okay? 598 00:28:11,930 - > 00:28:15,610 All direct, not via Qatar or not via Dubai or anything, all 599 00:28:15,610 - > 00:28:16,009 direct. 600 00:28:16,009 - > 00:28:18,809 What that's telling you is that it's not just certain parts of 601 00:28:18,809 - > 00:28:21,850 India that are benefiting, it's all of India that can benefit, 602 00:28:21,850 - > 00:28:25,529 and vice versa, all of the UK can benefit if people tap in to 603 00:28:25,529 - > 00:28:27,610 the right places for the right things. 604 00:28:27,610 - > 00:28:36,490 Um, so I think um this is a this is a kind of a shift um in 605 00:28:36,490 - > 00:28:41,049 the global economy is shifting that way, okay, towards India. 606 00:28:41,049 - > 00:28:42,250 Does it have problems? 607 00:28:42,250 - > 00:28:43,049 Of course it does. 608 00:28:43,049 - > 00:28:43,769 Are there issues? 609 00:28:43,769 - > 00:28:44,569 Of course there will be. 610 00:28:44,569 - > 00:28:45,450 Is it easy to do? 611 00:28:45,450 - > 00:28:47,049 Of course it's not, okay. 612 00:28:47,049 - > 00:28:50,730 But if you've got if you have the if you've kind of got the 613 00:28:50,730 - > 00:28:55,450 the the stomach and the kind of ask you to build that global 614 00:28:55,450 - > 00:28:59,769 team and um want to do it in a way that um supports and helps 615 00:28:59,769 - > 00:29:01,769 you grow your business, it's to make it scalable. 616 00:29:01,769 - > 00:29:03,850 And that's the thing that stuck that so many businesses 617 00:29:03,850 - > 00:29:06,009 struggle to build a scalable business because you can't find 618 00:29:06,009 - > 00:29:06,650 manpower. 619 00:29:06,650 - > 00:29:09,370 But if you want that team over there who can help you build a 620 00:29:09,370 - > 00:29:12,569 scalable business, whether it's in the finance sector or 621 00:29:12,569 - > 00:29:15,690 technology, that's India will do that for you, and the Indian 622 00:29:15,690 - > 00:29:17,450 people will certainly do that for you. 623 00:29:17,769 - > 00:29:19,210 Praju: I mean, you just mentioned it already. 624 00:29:19,210 - > 00:29:21,049 If you've got the balls to do it, you can do it, right? 625 00:29:21,130 - > 00:29:23,610 Arun: So that's basically how do it. 626 00:29:23,610 - > 00:29:26,730 It's doable, and and but it's important to seek the right 627 00:29:26,730 - > 00:29:29,049 people and the right advice, and you can get it wrong. 628 00:29:29,049 - > 00:29:32,650 And and I'm and you can get it wrong, and you spend money and 629 00:29:32,650 - > 00:29:35,049 time and headaches, and it's like, oh my god, why have I done 630 00:29:35,049 - > 00:29:35,529 this in India? 631 00:29:35,529 - > 00:29:36,569 What am I doing? 632 00:29:36,569 - > 00:29:40,250 But if you do it right, it will change your, it will change 633 00:29:40,250 - > 00:29:42,970 everything, it will change everything for the better. 634 00:29:43,529 - > 00:29:45,529 Praju: Deepak, anything further to add on? 635 00:29:45,690 - > 00:29:48,410 Deepak: Uh yeah, just uh continuation to what Arun said 636 00:29:48,410 - > 00:29:48,730 earlier. 637 00:29:48,730 - > 00:29:50,970 So the rising cost is an issue in the UK. 638 00:29:50,970 - > 00:29:54,250 You know, recently we saw the employers and ICB increased from 639 00:29:54,250 - > 00:29:56,569 13.8% to 15%. 640 00:29:56,569 - > 00:30:00,650 So that rising cost and the competition and then the 641 00:30:00,650 - > 00:30:03,930 pressure of the accountancy shot into skilled labor. 642 00:30:03,930 - > 00:30:05,529 That is, of course, an issue. 643 00:30:05,529 - > 00:30:10,170 And I think almost all of the work uh which an accountant in 644 00:30:10,170 - > 00:30:13,049 the sitting in the UK is doing can easily be offshore. 645 00:30:13,049 - > 00:30:17,769 To India, uh, even with a cost benefit of 30 to 50 percent of 646 00:30:17,769 - > 00:30:18,329 the cost. 647 00:30:18,329 - > 00:30:21,930 So I think we really need to, you know, the West really needs 648 00:30:21,930 - > 00:30:25,289 to think over their hiring strategies, their long-term 649 00:30:25,289 - > 00:30:25,610 plans. 650 00:30:25,610 - > 00:30:27,370 They need to have a long-term vision. 651 00:30:27,370 - > 00:30:32,809 GCCs are not a short-term uh solution, but it's a solution 652 00:30:32,809 - > 00:30:35,450 with long-term planning and long-term vision. 653 00:30:35,850 - > 00:30:36,650 Arun: Yeah, I agree. 654 00:30:36,650 - > 00:30:41,850 And I I think one thing you said is that the uh we know next 655 00:30:41,850 - > 00:30:44,809 month we've got another budget here in the UK, all right. 656 00:30:44,809 - > 00:30:47,769 I can tell you it won't be favorable. 657 00:30:47,769 - > 00:30:50,569 It's very evident, it's not gonna be favorable for UK 658 00:30:50,569 - > 00:30:51,529 taxpayers, okay? 659 00:30:51,529 - > 00:30:53,610 And it's probably not for businesses as well. 660 00:30:53,610 - > 00:30:56,730 So you have to think differently, you have to be 661 00:30:56,730 - > 00:30:57,850 willing to take that risk. 662 00:30:57,850 - > 00:31:00,970 You have to be thinking, well, stink strategically, what's the 663 00:31:00,970 - > 00:31:02,410 strategic direction I want to do? 664 00:31:02,410 - > 00:31:03,850 How am I gonna build my business? 665 00:31:03,850 - > 00:31:06,250 It's all well and good, yeah, you want to employ people here, 666 00:31:06,250 - > 00:31:09,370 but if you're trying to charge a few hundred pounds for a tax 667 00:31:09,370 - > 00:31:11,370 return and it's costing you thousands just to employ 668 00:31:11,370 - > 00:31:13,850 someone, you'll be out of business within weeks. 669 00:31:13,850 - > 00:31:17,049 Okay, so you have to think strategically, how am I gonna 670 00:31:17,049 - > 00:31:20,250 build my business globally to be able to operate here in the UK 671 00:31:20,250 - > 00:31:20,569 market? 672 00:31:20,569 - > 00:31:24,250 Um, um, certainly I see that as an accounting firm owner. 673 00:31:25,130 - > 00:31:28,009 Praju: Well, I would say most people are actually unaware that 674 00:31:28,009 - > 00:31:31,210 such a solution actually exists because I think when they look 675 00:31:31,210 - > 00:31:34,490 at such a GCC, they'll first think, okay, I can only see the 676 00:31:34,490 - > 00:31:35,690 big firms doing it. 677 00:31:35,690 - > 00:31:38,410 That's probably the first thing they'll come up with because 678 00:31:38,410 - > 00:31:40,730 they only see the big firms coming up with huge ass 679 00:31:40,730 - > 00:31:41,210 officers. 680 00:31:41,210 - > 00:31:45,289 But what I've also noticed is you don't necessarily need to be 681 00:31:45,289 - > 00:31:48,009 a big firm to do this, and you don't necessarily need to set up 682 00:31:48,009 - > 00:31:51,370 a GCC the first time just to hire 50 people to cover every 683 00:31:51,370 - > 00:31:52,009 department. 684 00:31:52,009 - > 00:31:54,569 It can start with three, it can start with two. 685 00:31:54,569 - > 00:31:57,850 That's that's how you start with it, starts with small 686 00:31:57,850 - > 00:31:58,650 numbers, guys. 687 00:31:58,650 - > 00:32:02,970 So if anybody's actually unaware of how to do this or how 688 00:32:02,970 - > 00:32:06,410 to get along, feel free to contact Aaron himself. 689 00:32:06,410 - > 00:32:09,210 Feel free to contact Deepak to get a better idea of what we can 690 00:32:09,210 - > 00:32:09,370 do. 691 00:32:09,370 - > 00:32:12,490 Deepak also mentioned the 90-day roadmap, which he 692 00:32:12,490 - > 00:32:13,450 explained. 693 00:32:13,450 - > 00:32:17,450 He can go into that a bit more further over a call, and he can 694 00:32:17,450 - > 00:32:20,490 tell you exactly the ins and outs of what he can do, of what 695 00:32:20,490 - > 00:32:24,170 is possible for you when you go to India and how you can set it 696 00:32:24,170 - > 00:32:25,210 up in India. 697 00:32:25,210 - > 00:32:28,009 Yeah, and another thing is we're not going anywhere, guys. 698 00:32:28,009 - > 00:32:28,650 We're right here. 699 00:32:28,650 - > 00:32:31,529 I mean, and Aaron also mentioned that you know you 700 00:32:31,529 - > 00:32:32,890 could go out of business in weeks. 701 00:32:32,890 - > 00:32:36,410 If you don't want to go out in business in weeks, well, or 702 00:32:36,410 - > 00:32:39,450 let's say if you don't want to go out in business before 2026, 703 00:32:39,450 - > 00:32:42,890 give us a call and we we can help you get there. 704 00:32:42,890 - > 00:32:43,610 Yeah, absolutely. 705 00:32:44,250 - > 00:32:47,049 Arun: Yeah, and I think if I just add to this, Praju I think 706 00:32:47,049 - > 00:32:48,730 the opportunity is there right now. 707 00:32:48,730 - > 00:32:51,690 You need to get in and start setting up your operations, 708 00:32:51,690 - > 00:32:55,130 finding the great talent, establishing a base somewhere 709 00:32:55,130 - > 00:32:57,850 okay, in India if you're gonna be doing this. 710 00:32:57,850 - > 00:33:00,250 This isn't a short-term thing, as Deepak quite clearly 711 00:33:00,250 - > 00:33:00,730 highlighted. 712 00:33:00,730 - > 00:33:03,690 This is a long-term strategic decision you have to make for 713 00:33:03,690 - > 00:33:04,490 your business. 714 00:33:04,490 - > 00:33:08,970 Um I personally don't see in certainly in the area that I 715 00:33:08,970 - > 00:33:12,250 work in, the accounting, finance world, that I still need people 716 00:33:12,250 - > 00:33:13,690 in the UK, of course I do. 717 00:33:13,690 - > 00:33:16,809 But when I see the people in the UK, but I can but I can see 718 00:33:16,809 - > 00:33:18,569 the amount of talent I've got in India. 719 00:33:18,569 - > 00:33:21,930 Why would I kind of um not hire an India? 720 00:33:21,930 - > 00:33:25,930 They're just as capable, just as good, um, and a bigger pool 721 00:33:25,930 - > 00:33:27,370 of people to tap into. 722 00:33:27,370 - > 00:33:28,569 And that's the whole point. 723 00:33:28,569 - > 00:33:30,170 I can scale up, I can build it. 724 00:33:30,170 - > 00:33:33,450 And I think the way I've built my firm is having teams in both 725 00:33:33,450 - > 00:33:34,170 countries. 726 00:33:34,170 - > 00:33:37,610 Um, and I think that's what most organizations need to start 727 00:33:37,610 - > 00:33:40,090 thinking about, and well, not thinking about doing that now. 728 00:33:40,090 - > 00:33:43,769 Um, and for those who take that step, they'll get the benefits 729 00:33:43,769 - > 00:33:44,090 hugely. 730 00:33:44,090 - > 00:33:47,450 But I think it's important to really differentiate between oh, 731 00:33:47,450 - > 00:33:50,809 I have use an outsourcing company or a vendor out there. 732 00:33:50,809 - > 00:33:53,769 Having a GCC is hugely different, okay? 733 00:33:53,769 - > 00:33:57,289 It means investing, it means building a culture, it means 734 00:33:57,289 - > 00:33:59,769 building a team, it means building a global business. 735 00:33:59,769 - > 00:34:02,970 Using an outsourcing company is just very transactional, and 736 00:34:02,970 - > 00:34:05,210 that's why you don't get a good result because it's 737 00:34:05,210 - > 00:34:05,769 transactional. 738 00:34:05,769 - > 00:34:07,769 People don't care, they don't actually care about the work, 739 00:34:07,769 - > 00:34:10,170 they're just doing the work, getting paid their $10 an hour 740 00:34:10,170 - > 00:34:11,529 and handing it back to you. 741 00:34:11,529 - > 00:34:12,969 What are you gonna get for that? 742 00:34:12,969 - > 00:34:14,809 You're never gonna get a good relationship, you're never gonna 743 00:34:14,809 - > 00:34:15,369 get quality. 744 00:34:15,369 - > 00:34:19,690 You get quality by taking that risk and establishing a center 745 00:34:19,690 - > 00:34:21,769 and then um building from that. 746 00:34:23,530 - > 00:34:25,210 Praju: What a good note to end on. 747 00:34:25,210 - > 00:34:29,050 Well, with that being said, guys, this was series two of the 748 00:34:29,050 - > 00:34:29,769 webinar. 749 00:34:29,769 - > 00:34:31,530 And thank you so much for attending. 750 00:34:31,530 - > 00:34:34,650 Thank you all for mentioning in the chat for what we're doing 751 00:34:34,650 - > 00:34:35,210 as well. 752 00:34:35,210 - > 00:34:38,650 So we'll see you in November on November 27th. 753 00:34:38,650 - > 00:34:40,010 Just keep the dates pinned. 754 00:34:40,010 - > 00:34:43,530 November 27th will be series three, where we'll be speaking a 755 00:34:43,530 - > 00:34:47,210 bit more about GCCs and how it will affect other industries. 756 00:34:47,210 - > 00:34:50,170 So stay tuned, and we'll see you next time. 757 00:34:50,409 - > 00:34:50,730 Arun: Thank you. 758 00:34:50,730 - > 00:34:54,490 And one last point just make sure you go to our website. 759 00:34:54,490 - > 00:34:56,090 There's loads of information on there. 760 00:34:56,090 - > 00:34:59,610 Download reports, guides, everything you need to know. 761 00:34:59,610 - > 00:35:00,809 Uh, totally free. 762 00:35:00,809 - > 00:35:02,889 And uh, once you've had a read of it, reach out. 763 00:35:02,889 - > 00:35:04,170 Okay, thank you. 764 00:35:04,170 - > 00:35:07,130 Take care, guys.