BPOs see big money in global accounting norms

NEW DELHI: Business process outsourcing (BPO) outfits in India are gearing up to rake in moolah as India Inc gets ready for convergence with the global accounting norms. Many of the Indian KPOs and BPOs have started assessing their capabilities in providing support for managing the required changes.

According to Nasscom officials, outfits that lack the necessary skills to provide the convergence-related support are putting their employees on training.

According to Grant Thornton partner Khazat Kotwal, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) cannot be looked as a mere technical exercise limited to change from one accounting principle to another.

It is expected to impact all aspects of the way in which India Inc operates, including accounting policies and procedures, financial reporting and disclosures, and information technology systems.

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Is the financial services sector finally warming to BPO?

My interest has been piqued by the recent announcement of Sunlife of Canada outsourcing its UK customer services operation to TCS's Diligenta subsidiary in a $200m deal. This comes hot on the heels of some financial services captive buy-outs in India. The financial services sector has long been the problem child of the BPO industry, with operational executives extremely reluctant to relinquish control over business processes - especially finance and accounting. As I have said on record several times, it will only take a few big deals to hit and many others will follow in a domino effect. Bottom-line, the large BPO providers have capacity and are willing to invest in clients to gain an edge in this market. Most of the near-term deals will more likely be captive acquisitions like the two mentioned above, but this is the clear strategy some of the providers are following to build out a global delivery infrastructure.

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