Infosys BPO To Stay Focussed On F&A Domain For FY13
Diksha  P Gupta, EFY News Network
(Thursday, June 21, 2012 2:43:22 PM)


The company was recently positioned by Gartner Inc in the ‘Leaders Quadrant' of the Magic Quadrant for Comprehensive Finance and Accounting BPO- Global.

Thursday, June 21, 2012: Finance and accounting, better known as F&A, is one of the most mature domains of the outsourcing business globally. F&A is a sector where domain intensity plays a crucial role. Infosys BPO Ltd, which was recently positioned by Gartner Inc in the ‘Leaders Quadrant' of the Magic Quadrant for Comprehensive Finance and Accounting BPO, Global, banks big on F&A sector for the coming years. We spoke exclusively to Gautam Thakkar, vice president and head - enterprise services, Infosys BPO, about the growth of F&A domain in FY13.
Thakkar said, “This is the third year that we are appearing in the 'Leaders Quadrant'. So it is something that we have been consistent with, as far as being represented in the market is concerned and also from a positioning stand point. We believe that our position in the Leaders Quadrant is a testimony to our ability to seamlessly deliver end-to-end F&A services from multiple global locations. We consider this recognition as a validation of the strategic investments that we have made in the F&A practice across industry verticals. Our focus on developing and deploying cutting-edge tools have helped enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of our processes, while minimising the risk of running accounting operations through a global delivery model."

He further added, "When clients start looking at who they want to work with, that's when they actually refer to reports like Gartners'. Companies like Infosys obviously feature in these lists. It helps featuring in such lists because the clients understand where we are coming from, what is our positioning and what are our strengths.” He believes that positioning in these coveted lists gives his company an edge and provides a connect with the customers too.

Thakkar believes F&A is a fairly mature domain as compared to the other segments in the BPO business in India. He said, “If you look at the Indian market, it is quite mature from an F&A perspective. Indian companies have started to look at how to make more efficient use of their resources. So it is not as much about the cost anymore, it's more about using some of the best practices. I think companies like Infosys, who deal with a lot many international clients can introduce the best practices followed globally in the Indian market. Indian clients expect that kind of value add from our end. In some sense, they are looking at the expertise that we bring to their businesses from an F&A perspective. The credibility of a Gartner report is well recognised. I think we are able to bring that international expertise to some of the local clients in India.”

Infosys has said that it is a fairly elaborate sector for the BPO industry. Infosys itself is operating in more than 11 centres in 7 countries across the globe. Commenting on the growth for FY13, Thakkar said, “We would like to continue focusing on F&A domain for FY13. If you look at the growth, this domain is way ahead of many other domains in the Indian market. It's not about trying to establish credibility anymore. From the F&A perspective, all the centres that we are operating in, in most of the centres we are actually delivering these services. It means that our clients are located in all parts of the world. So, we are not trying to cater them from one location. We are trying to provide solutions in the locations where our clients actually exist. So if we have to do finance and accounting work for one of our clients in Brazil or in China. What it means is that our clients are global and we are able to give them a solution while working in different geographies and consolidate their operations in three or four locations. Its the sign of the fact that we are following our clients building our expertise in geographies where it makes more sense for our customers. The other thing is F&A has become an expertise where domain intensity plays a role. Clients have started realising that they want to work with people who have got deep domain expertise as opposed to just doing it for lower cost. People have started thinking about finance and accounting from a perspective where they are coming to to companies like us who have deep domain and expertise and who have done it several times and across multiple countries and geographies for international clients. F&A is becoming a very specialised space and this will matter to us particularly in the year going forward. It is not just trying to optimise on cost but it will trying to balance it with deep domain expertise so that we are able to close books and help clients.”

F&A may be a mature space but going deep down, one can see that Indian companies are still hesitant of outsourcing processes. Commenting on it, Thakkar said, “I think the hesitancy of a company depends upon its risk profile. As far as outsourcing of processes is concerned, I think the conversation today is not around how can companies save but it is about leveraging the expertise that a company like Infosys has. The companies in India have started realising that they are walking or actually gravitating towards companies that have the global expertise on different domains.”

It is worth mentioning here that Infosys BPO’s F&A unit has been active since 2004 and operates from more than 11 centers in more than 7 countries such as India, China, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, Poland, Mexico and Brazil. The company employs approximately 7,000 FTEs in F&A BPO.