The Future Of Outsourcing & The Importance Of Customer Service

Join Ivona Gal and Fay Barkonikos as they discuss the future of outsourcing and the importance of customer service.

For more information, please contact:

Ivona Gal, CPA
Account Manager
(708) 745-3506
igal@pkfmueller.com

Fay Barkonikos, MSA
Client Success Specialist
(708) 745-3473
fbarkonikos@pkfmueller.com

Learn more about Mueller dotKonnect:
https://www.muellerdotkonnect.com/

Transcript

[00:00:00] Ashley: Hi, I'm Ashley, and you're listening to "Connecting The Dots Across Finance Functions," the Mueller dotKonnect podcast. Today we welcome Ivona Gal and Fay Barkonikos to find out more about Mueller dotKonnect, the future of outsourcing, and the importance of customer. But before we begin, let's find out more about our guests. 

[00:00:21] Ashley: Ivona is a Client Advisory Services Manager with PKF Mueller and has over 20 years of experience in public accounting, specializing in audit and accounting engagements for small to midsize closely held firms. She is also an Account Manager with Mueller dotKonnect and works mainly with non-profits and family office groups. She also works directly with clients in the India outsourcing team.

[00:00:47] Ashley: Fay is a Client Success Specialist and has over four years of experience in accounting. Fay's area focus includes restaurant, service, and technology industries. Fay monitors the onboarding and the continuation of success for new clients at MdK. She also works closely with the US and India daily to ensure seamless work development. 

[00:01:05] Ashley: First of all, I wanna thank you both for joining us on the podcast today. 

[00:01:08] Ivona: Thanks for having us, Ashley. 

[00:01:09] Fay: Happy to be. 

[00:01:11] Ashley: Can you start off by describing the future of outsourcing in the accounting industry and how Mueller dotKonnect differs from the competition?

[00:01:16] Ivona: Sure. Ashley, outsourcing accounting functions is an area in the accounting industry that is not going away. Many businesses that utilize outsource functions can concentrate on their core business functions while letting experts take care of the accounting details. This leads to time savings and cost savings in the long run.

[00:01:33] Ivona: If you hire an in-house accountant, that person may leave your business at some point in their career. When you outsource, you do not have to worry about being left in the lurch when someone unexpectedly leaves. You have a dedicated team of accountants on your side that know the ins and outs of your entity.

[00:01:47] Ivona: With the advance of cloud-based software platforms, outsourcing has become an even easier no brainer for some companies. Where before you would have to have someone on site to do the day to day work. Now you can log in from anywhere at any time and get the work done. Remote and hybrid workplaces are also increasingly popular after the pandemic and outsourcing accounting goes hand in hand with this expansion.

[00:02:09] Ivona: Outsourcing reduces the number of positions that need to be filled in house and can ease the burden of finding that right fit during the hiring process. Companies should concentrate on outsourcing the areas that slow them down the most and drain the largest portion of their internal resources.

[00:02:23] Ivona: Companies should also take care and choose the right partners to help them. That's where MdK. MdK is different from the competition in that we have a team of over 100 employees working in India as your back office accounting team. We also have a team of professionals from PKF Mueller working alongside the India team.

[00:02:40] Ivona: The PKF side are your account managers here to facilitate the integration between the India team and the clients. PKF is here to assist with any issues that arise. We also have a team of auditors, tax preparers, and consultants at our disposal to coordinate any higher level issues that you may have. Not only do you have a complete outsourced accounting team behind you, but you also have a full service CPA firm in your corner as well.

[00:03:02] Ashley: So you just talked about outsourcing and the benefits of doing so. Can you also talk about some additional services MdK provides?

[00:03:07] Ivona: Sure, Mueller dotKonnect provides services to many different industries. MdK provides services in the areas of technology and software, professional services, manufacturing and distribution, nonprofits, franchises, healthcare, retail, restaurants, and real estate.

[00:03:24] Ivona: MdK also specializes in startups, small to medium businesses and enterprises. Our MdK consultants can assist with business processes, management and optimization within a given industry. We put together a workflow that employees and the MdK staff can follow to allow for efficiency and allow best practices to be utilized.

[00:03:42] Ivona: We customize our service to fit your business's needs. MdK performs traditional advisory services such as controllership services, bookkeeping, compliance management, and finance leadership. MdK also performs business process management where we transform your finance and assurance workflow. We can configure accounts payable function month on close accounts receivable function.

[00:04:03] Ivona: We can do a total overhaul of your accounting system and financial reporting and analysis. MdK can also perform tasks in business process outsourcing. Such functions include integrated finance operations such as O2C- orders, AR and cash, P2P - purchasing, AP and payments, employee expense management, financial planning and analysis, and payroll management. 

[00:04:24] Ivona: Mdk can assist with your existing accounting software, and we also specialize in implementations using Xero, QuickBooks Online and Sage Intacct. We are certified in bill.com or are currently known as Bill and are proficient and in many different payroll systems. Our mission is to transform, manage, and empower your business and finances.

[00:04:42] Ashley: Can you now talk about how customer service ties into the accounting industry?

[00:04:45] Fay: Of course, Ashley, so customer service is a major aspect in any industry. For the accounting industry, customer care, as I like to call it, helps the client feel comfortable with not only those services provided by a firm, but also that they are familiar with the services that they will receive. Having the client meet with the team that will be working with them on a day to day basis helps set them up for success with the firm. Often, clients provide their paperwork and have no idea what happens with their personal information. When the accountant provides explanations, it shows the client that they are transparent, reliable, and even trustworthy. 

[00:05:20] Ashley: How does MdK set themselves apart from other accounting firms in the industry regarding customer service?

[00:05:26] Fay: At MdK, we set ourselves apart in many aspects, and customer care is one of our utmost priorities. Growing up in a family with restaurants, I learned that customer service is not only vital, but essential in any industry. From a young age, my dad always taught me that the customer needs to walk in happy and leave even happier.

[00:05:43] Fay: Within my role at MdK, I have proceeded with the same mindset. It is important for me to make the client feel at ease whether it is a first time or continuing engagement. I also wanna make sure the client understands that we have their best interests in mind. When onboarding a client, we make sure that the client understands all the services that they have asked, will be performed.

[00:06:04] Fay: We also make sure that we are responsive to them at any given moment. A repeated pattern we see from clients that sign onto MdK is that they were not completely satisfied with the way their previous accounting firm handled their unanswered questions in a timely matter. There are a lot of moving parts, but our team strives to make sure that we never leave the client guessing or confused.

[00:06:26] Fay: Our main goal is to see our client's business flourish to new heights they may have once believed they could not achieve. MdK demonstrates customer care in every aspect of business we provide, and we strive to be of value to our clients every day. Customer service is not only a roller department, but an integral part in every industry.

[00:06:43] Fay: It is a piece to the puzzle of business that has turned into a passion of mine. 

[00:06:48] Ashley: Well, I think this was a really great overview and thank you for your time today to further explain Mueller dotKonnect, the future of outsourcing, and the importance of customer service.

[00:06:56] Ashley: And thank you to our listeners don't forget to visit us at muellerdotkonnect.com to learn more about our firm's services. You can also follow us on LinkedIn at Mueller dotKonnect for more updates and insights.

[00:07:07] Ashley: Mueller dotKonnect is a related entity of PKF Mueller, an award-winning certified public accounting and business advisory firm based in Chicago. Mueller dotKonnect is not a CPA firm, assurance services are performed by an independent external firm.