Why using a single partner for payroll, accounting and tax services enhances efficiency, compliance and minimises risks.
The challenge
Brocade, a US tech company specialising in storage networking products, is one of an increasing number of organisations today grappling with multi-vendor challenges. With a small in-house team of accountants based in its Singapore office, where it operated a larger shared services centre, Brocade made use of multiple external vendors to help with payroll, tax and compliance work. The in-house team was therefore responsible for managing both the general ledger process for APAC while at the same time managing a diverse group of external service providers for payroll, tax compliance and corporate secretarial work throughout the region. A key challenge for the in-house team was a lack of continuity across suppliers, inconsistent standards in service and no easy way to advocate for change. So, the company quickly realised that they needed a new approach and set about looking for a single partner that was geographically and regionally diverse.
The solution
After an extensive search, Brocade identified TMF Group as the best all-round regional partner. Key for them was ensuring that their vendor had a detailed knowledge of local accounting rules and international standards, such as US GAAP and IFRS. TMF Group now facilitates payrolls for all the company’s APAC offices and provides local tax compliance—from payroll tax to direct and indirect tax. Brocade’s legal department is also able to engage TMF Group for corporate secretarial services whenever required.
John Bock, Controller, Asia Pacific and Japan, Brocade Communications Systems
“TMF Group is present in every country where we currently operate or would look to set up. From that point, I knew it would be possible to align business goals and manage the transition process from our existing incumbent service providers."
TMF Group was able to identify numerous efficiency improvements. For example, it implemented ways to modify computerised applications to resolve issues that previously had to be dealt with manually. John Bock, Controller, Asia Pacific and Japan, Brocade Communications Systems, said, “TMF Group is present in every country where we currently operate or would look to set up. From that point, I knew it would be possible to align business goals and manage the transition process from our existing incumbent service providers. The company found ways to improve our current processes. It wasn’t necessarily cheaper, but it was faster and more efficient, with less room for error.”
More about Brocade
Brocade is a storage area networking (SAN) solutions specialist now part of Broadcom Inc., which helps organisations turn their networks into platforms for business innovation, with solutions spanning public and private data centres to the enterprise edge. The company is widely recognised as an industry leader in helping transition businesses to the new IP network infrastructures required for today’s market.
- Industry: Technology
- Jurisdictions where TMF Group serves them: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand
- Services provided by TMF Group: Accounting, Corporate Secretarial, Human Resources, Payroll and Tax Compliance
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
