Global HR Consultant outsources Pension Fund Accounting to achieve cost-efficiency and scalability

The Challenge The Solution The Benefits

Patni enables timely completion of annual reports, volume scalability and error free accounting & actuarial valuation through process optimization & standardization.

The Client

The client is a leading global provider of human resource (HR) advice and specialty consulting services operating in over 40 countries.

The Challenge

The client was facing difficulties in timely, error-free submission of annual reports to its stake-holders, due to a wide geographical network of service delivery centers across UK & Ireland, operating on inconsistent, non-standard processes. Some of the key challenges faced by the client include:

	Process spread over multiple locations in UK and Ireland
	Managing inputs from multiple data sources to complete reports
	Inability to manage seasonal volume spikes due to limited resource pool
	Inadequate and non-standard process documentation across locations
	Complex processes involving high end account reconciliations
	Absence of MIS capabilities
	Paper intensive environment
	Absence of quality assurance mechanism .

The Solution

Patni experts on fund accounting took over:

	Preparation of year end annual reports for net assets and fund accounts
	Reconciliation of amounts appearing on financial statements in annual report with amounts appearing in working notes to financial statements in annual report
	Preparation of control accounts for income and expenditure of retirement schemes
	Valuation of investments and compliance testing of schemes in accordance with trust deed and actuarial valuations
	Scheduling and facilitation of audit queries on accounts.

Patni’s approach comprised:

	Creation of a core team: Patni put together a core team with the necessary technical competency and domain expertise in fund accounting to understand the client’s operations onsite
	Standardization of working papers: Patni reviewed and standardized all working paper templates across 10 locations in the UK and Ireland to facilitate speedy and accurate data capture
	Error analysis and resolution: Patni developed database to track the errors and areas of improvement on schemes, capable of generating varied reports in tracking the overall process deliverables
	Cross training program: Patni undertook an intensive training program to cross train its resources across different reports to handle seasonal volumes surges and ad-hoc business exigencies
	Onsite audit support: Patni provided onsite audit support for multiple reports
	Automation: Patni created an automated database to track inputs from multiple sources for timely completion of reports. An online MIS tool was also developed to monitor productivity

Patni is presently delivering the following services to the client:

	Preparing around 800 annual reports for UK & Ireland annually
	Working on schemes with the fund value of these ranging between 100 Million £/ € up to 500 Million £/ € Preparing annual reports for some very complex schemes with around 20-25 different investment managers in each scheme.

The Benefits

	Larger trained resource pool to handle volume surges without impacting service levels
	Standardization of templates leading to higher accuracy and efficient delivery
	Automated tools like MIS and input tracker for better resource utilization
	Improved compliance
	Lower operational costs
	Timely delivery of reports
	Lower paper consumption
	Training cycle-time reduced from 5-6 months to 2 months.