This group of 21 trumps all others in end-to-end, global service delivery.

by FAOT Staff

It’s not easy being a global FAO services provider. At one time, market barrier to entry might have been low, but these days if you can’t offer services 24/7 to anywhere around the world, potential enterprise clients won’t even bother to return your call.

That’s why this group of providers identified by FAO Today stand head and shoulders above the rest. It’s not just that they have global presence, but these companies also have strength in service delivery, ability to address multi-domain needs, and have market momentum. Even more impressive to you, the buyer, is their ability to leverage low-cost resources wherever they are located.

To that, you’ll notice many of these providers are located offshore (mainly in India), where the BPO market has caught on like wildfire. It’s a testament that labor arbitrage is still highly desirable.

We’d like to acknowledge the input of industry experts Lisa Ross of FAO Research and Phil Fersht of the Everest Group for their insight in compiling the list.

We hope this list can serve as a starting point in your outsourcing journey. After all, choosing the right provider is half the battle.

THE TOP 21 FAO PROVIDERS

Accenture
accenture.com
One of the top global providers of outsourced F&A services, Accenture is the heavyweight of BPO service providers with the ability to deliver FAO, HRO, sourcing, procurement, customer contact, and other outsourced solutions. In the F&A space, Accenture’s services include procure to pay, order to cash, assets acquire to retire, cash and banking, document management, and finance application management on a global basis. Additionally, it performs profit recovery and analytics, income statement, cash flow and balance sheet optimization, business analytics, and performance management for clients. Accenture is uniquely positioned among FAO providers in that it can bundle its offerings to cover multiple domains in many markets on numerous continents. For instance, its Accenture BPO Services is specifically targeted at mid-market buyers seeking both F&A and HR outsourced services. The company claims to have more than 40 clients who operate in 37 languages in 120 countries. Last year, it named Mike Salvino global managing director of Accenture Finance Solutions to head up its outsourced F&A business.

ACS
acs-inc.com/bpo/financeaccounting.html
Another enterprise-level multi-domain BPO service provider, Dallas-based ACS offers FAO as well as HR, sales and marketing, and supply chain outsourced services to buyers around the globe. Specifically in F&A, ACS delivers the following: accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing, general accounting, tax management, treasury and risk management, and other finance tasks. Among ACS' clients are General Motors, Office Depot, MetLife, and Motorola. ACS’ IT heritage also allows the company to offer BPO clients technology solutions.

arvato finance
arvatofinance.com
A subsidiary of media giant Bertelsmann, the U.K.-based arvato finance offers outsourced financial services as one of five primary solutions. The FAO offerings include risk management, billing and rating, AR and AP management, and collections. Founded in 1996, the finance arm of arvato AG serves companies ranging from mid-market clients to global enterprises through its office in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Russia.

BancTec
banctec.com
Another BPO service provider whose roots trace back to IT, BancTec is also among the first generation of BPO vendors having launched this business in 1999, some 28 years after BancTec was founded. Although its main focus is on AP, the company also offers checks and payment processing, document imaging and archiving, and invoice processing. Clients include consumer product manufacturers, financial services companies, industrial manufacturers, and public-sector buyers. The company operates offices in London and Dallas.

Capgemini
capgemini.com
One of the big European F&A and IT outsourced services providers, Capgemini has won a number of enterprise-level F&A
services recently (see this issue’s cover story on SKF, p. 26). With clients in sectors such as consumer products, distribution, energy, financial services, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, and others, the company provides a comprehensive suite of services including AP, AR, general ledger, cash accounting, general accounting and reporting, fixed asset, lease accounting,
corporate services accounting, and payroll.

CGI
cgi.com
A rarity among foreign F&A services providers, Montreal, Canada-based CGI is focused on end-to-end services for a narrow number of clients and a narrow range of services across a broad spectrum of clients. For instance, the company, which has a heavy focus on IT services, offers document management services, payroll, and spend management across numerous industries. For the oil and gas sector, the company performs operational, cost, production and revenue, partnership, and general accounting in addition to treasury services and tax reporting. Offices are in North America, Europe, and Asia.

ExlService
exlservice.com/services/bpo_solutions.htm
Focusing on sectors such as insurance, banking and financial services, utilities, healthcare, and media, India-based ExlService is one of a few offshore BPO service providers whose shares are publicly traded in the U.S. (NASDAQ). Following a successful IPO in 2006, the company has established itself as an up-and-coming FAO service provider to clients around the world. Its services include procure to pay, bill to cash, payroll, general accounting, financial closing, reconciliation, cash management and treasury, compliance and Sarbanes-Oxley, audits, and others.

Genpact
genpact.com
With signs that it may go public in the near future, Genpact, the highest-profile offshore provider in the FAO space, is poised to make further inroads in the sector. Following its name change in 2005 (the company was formerly GECIS after its sale from GE), Genpact has been on a tear, making acquisitions, entering into partnerships, expanding its infrastructure and, most importantly, signing a bunch of global clients, including GSK, Kimberly-Clark, the Linde Group, and others. Some industry observers predicted that Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private-equity group with a stake in Genpact, plans to merge the company with Vertex, a BPO service provider that Oak Hill acquired in January from a U.K.-based utility company.

HP
hp.com
The computer business giant, the world’s largest technology firm, has also stepped up its efforts to market its BPO services, which include accounts payable, accounts receivable, time and expense administration, fixed-asset management, general ledger, project accounting, and reporting. Clients include P&G, Nestle, Time-Warner, and other global companies. Recently, the company’s BPO business expanded into the HR outsourcing market by signing Nestle to a European payroll deal—the first time that HP has taken on an HR client. However, it’s not clear whether the company plans on expanding HR services beyond Nestle.

IBM
ibm.com
One of the largest providers of outsourced services, Big Blue also offers a full comprehensive suite of BPO services, including HRO, procurement, supply chain, and IT. As a provider to some of the largest FAO contracts, IBM Global Business Services is also described by one analyst as the most capable of all the service providers, with a truly global reach complemented by 40 delivery centers and 320,000 employees. Not only does it provide transactional services such as AR, AP, general accounting, T&E, and others, but its strong consultative expertise and technology insight are also attractive to buyers. The company recently created a SMB business unit to capture more mid-market buyers.

Infosys BPO
infosys.com
One of the emerging offshore FAO providers, Infosys BPO (formerly Progeon) was started as the outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Technologies in 2002. Since then, the company has continued to build its list of clients, signing companies in sectors such as telecom, financial services, manufacturing, and others. Services provided by the NASDAQ-traded company include accounts payable, accounts receivable, collections and credit management, billing and invoicing, fixed assets, general ledger, finance planning, and analysis. The company, which boasts an IT heritage, delivers services to clients around the world through facilities in India, the Czech Republic, China, and the Philippines. The company claimed to have moved more than 500 processes from client operations to its own.

Intelenet
intelenetglobal.com
Serving the financial services, insurance, retail, telecom, and hospitality industries, Intelenet is jointly owned by Indian financial services company HDFC and U.K. banking giant Barclays. With services delivered from its offshore facilities, the company’s F&A offerings include general ledger accounting, AP, AR, reconciliations, fixed asset accounting, travel and entertainment expense management, management reporting, and payroll. Last November, the company acquired a second delivery center in Chennai, India and was recognized by Deloitte as the second fastest-growing Indian BPO provider.

KARVY Global Services
karvyglobal.com
A relatively new competitor in the FAO market, Karvy Global Services was formed in 2004 as a division of KARVY Consulting to provide offshore BPO services. It specializes in FAO, transaction process outsourcing, KPO, HRO, and voice and technology services. The services offered by KARVY include AP, AR, billing/sales accounting, invoice and check processing, payment audit, purchase accounting, reconciliation, fixed assets accounting, query resolution, and others. With services delivered from Hyderbad, India, the company also operates offices in New York and London.

Nipuna
nipunaservices.com
Another one of the major India-based BPO service providers, Nipuna also hails from an IT background thanks to its parent, Satyam, one of India’s largest IT and consulting firms. Nipuna is dedicated to BPO, offering cross-domain services in F&A, HR, and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO). Count industries such as insurance, healthcare, pharmaceutical, banking/finance, manufacturing, media, telecom, and energy among the sectors it tends to. Services include accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets, disbursement, operations, financial reporting, and reconciliation.

Outsource Partners International (OPI)
opiglobal.com
With a list of clients with revenues ranging from $100 million to $ 5 billion, OPI is also an offshore provider with big aspirations. Spawned from KPMG, the company’s heritage also includes itAccounts, a finance and accounting business process outsourcing company. OPI was formed in 2002 with the merger of the two, but KPMG was providing outsourcing as early as 1997; itAccounts added an established offshore outsourcing facility in Bangalore, India. Today, OPI solely focuses on delivering outsourced F&A services. The company said it has grown to nearly 1,400 employees, a 40-percent increase over the previous year. The privately held company provides services in order to cash, purchase to pay, hire to retire, financial reporting, and compliance and control.

Tata Consulting Services (TCS)
tcs.com/bpo
An Indian provider with its roots in IT, TCS has a strong global presence in the BPO market. Last year, the company’s subsidiary, Diligenta, was hired by U.K. fund group Pearl in a 12-year, £486 million processing and administration deal. The accord called for the company to consolidate 11 finance and administration IT platforms into one, giving the fund a more streamlined F&A back office. TCS also provides accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, fixed asset accounting, and general ledger reconciliation services.

Vengroff, Williams & Associates (VWA)
vwainc.com
With a focus on receivables, VWA also provides services in AR and reconciliation, third-party collections, tax resolution, invoice and statement processing, cash applications, deduction management, risk scoring, dispute resolution, and credit analysis. The company’s clients include Microsoft, Kodak, GE, Ford, and FedEx. It claims to have some $20 billion under its management. Last year, the company began offering an alternative to outsourcing to its clients. In conjunction with GE Business Credit Services, VWA began buying receivable from clients, which enabled clients to improve cash flow.

Vertex
vertex.co.uk
A provider that had been owned by United Utilities in the U.K., the company is being sold to a consortium consisting of Oak Hill Capital Partners, GenNx360, and Knox Lawrence International for £217 million. Setting the stage for a possible merger of Vertex and Genpact (also partially owned by Oak Hill) as one publicly traded company. With 9,000 employees in 68 locations in the U.K., U.S., Canada, and India, Vertex provides services in procure to pay, order to cash, account to report, asset management, payroll, benefits, pension, and travel and expenses. The company said it processes 95 million payment transactions a year.

Wipro
wipro.com/bpo/index.htm
The global IT giant focuses delivering F&A services with a strong emphasis on technology. Among the services it offers are order to cash, procure to pay, general ledger, reconciliation, project and fixed-asset accounting, compliance reporting, and financial analysis and management. It focuses on industries such as banking and financial services, insurance, health and life sciences, telecom, and travel and transportation.

WNS
wnsgs.com
Spawned from British Airways’ internal shared-services organization, WNS last year celebrated its IPO on the New York Stock exchange. The India-based BPO service provider saw its stocks steadily climb, validating the investment community’s trust in the BPO market. The F&A outsourcer now must focus on growing its business and meeting shareholder expectation. Its core base includes the travel, insurance, financial services, healthcare, professional services, manufacturing, and retail and distribution sectors.

Xansa
xansa.com
A relatively young brand that was launched in 2001, U.K.-based Xansa is unique in that it is the only commercial service provider to have partnered with a public entity (the U.K.’s NHS—the largest health provider in Europe) to offer services through the NHS Shared Business Services. Its F&A offerings are used in some 120 hospitals throughout the U.K.—a notable feat since this was accomplished in only two years. Since then, the company has landed another large quasi-public sector client. This July the company will take over F&A services for the BBC under a 10-year, £85 million contract that the broadcaster said would lead to cost savings of £200 million.