DAA Consulting: THE NEW AGE CONSULTING FIRM
Growing businesses across the globe lead to multiple complexities and issues, which require professional assistance to resolve them. Business consulting firms act as a beacon in that endeavor. They not only provide business solutions but also advise the entrepreneurs for growth, expansion and diversification.
DAA Consulting is a known name in the business consultancy domain, and the firm offers end to end business solutions.
A SHORT STORY OF HOW THE COMPANY WAS FORMED
D Arvind always wanted to be an entrepreneur and while he was working with the Big – 4, he got an opportunity in 2009 to co-found a pharma company with his friend. However, post setting up of the Pharma Company, he realized that he would be more apt for entrepreneurship in the consulting domain and that is how the CA firm was founded in 2010.
S Satish having tremendous expertise in both Industry and Consulting also had similar entrepreneurial ambitions. He met Arvind and realized that they had good chemistry. He thus quit Big-4 to join the firm as Senior Partner to scale up the practice by co-founding the Business Consulting Company.
Akshay Arvind & Adithya Srinivasan joined as Interns and grew with the firm as dynamic professionals over a period of 10 years to become Partners.
JV & Collaborations: To provide a one-stop solution, the company has JVs and collaboration with Rosefield – DAA, Riverforest – DAA, U.S. Gandhi & Co, MEHTA & MEHTA, VTPA- Vispi T. Patel & Associates, Anoma Legal, Clear View Consultants, Bloom Consultants, and Pace Consultants.
THE EXEMPLARY SERVICES
A multitude of services are offered by the Company ranging from Compliance Outsourcing, Tax Optimization Study, Litigation Support (up to Supreme Court), Representation with the Government of India, GST and Tax Audits, Training, Obtaining Licenses to Life Cycle Support, M&A, Business broking, Legal Advisory, Business Transformation, forensic investigation, and proprietary audit. These service offerings are spread across the domains of GST, Legacy Indirect Taxes, Direct Taxes, Customs, Foreign Trade Policy, Corporate Law, Corporate Governance, Financial Advisory, etc.
THE WORKFORCE
D Arvind states, “One person cannot manage the whole organization. It’s the collective efforts of likeminded individuals that push the company towards greater heights”.
The team at DAA Consulting is pivotal to drive the engine of the ace organization. It consists of highly efficient and motivated people, who are experts in their domains and contribute immensely to the growth of the organization.
The Team consists of highly skilled professionals, who are either qualified Chartered Accountants or lawyers. They are groomed overtime to take up the partnership like Akshay & Adithya, in the future, by inducting them to the Partnership Support Team (PST) – a fast track growth program.
S Satish says, “We believe that for every relationship to work out, Win-Win is a must and it goes for our relationship with our team as well. Being a people-based industry, we believe in weekly Training Programs through topical training, external faculty, moot court, quiz, experience sharing, and soft skills coupled with personality development which will help us to attract, retain & develop good talents.”
With an aim to keep improving our service levels to international standards, the company has constituted a “Centre of Excellence” (COE) will serve as a Centralized Advisory Board of DAA Consulting to Reply on Mail Queries, Written Opinions and all form of Advisory Services to ensure consistent, deep researched and vetted Advisory throughout India. The COE will also send Regular Updates/Alerts on the Changing Legal Landscape. An Ex-Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) Member is the Mentor of the COE providing guidance and perspective from his rich experience.
Let’s dig into the details of the insights of some eminent professionals of the Company. D Arvind D Arvind is a Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary who founded D Arvind & Associates LLP, a chartered Accountant Firm in 2010 which has now evolved into DAA Consulting with his passion, patience & perseverance.
He has Industry as well as Consulting Background, which places him in a unique position to solve complex business issues from a solutions perspective. He also spearheads the litigation practice of the company being a very successful litigator himself.
He has successfully led many industry delegations to the GoI for representing on various matters. He also served as chairman and as a member of various trade bodies like the Indirect Tax Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, Regional Advisory Committee of Central Excise & Customs (CBEC).
He is also a qualified arbitrator and has served as a Commissioner appointed by the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal. He also leads the corporate governance practice of the company wherein he helps MSMEs to achieve optimum corporate governance systems.
S Satish
S Satish is a Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant with experience in the industry and consulting spanning 34 years in the field of indirect taxation coupled with technology and commercial matters. With his rich experience in non-standard industries, he brings a lot of practical solutions to intricate challenges in business.
During his long stint in the industry and consulting fields, he has advised various corporates on several issues including SAP implementation, GST and legacy statutes, Customs duty, EU tax matters, FTP, various regulatory matters from taxation and commercial perspective, setting up/amalgamation/merger/demerger of business verticals and entities, entity and transaction structuring and tax litigations before adjudicating/appellate authorities including Tribunal.
Akshay Arvind
Akshay Arvind is a Chartered Accountant and a Company Secretary with more than 10 years of experience. Akshay is a Partner handling Mumbai and Bangalore practices of the firm. Having done more than 50 tax optimization studies for large Business Conglomerates like Emerson, Hinduja & Birla, he has always added value to the firm through his out-of-the-box thinking and subtle structuring of business transactions. Apart from Indirect Taxes, he has also been instrumental in setting up some major business houses in India which sought entry into the Indian Market from abroad. He leads the “life cycle support” solution offered by the firm with his experience and expertise in the field.
Adithya Srinivasan
Adithya Srinivasan is a qualified Chartered Accountant who handles the Mumbai practice along with Akshay and is also in charge of the Pune & Nasik branches. He has worked extensively on assignments involving the implementation of the Foreign Trade Policy including the set-up of SEZs, EOUs, and STPIs, and also has deeply worked with the Industry in improving their International Trade Compliance aiming at building cost-efficient yet compliant Import-Export Transactions. He has also successfully handled major litigations at the firm.
Meghna Arvind
Meghna Arvind is a lawyer and a company secretary who lends support to the legal side of the consulting
STRUGGLING PHASE
The visionary – D Arvind says, “Not good days, but struggles shape our destiny.”
Whilst most of the clients believed in Arvind’s technical skills and his record of winning tax cases before legal forums, out of box tax optimization solutions but many were hesitant to give large assignments due to lack of infrastructure as compared to big-4.
Keeping in mind the big-4 as their Competition and to provide an Indian Alternative, the Company invested in building infrastructure, inducting & developing talents and implementing systems & processes. This has instilled confidence in employees and clients.
Both Arvind & Satish say “All this would not have been possible without the moral support & the extraordinary confidence which our better halves Mrs. Parimala Arvind & Mrs. Saraswathy Satish have given us”
THE CLIENTELE
The firm has a prolific clientele consisting of some of the largest corporate houses in India including Aditya Birla Group, Hinduja Group, Emerson Group, P&G, Siemens, Castrol, Gulf Oil, HP, Toshiba – JSW, Mitsubishi EDM, Gillette , Craftsman automation & leading Pharma companies like USV, Universal Medicare, Encube Ethicals, to name a few.
AN EDGE OVER THE PEERS
The Main Differentiator is the Company’s ability to add to the bottom line of the client through Tax & Cost Optimization. Both the Senior Partners have a deep sectoral understanding as well consulting experience which enables them to add significant value to their clientele.
A Classic Example of the above is when the Company recently was challenged by a 700 Bed Hospital to add to their bottom-line. The Company was able to add significant value through subtle business structuring and out of the box ideas. This resulted in substantial savings and the company is now engaged with many such Hospitals through word of mouth. Similarly, the Company has added value in various sectors such as Cement, Pharma, Oil & Gas, FMCG, Engineering and such others.
The Company with the collective strength of the Joint Ventures & Collaborations makes them unique in the Industry to offer one-stop solutions for all the business needs of the clients which are not offered by anyone else in the Country.
The Company takes pride in being an Indian Consulting Company with traditional values and modern outlook.
A Glimpse of the Collaborations
U.S. Gandhi & Co: US Gandhi & Co., is a leading firm of Chartered Accountants operating for over 3 decades handling very large corporates in the areas of Forensic Audit, Domestic Direct Tax Litigations, Process Audit, and Corporate Advisory Services.
Vispi T. Patel &Associates: Vispi T Patel Associates is a leading firm in Direct Tax, International Taxation & Transfer Pricing operating out of Mumbai. Vispi and Arvind worked together in the Big-4.
Rosefield DAA International (RDI) is a specialized consultancy in the Energy Sector. The Managing Director of the Firm Shailendra Gokhale worked with Arvind in Castrol and he currently advises various Global Oil & Gas Clients
DAA Riverforest LLC: This is a US & Canada based JV between DAA & Riverforest which is involved in providing life cycle support to businesses, right from entry to exit strategies in the context of inbound and outbound investments. This is founded by Ganesh Shermon and DAA. Ganesh Shermon & Arvind worked together in KPMG.
MEHTA & MEHTA: Mehta & Mehta, is a Company Secretaries Firm founded by an Ex-President of Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Atul Mehta The firm specializes in Company Law, Litigations, Secretarial Audits, and Corporate Restructuring, FEMA, and IBC matters.
ANOMA LEGAL: Anoma Legal, is a specialized Legal Consultancy firm that supports DAA Consulting on legal advisory & Due Diligence services to various niche sectors.
TESTIMONIALS
Let us see what the clients have to say about DAA :
“D Arvind is an outstanding professional with an excellent track record. He has a good depth of Indirect Tax Laws and Corporate Governance practices. He has also worked as Legal Head for a large MNC. We have engaged him on numerous occasions for tax consulting. He has advised us, unbiased in a transparent manner. Whenever and wherever tax is payable he has not hesitated to advise us to pay tax. Some of his advice have been tested in adjudicating/legal forums and withstood the test of law. He is sincere and fully committed to his profession.” – Mr. Jagdish Chandra Ladha, Group Executive Vice President, Aditya Birla Group
“Sometimes better things in your life are destined to happen by chance and that is exactly what happened with me when I was referred to Mr. Arvind by my mentor 12 years ago for indirect tax structuring of the commercial offerings of our newly found venture. He was leading the indirect tax practice at Deloitte and I had joined as CFO of UFO Moviez India Limited.
Over a decade our company made mesmerizing progress and evolved into a successful innovation story that completed the marathon journey from a startup stage to a publicly listed stock. Amongst the efforts of many who gave shape to UFO’s success story, the contribution of Mr. Arvind and his entire firm DAA supported by Akshay and Aditya has been so significant that it will be an injustice to their efforts if I attempt to quantify it.” – Mr. Ashish Malusthe, Chief Financial Officer, UFO Moviez India Ltd.
“We have worked with Akshay at Rosefield DAA for more than 2 years now on various projects, and have been very impressed with not just the quality of their work, but also their diligence and commitment to overcoming whatever obstacles have been placed in their way. Having initiated many similar global projects, I can say that Rosefield DAA is a strong and dedicated consultancy, and I would not hesitate in recommending them to anyone.”- Mr. Andrew Wilkins, Director – Morris Lubricants, UK
“I know Mr. D Arvind for the last two decades. I have availed his professional Services and observed that he was not only thorough in his subject matter but also very practical, giving solutions, yet non – comprising. His Sincere approach, hardworking and continued efforts to learn newer things put him in advanced stead. I am sure he is an asset to the legal, finance and taxation field. It would not be an exaggeration to state that he is, probably, amongst the first three brains in indirect Taxes in India.”-Mr. Vishwas Pathak, Advisor: Energy Minister, Maharashtra, Director: MSEB Holding Company Ltd.
“I have known Arvind for the last 10 years or so and I can state this with the conviction that I am yet to come across a professional who has profound knowledge on his subject and is yet so humble. Arvind and his team is a one-stop solution for all indirect taxation challenges. One can count on DAA to provide a solution that is completely ethical and at the same time resolves the issues.
His team has done a great job in proactively engaging with their clients months before implementation of GST to explain the new law lucidly and at the same time performing the impact study and providing valuable suggestions to mitigate any adverse impact on the business. Arvind started alone and has today built a team of over fifty competent and likeminded professionals who have imbibed his knowledge and approach to resolving taxation matters.
Arvind is ably supported by Akshay and Adi who, I am confident, will take DAA to greater heights in the coming years. I wish DAA team the very best in the coming times.”- Mr. Chandramauli Balan, Vice President & Managing Director, Nidec Industrial Automation India Private Ltd
ENSURING UNBREAKABLE FAITH
Partners’ direct intervention where ever required and consistent training of employees to ensure that they are well equipped to advise clients correctly apart from being able to think out of the box to offer solutions to complex transactions, instills faith of clients in the Company.
INITIATIVES OF PRESENT GOVERNMENT
Business houses have to run their business more professionally, ethically, and efficiently to survive and grow. All these would require the help of qualified professionals, and in that sense, it has helped Tax and Management consultants to grow their business.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES
Gradually, DAA Consulting has grown from one person firm in 2010 to more than a hundred-employee working in 2019. It started with Indirect Tax as the core area at one location and now present in eight locations providing various business solutions.
The milestones achieved by the organization are:
- 2010: Started as One Man Practice in Chennai
- 2013: Setup Bangalore Office
- 2014: Akshay & Adithya join Partnership
- 2015: Set-up of Mumbai Office and shifting of Head Quarters to Mumbai
- 2016: Set-up of Delhi and Nasik Offices
- 2017: Induction of Senior partner Satish S from PwC
- 2018: Set-up of Coimbatore & Pune Offices, Joint Ventures & Collaborations, Hyderabad Office.
Both Arvind & Satish believe that it is the idea of Providing OneStop Solution with deep sectoral understanding, the Consistency in Approach, and an Empowered young team, which has made this sustainable growth possible. The company has withstood frequent offers for takeover made by big Consulting and legal firms to create a unique boutique organization that competes with them. All the partners and the support team are united on this decision to take the company to greater heights.
Walk the Talk
“Keep things simple & invest more in business than your lifestyle” is Arvind’s mantra, which has resulted in this growth and he offers the same as a piece of advice to all young entrepreneurs while Satish emphasizes three things which have built this one-man practice in to this renowned organization – “Upgrade your skills way beyond Qualifications, Adopt risk-taking as a way of life and Keep researching & Innovating”
FUTURISTIC GOALS
A short term plan is to open its own offices in Delhi, Pune, and Hyderabad, however currently they are using shared offices, have expanded areas of practice in NCLT matters, Business Transformation, Financial Advisory, and business broking. They aspire to compete with the Big-4 and be on par with them, if not exceed, in direct and indirect tax, company law, Internal and Forensic Audits and compete with the likes of BCG in the management consulting space.
