INVEST IN RELATIONSHIPS: In an ever-changing world, bridging the gap between continents, cultures, and work philosophies is more vital than ever.
Over 4 months, ZADN & Associates and LGA, LLP engaged in a successful pilot program. Four members from ZADN’s Mumbai, India office—Umema Shaikh, Muhammad Hoda, Imran Khan, and Numair Kazi, —traveled to Woburn for training, immersion in firm culture, and to gain an understanding of LGA’s level of service to clients.
“Firm culture cannot be relayed in a training class to someone across a remote video session. It has to be lived through. It is essential [ZADN] truly understands our sense of commitment to our clients and the degree of service we uphold ourselves to delivering … and embed that into their culture when they go back home and work from abroad as part of the extended LGA family,” said Rashida Motiwalla, CPA, MBA, Partner at LGA.
Stepping into the dynamic and progressive environment of LGA, each ZADN team member embarked on a journey of professional development, personal growth, embracing a vibrant culture that fosters collaboration and celebrates diversity.
This immersive experience demonstrated LGA’s unwavering commitment to developing a 24/7 global workforce. LGA’s partnership with ZADN is crucial in this effort, ensuring that we consistently deliver outstanding client service.
ZADN & Associates is a distinguished accounting firm of Chartered Accountants based in Mumbai, India. Since its inception in 1990, the firm has established a robust presence in the accounting industry, catering to a broad spectrum of clients on a global scale. They specialize in providing an extensive array of professional services, including Tax, OMA, Audit & Assurance and M&A Advisory. The firm’s guiding principles, professionalism, and dedication to delivering the highest quality of client service resonates with our own values and enhances our offerings. Our collaboration with ZADN extends our global reach and emphasizes our commitment to delivering value-added services to our clients.
The Strategic Benefits of the LGA and ZADN Partnership
Enhanced Efficiency and Speed: The partnership allows LGA to operate efficiently and effectively. The ZADN team assists with data preparation, allowing our in-house staff to focus on strategic planning and providing value-added services to our clients. This enables us to deliver a superior-quality product in a timely manner, with our team offering services 24/7 to accommodate a multitude of time zones.
Mitigating Compression: The strain on our staff during the compressed tax season is alleviated through our partnership with ZADN. Having a trained, reliable team to handle overflow work ensures deadlines are met without compromising quality.
Addressing the Accounting Talent Shortage: The accounting industry is facing a significant talent shortage, with fewer graduates entering the field each year. Teaming up with the highly skilled professionals at ZADN guarantees that our clients continue to receive premium service, unaffected by any shortages.
Improved Work-Life Balance: By distributing the workload, we offer our staff a better quality of work-life balance, reducing staff burnout and increasing job satisfaction.
Global Perspective: As the world becomes more interconnected, having a diverse team that understands different markets and cultures is invaluable. Our partnership with ZADN brings a global perspective to our operations, enhancing our ability to serve a diverse client base and offering our existing clients, and advisors with an elaborate global experience.
Vetted and Trained: The ZADN team has been thoroughly vetted and has undergone extensive training with LGA. They follow our data security protocols and use our measures, ensuring all work is conducted at the same high standards as if it were done in-house. We make it our responsibility to safeguard our client’s personal and financial data. The ZADN team adheres to the same stringent firm protocols concerning data security mirroring the standards upheld by our local staff working remotely within the US.
The ZADN Team’s Professional and Personal Development
For ZADN members, the four-month journey at LGA proved to be a substantial professional and personal development opportunity.
The team reported experiencing significant growth in time management, tax knowledge, team collaboration, and analytical skills. They embraced diverse communication styles, practiced a healthy work-life balance, supported one another, celebrated successes, and learned to navigate LGA’s advanced processes. As a result, the ZADN team departed the experience feeling grateful and fulfilled with their progression and overall experience. Through training sessions that promoted diverse input while providing a platform for continuous learning and development from experienced professionals, many emerged with newfound confidence in navigating intricate projects.
“With challenging deadlines and complex projects, I’ve honed my ability to prioritize tasks effectively and meet deadlines without compromising quality,” stated Muhammed Hoda, Tax Associate at ZADN & Associates. He continued, attributing his success to LGA’s weekly meetings that fostered open communication and idea sharing as well as to how LGA valued recognizing the diverse talents within the teams.
Of note, Numair Kazi, a Partner in Tax at ZADN & Associates, highlighted LGA’s employee-centric culture and comprehensive training programs, contrasting it with his previous experience in the Big Four. He appreciated the exposure to various aspects of tax returns and the all-encompassing process involved in serving clients, from data collection to final submission.
“This experience has provided invaluable opportunities for my professional growth, by pinning attention to details and analytical skills through meticulously reviewing documents and transactions. What I enjoyed the most was the opportunity to work on projects that allowed me to apply my skills and learn new ones. It’s been an amazing time spent working alongside the LGA team members, working on complicated engagements, and finding our way through it, having supportive and approachable team members, managers, and partners who provided guidance and recognition for my contribution to work. It really helped boost my confidence and pushed me to perform better,” affirmed Umema Shaikh, Senior Supervisor at ZADN & Associates.
Memorable Moments
While at LGA, the ZADN team experienced moments that made a substantial impact on their view of the organization.
In a robust showcase of culture and camaraderie, Firm Day stood out.
Hoda was enthralled that “it wasn’t just about celebrating our achievements; it was a reflection of our unity and dedication as a team. The energy and enthusiasm on that day were contagious, reminding me of the collective strength we possess at LGA.”
“The focus isn’t just on individual growth; it’s about how the organization grows. Everyone wants to grow together, which provides a tremendous platform for everyone to perform well,” added Kazi. Imran Khan, Tax Associate at ZADN & Associates, cherished the connections made during Firm Day and appreciated the regular activities and weekly meetings that formulated bonds and helped to avoid feeling overwhelmed. The March Madness and Dave & Buster’s events also were standout memories for the team.
Moving Forward as Partners
The journey of Umema, Muhammad, Imran, and Numair, to LGA, LLP is a testament to the transformative power of progressive collaboration and integration of cultures. As new representatives of LGA’s ethos, the ZADN team enthusiastically shared their desire to bring back the lessons they learned to their colleagues in India.
With confidence, Motiwalla expressed that she felt “the pilot program has been very successful and ZADN has surpassed my expectations on being on top of their game in learning and adapting to (OR adopting our) our firm culture, workflows, and processes.”
“I believe we have found a partnering firm that is equally vested in the success of our firm goals and in whom we can trust to maintain the high standard of deliverables to our clients.”
In a powerful testimonial to the success of the pilot program, Hoda concluded, “One unexpected insight I’ve gained during my time here is the true value of an employee. Beyond skill sets and qualifications, it’s the dedication, collaboration, and mutual support within a team that drives success. Each member brings something unique to the table, and it’s the synergy of these diverse talents that propels us forward and strengthens our collective impact.”
Looking ahead, our collaboration with ZADN & Associates remains a cornerstone of our commitment to delivering excellent client service.
Together, we can offer our clients top-quality services that epitomize our shared values and principles. This journey reaffirms our mutual pledge to progress, collaboration, and attainment of remarkable results, ensuring that our clients experience the utmost excellence from the combined strengths of both entities.
