Beyond Borders Podcast Episode 002: Overview
Welcome to our latest podcast episode featuring Mickael Cardoso from CloudCfo. As a global frontrunner in financial services, CloudCfo serves over 200 startups and SMEs worldwide. With a dedicated team of experts well-versed in the latest international industry standards for accounting, CloudCfo seamlessly integrates cutting-edge technology to deliver top-notch financial solutions.
From navigating intricate tax regulations to optimizing tax strategies, CloudCfo is committed to streamlining financial operations. Our comprehensive suite of services includes efficient handling of accounts payable, ensuring timely payments and optimizing cash flow management. We also streamline accounts receivable to enhance financial stability.
CloudCfo offers strategic budget planning services, aligning financial goals with operational objectives for transparency and growth. Our accurate and data-driven financial forecasting facilitates proactive decision-making.
For businesses seeking executive financial guidance without the commitment of a full-time, in-house CFO, CloudCfo provides Virtual CFO services. With a dynamic blend of expertise and technology, CloudCfo empowers businesses with unparalleled financial management, propelling them towards success. Tune in to learn more!
Guest Bio
Mickael Cardoso is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CloudCfo.Before this, Mickael worked as a Chief Financial Officer for a large multinational corporation in Asia Pacific. He recognized that by utilizing cloud technology together with professionally streamlined processes and the right expertise, businesses of any size and in any industry can be empowered to run their finances much more efficiently and at a competitive cost.
Interview Transcript
Neal: Hello and welcome to OutsourcingFit. Thank you so much for joining us, I’m your host Neal Howard. We’re going to give you some information on outsourcing and how outsourcing can benefit you and your business we’re joined by guest Mickael Cardoso, Founder and CEO of CloudCfo. Welcome to OutsourcingFit Mickael.
Mickael: Hi Neal.
Neal: Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became involved with outsourcing.
Mickael: Sure. I’m actually born in France. I’m from Europe but I’ve been in the Philippines for about 14 years. Manila in particular is one of the outsourcing capitals of the world so about six years ago I decided to start CloudCfo. I saw an opportunity to disrupt primarily cloud accounting first so we actually took a particular journey. We started as a cloud accounting firm for the Philippine market, pioneering that service and in the domestic market in the Philippines which is not something that really existed. It’s very common in the US, Canada and other places but in the Philippines where things were a bit old school we were one of the pioneers to do that and three or four years into this we realized that what we learn in the Philippines could be extrapolating in other markets where there’s a significant need for this type of services. We provide mostly cloud accounting services, handling books, doing your bookkeeping, financial closing, bank reconciliation, anything related to running the financial backend of small medium-sized companies.
Neal: So when it comes to running these small to medium-sized companies and I’m sure you’re including startups as well right?
Mickael: Absolutely.
Neal: Take us through your definition CloudCfo’s definition of successful outsourcing.
Mickael: Outsourcing is generally related to cost saving or finding labor into markets where you can’t find it on your own market. So there is an idea of cost saving obviously, it is a strong benefit of outsourcing. Offshoring is access to a different type of talent and potentially cost reduction but we don’t just look at it this way. Our objective is to add value, obviously reduce cost but also bring our expertise to add value for SMEs and that’s why we just specialize in one service so you’d have a lot of firms. Those outsource firms that pretty much just hire anybody you need that’s something we do not do. We just focus on cloud accounting, financial processes that allow us to build expertise that benefits US-based customers or in other countries in the world, English speaking primarily which then have access to this highly skilled specialized team of people at the reduced cost as well.
Neal: How does this highly specialized team gain their knowledge? Are these all financial
experts, accountants? Is that what’s happening here?
Mickael: Yes. So we hire accountants primarily. We build teams of accountants so all our teams are led by certified public accountants in the Philippines and the Philippines use IFRS standards but also have some understanding of GAP standards that apply in North America but we also train them. We have our training programs to train them on the best tools to use. We’re very technology driven, we use third party apps like QuickBooks, Online Xero, different types of softwares Tribe, PayPal, Shopify and we train our people to use those. That’s where we bring that layer of expertise. We try to understand what a startup needs, what type of industries they’re in, what processes apply to their business. An e-commerce business is not the same as a brick and mortar business or restaurant and that’s where we come in which type of applications will fit. How do we set them up? Do we integrate them? How do we build processes so business can rely on us and scale their business without worrying too much about their financials?
Neal: Are you saying that your client really can be hands off with financial management as far as their firm is concerned by outsourcing with CloudCfo?
Mickael: Yes, I do with some confidence. We actually build technology so we’re a primary service company but we have a technology arm and we build. We have a web application that tracks processes so when we onboard a client we build operating procedures, timelines and we load those into our app, those workloads then assign to our team members so it’s not just having access to cheaper train talents but we provide end to end service where technology also manages and gives you transparency into our commitment so you can be hands off. Let us set up your process, you log on to your app, you see what’s going on, what are your calendars for financial closing, potentially tax preparations, etc. So we set everything up for you and you can just be fairly hands off about the whole thing.
Neal: What is your geographical footprint at this point?
Mickael: We’re based in Manila. Our team is located here. We work in a hybrid setup but everyone’s here around Metro Manila and we serve as clients right now from the West Coast of the US to New Zealand so pretty much any English speaking country all around the globe.
Neal: What types of experiences have you had on a cultural basis in outsourcing your services with these Western clients?
Mickael: That’s a very interesting question. That’s one thing we continuously need to work on. The Philippines is a collectivist environment, people are not very confrontational and we can’t put everyone in the same basket that Westerners tend to be a bit more direct and communicate more directly, expect more direct answers so that’s something that we have to work on the way we train our people. In fact, going back to the kind of technology and process oriented, having very clear guidelines on what’s expected from the team and having our application track those expectations provides assurance from both sides which kind of reduces a bit of the dependence solely on cross cultural understanding and communication. We just standardize everything obviously we need to communicate and be clear about our deliverables but I think technology and processes in between really helps those points as well.
Neal: Talk about the timeline from an inquiry to being fully set up with your client and your client being pleased with your services and then of course give us a website where we can learn more and any other contact information where folks can get a hold of you and learn about the benefits of outsourcing with CloudCfo.
Mickael: Sure. The timeline depends on the scale. If you need say fractional time of an accountant say one day, a week or two days a week, we can get going very very quickly. You get an inquiry today, we get a call tomorrow or today, we scope out, define how much time you need from different positions within the team based on their expertise and we could be up and running in a matter of a couple of weeks. We just need the accesses, build the processes together so two to four weeks. If you need a full team of four or five people, we may have a longer time of 30 to 45 days. You can find us on our website cloudcfo.ph and you can contact us there. That’s usually the best way for us to be contacted or LinkedIn as well we have a CloudCfo page.
Neal: Is there anything that you’d like to add for our listeners?
Mickael: I hope they try the outsourcing journey and have the experience of working with Filipinos. They’re very pleasant people to work with and are very dedicated to their work. So if they haven’t tried, I think they should really give it a shot because it’s hard to find some of these talents sometimes in the US.
Neal: Mickael, it’s been a pleasure speaking with you, thank you so much. You’ve been listening to OutsourcingFit, I’m your host Neal Howard with Mickael Cardoso, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CloudCfo. Learn more at our website at www.outsourcingfit.com
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