Accountant looks forward
Biswanath Chakrabarty has plans to expand his firm and how he'll eventually retire
Karen K. Ho
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Biswanath Chakrabarty is always trying to figure out what he's going to do next.
Biswanath Chakrabarty stands in the conference room of his firm, EPR Yellowknife Accounting Professional Corporation, next to his certificate for his master's in business administration. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo
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The entrepreneur, chartered accountant, former public servant and dad of three originally from India just finished helping to organize EPR Canada's Best Practices meeting in Yellowknife last week at the Explorer Hotel. But Chakrabarty is already looking at how his firm can further benefit from its membership and expand to provide additional services, such as management consulting.
About a year ago, Chakrabathy's firm changed its name from Biswanath Chakrabarty & Co. to EPR Yellowknife Accounting Professional Corporation.
The company president said it was because demand for services in the NWT was diversifying.
"Our clients have unique needs that cannot be satisfied by the resources in Yellowknife," Chakrabarty told Yellowknifer, citing the example of a certified business valuator. Such an individual would allow the accounting firm to assess the value of a given business which would come in handy if the owner was looking to sell or a buyer was interested in making an acquisition.
"I don't have that capacity in my firm."
EPR Canada is a national body that provides other accounting-related expertise and services that aren't in-office, as well as networking, education and support.
"Now I have a group behind me," Chakrabathy said in the conference room of his office in the Commerce Place building. "Any time I need an expert service now it's right there at a very reasonable price."
That's because the rate for services offered through member firms of EPR Canada is the same.
It's the latest move for the entrepreneur, who was a chartered accountant in India for nine years before immigrating to Canada in 2001 for a job with the Government of Nunavut.
After three years, he started working for the GNWT's housing corporation and then the Business Development and Investment Corporation. However, his dream was always to be a practising chartered accountant.
"Public practice is my passion and my interest from my heart," he said, acknowledging his role as president of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada for two terms.
So in 2010, Chakrabarty decided it was the right time to quit his job and started his firm in a small office in the Bromley building on Franklin Avenue. At the start, it was just him and a part-time assistant who helped him during the evenings.
"In 2011, we had to move to this bigger office," he said. "Within a year, there was so much work with the Government of Nunavut, the Government of the Northwest Territories and corporate clients."
By its third year, the firm crossed $1 million in revenues. Chakrabarty attributed this growth and ability to garner standing agreements for work with both governments due to his willingness to help and go beyond with his clients. He said this is especially important in places where community leaders may not understand a lot of accounting and financial terms due to a limited education.
Chakrabarty admitted one of his biggest challenges is finding, affording and retaining staff.
"There's no shortage of work here," he said. However, he estimated the salary for a bankruptcy expert would be around $300,000 a year. "It is hard to keep a very-skilled employee in Yellowknife," he said. "And that is why we don't see those kinds of professionals in town."
By becoming a independent member firm of EPR Canada, Chakrabarty doesn't have to go through the process of having those specialized experts on staff full-time, while maintaining access whenever he needs them. He'll be part of a network that will allow him to these experts on an as-needed basis.
With his work across both territories in many remote communities, and his company's status as a Northern firm, Chakrabarty feels very proud about the fact that his office manager, Harold Barnaby, is aboriginal.
His pride in Yellowknife is also why he plans on building a home, retiring here and why he pushed for the Best Practices meeting to take place in the city so quickly after his firm joined the organization.
"I want to give the impression we are an advanced city that's growing with lots of potential and can provide high-level services," he said.
Back at the Explorer last week, there were about three dozen accounting professionals who flew in for the two-day event, many who had never visited the city before.
As for the future, Chakrabarty wants to continue hiring "the best of the best" and build towards being a full-priced accounting firm.
One of the newest products offered by EPR Yellowknife is stop-gap services. After Chakrabathy recognized many small communities in the North had hiring challenges and high-turnover of their financial officers, he put together a service that also offered training and process documentation to allow for a smoother transition. "We are documenting how they are doing so it is easier for them going forward," he said.
Chakrabarty's desire to help others is also reflected in his company's motto: "We grow by helping others grow."
