30 year old accountant fulfils late father’s wasiat by starting his own accounting practice in hometown
Hailing from Malaysia’s treasured island destination Langkawi, the team at management services firm Fad&Co shows big ambition to become one of the top accounting practices.
WHEN one thinks about Langkawi, we associate it with holiday getaways, sunny beaches and duty-free shopping. We tend not to think of the over 100,000 people who live and work on the island.
“This is where I come in '' chimes Langkawi born and bred accountant Fadiral Anwar (Fad for short). “We support all kinds of businesses on this sunny island – from hospitality to construction, from Sdn Bhd companies to startups''. Fad is the founder of management services firm Fad&Co, who set out with the intention of becoming one the top accounting practices in Langkawi.
He admits that having a home advantage does help. “I was born in Langkawi, as was my mother, so I’ve known most businesses, their owners and operations for some time now. All I had to do was approach them and get them on-board!”
In spite of Fad&Co boasting a strong suite of local clientele and Fad’s sunny disposition, things haven’t always been smooth sailing. “During the pandemic I was made redundant, and soon after I lost my father. Right before he passed, he told me it was his wasiat (will) for me to start my own business. With such huge and significant losses over such a short period of time, I quickly descended into depression but made a conscious effort to use what my dad had said to me as a guiding light. I decided to invest all my effort into kickstarting Fad&Co instead.” In 2020, Fad&Co was born, and has since grown to extend a branch in Kuala Lumpur.
Fad shared that most accounting firms in Langkawi have been operating for the last two decades. “I am very much the new kid on the block,” he says. “And to be honest, when I started, it wasn’t easy convincing clients, especially since I was working out of my home!”
However, Fad had an ace up his sleeve – cloud accounting software Xero.
“I partnered with Xero right from the start, and this made a big difference,” he says. “I would always take the software with me as a value add. And most often, it got the clients’ attention, and I have been able to retain their business.”
“Clients can now access their real-time financial data at their fingertips, and with this visibility over their cash flow, we are able to collaborate and make business decisions quickly. Xero has allowed my clients to focus their energy on growing their business, not managing it. It’s a game-changer that makes accounting easier and more accessible than ever before.”
Fad says: “We are only a five-man outfit, including myself. The great thing about Xero is that you don’t need a lot of staff. It automates time-consuming tasks like bank reconciliation or sorting through receipts, allowing us to use that time more effectively.”
Many SMEs in Langkawi were still working on desktop software and relying on Excel sheets. “I’m really proud to say that Fad & Co has successfully digitally transformed some of the island’s longest standing businesses.”
Fad says he saw the pandemic as an opportunity to encourage businesses to turn to digital tools to help them weather the storm.
“As tourism is a massive industry in Langkawi, the extended MCOs put most businesses on halt. This slowdown was a good opportunity for them to re-evaluate their business processes.”
Fad cites Xero’s user-friendly platform for making it easy to convince clients to turn to the cloud.
Cloud accounting has opened up many doors to business opportunities and growth for team Fad&Co and is said to be a game changer in the accounting industry with its easy accessibility.
“I am a certified Xero migration specialist and as part of Fad&Co’s services, we provide the migration service for free. Moreover, with traditional systems, one probably has to renew their licence annually. There haven’t been any negative comments from my clients so far. Everyone has been very happy with Xero.”
The advantage of using Xero, Fad says, is that it is an all-in-one accounting solution.
“Cash flow and invoicing have all become so simple. Xero is a comprehensive system where everything is included. What’s best is that Xero constantly does all the heavy lifting for you, even while you are asleep.”
Fad says that he is personally a big fan of the integrated OCR tool, Hubdoc, which is easy to use and helps you manage the data efficiently. “With Hubdoc, you can capture and store the data in the cloud, and then you can access it anytime, anywhere. It’s a whole lot more organised this way.”
One of the greatest advantages of working with Xero according to Fad, is its account managers that are always on hand to assist you. “Xero’s account manager conducts free webinars, trains you, gets you certified – they are there to help you with practically everything,” he shares. “It has been so easy for me to learn. On top of these features, there are also a lot of courses so you can constantly level up. I am, after all, only 30 years old and up against many other seasoned accountants with a lot more experience and have been in business a long time. But Xero has levelled the playing field by helping me upgrade myself and providing the software and technology to get ahead.”
Fad also loves the fact that Xero provides all-day customer support. “You can reach out to them 24/7, and there is always someone who replies, on time, so you are not left behind.”
Fad is certain that Fad&Co’s vision to continuously provide excellent service became a reality thanks to Xero, and the future looks bright too. He says: “We have fully embraced cloud-based accounting and I truly believe that this will future-proof our firm and propel our growth for years to come.”
For more information about Xero, click here.
