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Helmi Talib & Co is all about delivering a responsive quality service.

Accounting firms are abound in Singapore because of its reputation as an established global business hub. Whilst all accounting firms aim to assist companies with focussing on their bigger goals and strategies, there are those that particularly deliver a professional service that sets them apart from the rest.

Helmi Talib & Co, established in 1992, is an accounting firm that does just that. It is a member of the International Association of Practicing Accountants (IAPA), a global association of independent accountancy and business advisory firms represented by 200 firms in more than 70 countries.

Helmi Talib & Co emphasises trust as one of its key values. “As a firm, our reputation is built on integrity and honesty,” says Helmi Talib, managing partner of Helmi Talib & Co. “We make every effort to develop a relationship with our clients, people, and community based on trust.”

Client-focussed
Helmi Talib & Co’s vision is to offer a quality and responsive service. It aims to foster a client relationship built on trust with continued interest in the clients’ business affairs, as well as to provide quality professional service. As a manifestation of this mission, the firm adopted the Singapore Standard on Quality Control (SSQC1) and established a quality control manual in 2010. The quality control manual is updated on a yearly basis.

The firm has a weekly management meeting to improve productivity and efficiency by closely monitoring the engagement from planning to issuance of reports. These techniques improve service quality, through the reduction of turn-around time, errors in deliverables, as well as through understanding the needs, interests, and expectations of clients. “For us, responsiveness means going beyond meeting timelines,” says Helmi. “It is to understand and act upon the interests and expectations of clients.”

At 24 years and counting, Helmi Talib & Co has hit numerous milestones since it was founded. Amongst its biggest achievements is having an exponential growth in clientele and staff. It has also had an increase in productivity and efficiency due to implementation of structured Standard Operating Procedures and upgrade of Information Technology infrastructure.

People-oriented
Helmi Talib & Co is focussed on the personal growth of its employees. It provides its employees with opportunities to develop their professional and technical competencies. For instance, it encourages its staff to pursue professional accounting qualifications through the “Study Support Program.” Employees under this program will enjoy 100% subsidy on their registration fees, school fees, and examination fees to any one of the following accounting qualifications: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), CPA Australia, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and Singapore Qualification Programme (SQP).

Helmi Talib & Co also embarked on the Enterprise Training Support (ETS) by the Singapore Workforce Development (WDA), which aims to equip the firm’s staff with all the necessary technical knowledge and soft skills capabilities that will enhance professional service quality standard to its clients. Mentorship programs are set in place for further staff motivation and development. The firm has successfully organised for a secondment of one of its employees to Price Bailey, an IAPA member firm in the United Kingdom.

With the belief of the significance of work-life balance in retaining its human capital, Helmi Talib & Co organises various sports and recreation events that foster interaction, participation, and bonding on a regular basis.

One with the community
Helmi Talib & Co acknowledges its social duty as a corporate citizen and is active in various community initiatives. Each staff member is required to participate in at least one corporate social responsibility (CSR) event every year. These events are organised by the firm in collaboration with various charitable organisations, namely Club Rainbow and Habitat for Humanity.

Helmi Talib & Co has also organised multiple donation drives within the firm. Every dollar of the staff’s overall contribution for a natural disaster relief is matched by the firm. The relief efforts contributed to include Haiti Earthquake (2010), Haiyan Typhoon, Philippines (2013), and Nepal Earthquake (2015).
In April 2016, Helmi Talib & Co was featured by MediaCorp as a model for how Small Medium Enterprise (SME) can adopt CSR Initiative.

Going forward
Helmi Talib & Co is optimistic in addressing the challenges facing the industry and is in the process of developing additional technical capabilities that will enable it to deliver a more varied suite of services to clients. “One of our key values is optimism,” says Helmi. “We face the challenges of today with the confidence that tomorrow will be better.”