With operations based in Belfast’s financial district, Arkk Solutions is keen to make sure team members are as happy as the clients thanks to a programme of training and quality measures geared towards top-level iXBRL tagging
originally published on icaew.economia.com
Responding to the latest taxonomies and changes from HMRC and Revenue, Arkk Solutions has spent the past 12 months developing the knowledge within its tagging team. The key to efficiently and actively delivering financial statements tagged and converted to iXBRL to over 500 clients is keeping the team’s skills up to date.
General manager Lucy Gordon says that as well as her staff being on hand to answer complex client queries, they have developed processes to identify any inconsistencies on first review. “Time spent on the overall tagging process has been significantly reduced,” says Gordon. “This means we’re able to offer more high-quality, quick turnarounds. Our clients often have to prepare their accounts at the last minute, and it’s vital we can tag accurately and effectively in as little as 48 hours.”
Having a second or third pair of eyes on each of the client accounts helps to smooth the manual parts of the process involved in tagging accounts, which would otherwise be susceptible to error.
The iXBRL tagging department is split into two teams, with each team having their own clients. This means that all files for one client will be tagged and reviewed across a small number of people, ensuring all files are consistent.
Key to the progression of appropriate staff skills has been the development of an eight-week training programme, which has borne fruit over the past year. New hires are paired with a senior team member, an expert tagger within the business who can assist them with all their queries while they train. Working from the base up, recruits shadow for the first four weeks, moving on to tagging the more basic files as their supervisor checks for quality. “This will continue until the new hire feels comfortable to tag on their own,” adds Gordon. “Once they are at a standard where the amendments on their files are lower than 20%, they will be introduced to additional taxonomies, tax computations and more complex files.”
Gordon adds that recruits also go through a customer training programme. This consists of on the floor training, role plays and team exercises, all of which help develop the Arkk Solutions culture, focused on positivity and responsiveness.
The set-up of Arkk Solutions’ iXBRL tagging team means they can move to solve problems quickly. Being based in Belfast and close to clients gives the tagging operation a deeper understanding on deliverables, and in turn, allows the team to better support their customers.
By delivering direct communication, recognising and adding value, and supporting larger customers with their increasing volume of documents, Arkk Solutions delivers a high-quality service to its UK and Irish clients.