Congruent completes 15 years of relationship with one of its clients despite the client having been acquired by a leader in the industry, which was subsequently acquired by another larger company two years later.
It was the year 2004. We were engaged by a mid-size Retirement Plan Provider whose main business was administering Defined Contribution (DC) and Defined Benefit (DB) plans. The client had 30-40 plan administrators who worked on 500+ plans.
Surprisingly, right at the beginning of the engagement, Congruent team focused on Compliance Testing (ADP/ACP Testing), a complex process. It was very counter intuitive because the process has a learning curve of a few years owing to multiple layers of rules and regulations. Normally, plan administration processing engagements would have started with much simpler business processes. Compliance Testing also requires a strong team with deep domain knowledge and expertise in data-intensive mathematical models. At Congruent, thanks to our expertise in the area of Defined Contribution and the profile of the human resources we brought to the team, we were able to analyze and breakdown the flow into various processes and deliver 100 percent output within six months!
The acquisitions
We had a good run for five to six years when our client was acquired by a larger company – which had an existing outsourcing partner. So, they were contractually obligated to be exclusive with them. Naturally, the acquiring company wanted that partner to take over the compliance testing process as soon as they could. Congruent was put on a 90 day notice period. During this time, the other outsourcing partner just could not show any signs of coming up to speed. The customer then called for a meeting with us and requested us to work as a sub-contractor to the other partner so that they can fulfill their contractual obligation. In the larger interests of our customer, we accepted and continued as a subcontractor.
We were back in the game and this relationship continued for another two years when yet another leading player in the industry acquired this entity. Interestingly, they realized that we were doing the compliance testing and decided to engage with us directly. In spite of the tumultuous changes in the models of engagement, we have had a 15+ year long relationship with this customer and it is a matter of great pride for us.
Congruent’s USP
Despite changing parent organizations, Congruent continues to remain the compliance testing partner of choice for 15 years. Over this time, rule and regulations have evolved, newer technologies emerged and digital-led processes have been established. We believe our ability to constantly evolve and develop our expertise in this domain acted as a game changer. Congruent’s leadership team also stayed extremely close to the client, understanding specific needs and wants of the compliance testing process.
We have an internal documentation team that supplements the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) required by the client. As a result, despite attrition, we have been able to maintain the same quality.
Secondly, we have a robust checklist that also enabled the team to maintain continuity regardless of who was on the project.
The third factor that contributed to Congruent being retained a partner is our internal training methodology. We also have a couple of shadow members who take over in someone’s absence. Having had the expertise of serving several clients in the DC segment also helped.
The time difference between the US and India has added to the advantage as any requirement is fulfilled within 24 hours after a request has been raised. In short, our experience, expertise and people made all the difference.
Over the years, Congruent has become an expert in the area of Compliance Testing, having stayed in tune with evolving regulations. More than 95% of our Retirement Plan Provider clients entrust their Compliance Testing process with us.
If you’d like to schedule a call with one of our Compliance Experts, write to us at info@cspl.com