G. Joseph & Associates

Audit, tax and corporate advisory from an Indian chartered accountancy

G. Joseph & Associates is a firm of chartered accountants based in Kerala, India. Its origins go back to 1988, when it began as a proprietorship set up by its founder and later became a partnership. The firm started out on project consultancy, preparing detailed project reports and arranging credit syndication, and over the years it has widened its range to include audit and assurance, taxation, corporate advisory, transaction services and business process outsourcing. Its material says it works for more than 300 corporate clients in India and abroad, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, the Middle East and across Asia and Australia.

The firm employs a team of partners and staff that it describes as a multi-disciplinary group. Each partner leads one of its business lines, and the firm describes the people at the top as qualified members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, several of whom also hold specialist certifications in information systems audit, valuation or insolvency work.

Statutory and internal audit work

The audit and assurance line covers statutory audits, internal audits, tax audits and special-purpose audits. The firm describes assurance as a methodical examination and review that gives stakeholders, including promoters, boards, investors and regulators, an independent view that the books of account, financial statements, returns and systems are free from material misstatement. The firm's assurance practice is led by a partner with long experience in internal and external audits and direct taxation.

Taxation and compliance

The taxation work covers both direct and indirect tax. It includes periodic compliance, interpretation of tax law and the design of tax strategies, transfer pricing advice and tax representation before the authorities. The indirect tax practice is led by a principal who spent decades in government service with the central excise and customs departments before qualifying as an advocate. The firm says that practice focuses on resolving legacy service tax and excise matters, customs cases and, more recently, the strategies needed under the goods and services tax regime.

Corporate advisory and transactions

Corporate advisory covers company law, foreign exchange regulations and the rules that apply in special economic zones, together with the ongoing compliance those rules involve. Start-up advisory is part of the same line. The transaction services line prepares detailed project reports and valuations, carries out due diligence reviews, advises on insolvency law and builds financial models. The firm also offers help on mergers and acquisitions and on insolvency matters, and one of its partners sits on arbitration panels, which the firm presents as a sign of its standing in the field.

Outsourcing and family business succession

The outsourcing line handles accounting, payroll, taxation, compliance and treasury management for clients who prefer to hand these functions to an outside team. The firm also advises family businesses on professionalising their organisations and on succession planning, drawing on a partner's experience of systems, procedures and corporate governance. The site lists its office in Cochin and its focus on the wider Indian market alongside its international clients, and it presents the mix of audit, tax, advisory and outsourcing as a single practice serving businesses at every stage of growth.

With origins going back to 1988, G. Joseph & Associates is an Indian firm of chartered accountants. George Joseph started it as a proprietorship; it later became a partnership and grew from project consultancy into a broader practice.

Products and services

• Audit and assurance: statutory, internal, tax and special-purpose audits.
• Taxation: direct and indirect tax compliance, transfer pricing and representation.
• Corporate advisory: company law, foreign exchange rules and SEZ regulations.
• Transaction services: project reports, valuations, due diligence, financial modelling and insolvency advice.
• Business process outsourcing: accounting, payroll, tax, compliance and treasury management.

Who it serves

The firm works with more than 300 corporate clients, both at home in India and abroad in Britain, America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

Key facts

• Based in: India
• Founded: 1988
• Team: 7 partners and over 90 staff
• Founder: George Joseph, managing partner, who also sits on arbitration panels of the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange