Microsoft Dynamics NAV for BPO Cracks US Accounting Market

Top 20 accounting firm Wipfli LLP has become the first US partner for business process outsourcing (BPO) using the combination of Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Office 365. The offering is deployed extensively in Europe and has also been piloted in Canada by BDO Canada.

Wipfli plans to roll out the product to its clients within six months, notes Inga Arendt, CPA, a partner in Wipfli's Small Business Services. "[Dynamics NAV] is geared toward slightly larger businesses, but Wipfli has expertise offering BPO services to smaller businesses," Arendt says. "This will open up a broader market for us and present an opportunity for greater market expertise."

The accounting firm plans to private label the NAV-based BPO product but is currently going through a corporate-wide rebranding that forestalls any further announcements, Arendt says. Microsoft suggested that Wipfli work with a NAV implementation partner, so the firm is presently evaluating candidates before starting implementation.

BPO with NAV in Canada

For the past two years, BDO Canada has been deploying Microsoft Dynamics NAV through a BPO portal, says David Simkins, managing partner of Advisory Services. The product attracts businesses that generate up to $5 million in revenue that do not have a fulltime comptroller.

BDO is in the Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics for the NAV practice, a reason Microsoft approached the accounting firm to refine the BPO product for the North America market. Simkins calls NAV a strategic investment for BDO. "It's a big win for us and will continue to be a big win as we expand globally," Simkins says. "For BDO, it's a way to tie another service ...