By Nick Thompson

In Moldova, the EBRD, with funding from the Small Business Impact Fund (SBIF), recently helped local company DAD Accountant to create a new website, making it more modern, functional and user friendly, increasing visibility of the brand and generating new business leads.

Founded by CFO Dan Dima and current CEO Andrian Dediu, DAD Accountant started operating in 2016, with a commitment to providing accountancy services adhering to the principles of safety, confidentiality and professionalism.

Recently, the business has diversified into other services, from recruitment to HR management, financial and managerial reporting, as well as specialised training. Developed to cover the array of departments that a typical SME might have, this suite of services has truly helped the business grow and fulfill its potential.

Co-founders with a fresh vision

The germ of the idea for the business came from Dan, who was shaped by his personal experience working for one of the Big Four, driving him to start his own company and carve out a place in the market. Andrian shared Dan’s enthusiasm and both realised there was space for a new entrant to shake things up and challenge the orthodoxy of the main players.

Within the company, Dan’s expertise is in financial auditing and advice, whereas Andrian’s focus is quality of service and client satisfaction: developing services and business leads, specialising in optimising logistical and operational procedures for both DAD and its clients.

In terms of advice for fledgling entrepreneurs, Andrian says, “It is important – even at the start-up stage – to take courses on taxation and budget planning. To know what the business figures are and how to control them is integral to running a successful company.”

Ambitions and technology

DAD Accountant is currently one of the top seven companies providing accountancy services in Moldova, with ambitions to become number one. To get there, the business continuously invests in utilising the most effective technologies available for processing requests and communications, benefitting their clients as well as their staff.

The company lives by the tenets “integrity, accuracy and timeliness”, and with investment in innovative digital solutions, the company can uphold those values by cutting back on unnecessary admin and outdated software. To DAD’s co-founders, it is not easy to accelerate if you are inflexible or take too much time to adapt to the changes happening around you.

Challenges and growth

One of the major challenges the company faced was moving away from classic marketing strategies and rethinking how they could attract and then add value to local companies beyond what already existed in the marketplace. With support from the EBRD’s Advice for Small Businesses programme, the company created a new website, refreshing their previous basic, dated and unintuitive offering. A complete overhaul was needed, with a focus on features, analysis and the ability to post regular, high quality content.

Andrian says, “Given that the company provides a broad spectrum of B2B services, for advertising purposes it was necessary to structure the website precisely for each direction of development. The new multi-page site makes it possible to create marketing campaigns that direct the flow of potential customers to the specific corresponding service page. Educational and specialist materials, such as blog articles and business case studies, are then added to the exact section of interest.”

Clients can also submit documents online, track account progress and follow their payment schedules, as well communicate directly with their allocated accountant.

A new lease of life

The new website acts as an information hub and a conduit for the business and its communications, helping the company grow substantially. Annually, the number of offices is increasing and there are now 30 team members over 3 towns, serving 130 subscription-based clients and about 25 occasional clients per month.

In just six years, the company has become a recognisable and dependable face in the market, earning numerous accolades that are indicative of the trust its growing client base places in it. This is down to the vision of management and their willingness to invest in the business, combined with the hard work of staff, with a commitment to quality control and providing an excellent, competitively priced service.

This all adds up to a company that is very much taking its destiny into its own hands: laying the foundations for growth and beginning to establish itself as a pre-eminent player in the Moldovan market.