Ex-KPMG Partner’s Firm Targets $150M Revenue in ESG & Accounting Consulting

Backstory

First, let’s rewind to the 1990s and uncover the roots of an extraordinary journey:

1994: Began his career as a trainee at KPMG India when KPMG started in India!

2005 – 2009: By 2005, Jamil was leading KPMG’s US GAAP & SEC Practice.

2012 – 2015: Jamil became a Partner at KPMG at just 28, founding and later leading the firm’s Accounting Advisory practice globally. As KPMG’s Global Head of Accounting Advisory Services, he managed a 4,000-member team and a $1 billion practice, driving the assurance business to market leadership.

In a conversation with TaxSutra Jamil Khatri said, “I am a USA CPA and an Indian Chartered Accountant and early on, actually, I started focusing on helping Indian companies to list ADRs in the American markets.

Later I founded a business for KPMG called Accounting Advisory Services.”

2015-2022: In 2015, he took the reins as Head of Audit at BSR & Co., a member of the KPMG global network. (KPMG carries out its auditing work in India through BSR & Co)

During this stint, he guided industry giants like ICICI, L&T, and Wipro through complex global accounting landscapes.

2022: In April 2022, he was elevated to Partner at BSR & Co. LLP

As reported by Money Control, Jamil played a pivotal role in guiding prominent Indian companies like,

• Reddy’s,
• The Godrej Group,
• MindTree,
• Genpact
• Tech Mahindra

Second Innings

After 27 years of leadership at BSR and KPMG, Jamil Khatri was ready for a bigger challenge.

He saw a golden opportunity in the rapidly growing Accounting and ESG consulting market, valued at $15B across the US, Europe, and India, with $10B coming from the US alone.

Recognizing the untapped potential in regions like India, the US, and the Middle East (UAE & Saudi Arabia), Jamil envisioned a chance to disrupt the industry with:

• Cutting-edge technology
• A cloud-based delivery model for global clients

In September 2022, Jamil founded Uniqus, specializing in ESG and Accounting Consulting for global and domestic markets.

Sandip Khetan, Ex-KPMG and EY Partner joined in as the Co-founder.

Anu Chaudhary (former CEO of SustainPlus, now part of Uniqus).

In a conversation with Taxsutra Jamil mentioned, “So we focus on getting the company ready from external reporting and internal reporting to its stakeholders. That’s the sweet spot for Uniqus.”

Next, raising capital

Unlike the Big 4 firms, Uniqus focuses exclusively on consulting, with no audit services involved.

Moreover, while most consultancies follow a traditional partnership model, Uniqus operates as a company. This structure allows them to raise capital and, as a result, they have established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) pool… and they did just that!

• Dec 2022 Series A: Raised $12.5M from Nexus Venture Partners and Sorin Investments (Valuation of $50M)
• April 2024 Series B: Secured $10M from the same investors (Valuation of $100M in the second round)

Nexus Venture Partners is an India-US venture fund, with a focus on enterprise technology and Digital India spaces.

Sorin Investments is an early-stage tech fund.

According to The Economic Times, investors now hold nearly one-third of the company.

Services offered 

Accounting & Reporting Consulting

This practice assists clients in the following:

• Accounting
• Financial reporting
• Capital markets
• Merger transactions reporting
• Regulatory reporting
• Internal control, and automation.

They assist companies throughout their IPO journey, ensuring they meet the required internal controls mandated by the Abu Dhabi government, Sarbanes Oxley, India IFC, and other relevant regulations.

ESG and Climate Change Consulting

Uniqus’ second business is dedicated to ESG practice, offering extensive experience and expertise to help clients with all aspects of ESG requirements.

This includes developing:

• ESG strategies
• Setting climate action targets
• Adhering to global and Indian reporting standards
• Utilizing technology
• Providing implementation support

Just like in accounting, there are various reporting frameworks in the world of ESG, such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), SAS, and Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR).

Tech Consulting

• Digitization & Automation
• Data and Analytics
• Technology and Cyber Risk
• AI & ML

And comes the rapid expansion…

The team grew to 50+ Partners & Directors and 500+ team members in just two years!

They serve 200+ marquee clients via a global cloud delivery model (HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Al Rajhi Group, Arab National Bank, The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), Burjeel Holding, Tawal, Flipkart, GE and GAP) list goes on.

They are also experiencing solid domestic growth driven by IPOs, compliance, governance, and SEBI-related ESG services for startups.

Globally, they are recording rising demand from the Middle East and the US for outsourced ESG solutions.

Offices

Uniqus has a total of 8 offices spanning the USA, Middle East, and India

• San Jose and New York, representing the two coasts of the USA.
• Abu Dhabi
• Dubai
• Saudi Arabia
• Mumbai
• Gurgaon
• Bengaluru

Products

1. UniQuest: AI tool for Financial Reporting and ESG (Built on ChatGPT)
2. ESG UniVerse: a one-stop technology solution for the ESG journey. After securing its second round of funding, it acquired Goodera’s global ESG tech business and rebranded it as ESG Universe.
3. Reporting UniVerse: One-stop cloud-based technology platform designed to automate financial reporting, including the preparation of financial statements.
4. Unify: Project management solution to seamlessly collaborate between teams

But what sets them apart?

Jamil Khatri now plans to transform itself into a $150 million revenue firm by 2027, as reported by Money Control.

He also hinted at the possibility of listing the firm on the US market, eventually.

And to answer what sets them apart?

• Exclusive focus on two businesses: Accounting & Reporting, ESG and Tech Consulting (no Audit!)
• Operating across three key markets – India, the US, and the Middle East.
• Leverage cutting-edge technology
• Backed by expert talent, to drive sustainable transformations that are both impactful and efficient
• Company model (no partnerships)

It’s such a game-changer!

(Source: ET, Mint and Tax Sutra)