Frequently Asked Questions
If your question is not here, email hello@advaitinc.com.
Vivek responds personally.
Every question.
Direct answers.
ABOUT ADVAIT
Advait is a Sanskrit word meaning non-duality — the absence of separation. The operating meaning: no separation between the advisor and the outcome. The partner who designs the engagement delivers it.
Advait is Delaware incorporated. Client relationships, senior engagement leadership, and CPA advisory are based in the United States. SAP implementation, GCC execution, AI development, and finance delivery are based in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru, India.
No. Advait is an independent firm founded in 2020. The founder brings experience from senior roles at large consulting organisations — which is precisely why the firm was built to operate differently.
Mid-market and enterprise organisations, typically $50M–$2B in revenue. The right fit is defined by the complexity of the problem, not the size of the company.
Pricing & Engagements
We do not publish standard rates because scope varies significantly. Our engagements are consistently 30–50% below comparable Big 4 engagements. Every engagement is fixed-fee and scoped precisely before we begin. There are no billable-hour surprises.
There is no formal minimum. The AI Readiness Assessment is a standalone three-week engagement. SAP and GCC engagements typically run longer. We will scope honestly and tell you if an engagement is not the right fit.
We work on fixed-fee project engagements (Build) and fixed monthly retainers (Run). We do not work on time-and-materials billing. The incentive structure of hourly billing is not compatible with our model.
If scope expands materially because something genuinely new was discovered, we discuss it transparently and agree a change before it begins. We do not expand scope unilaterally and invoice for it.
Yes, always free. A diagnostic session, typically 45–60 minutes with Vivek. We discuss the problem, the context, and whether Advait is genuinely the right firm. If yes, a scoped proposal follows within a week. If not, we say so clearly.
TEAM & DELIVERY
The same partner who runs the first conversation and proposes the engagement leads the delivery. Not manages from a distance — leads, week by week, in the room. That is the model.
We do not sub-contract your critical path. In specific situations — specialist legal entities for GCC incorporation, specialist payroll providers for CPA clients — we work with disclosed external partners who receive no commercial incentives from us.
We design for the right presence. For engagements that benefit from on-site time — early GCC builds, critical go-live periods, board strategy sessions — we are on-site. For ongoing delivery phases, we are present at the cadence the engagement requires.
SAP ADVISORY
We are independent. We have no reseller or preferred partner relationship with SAP, which means our recommendations are free of vendor incentive. We recommend the SAP products and approaches that serve the client’s outcome.
Yes. We require a 4–6 week onboarding period to document the existing architecture and decisions before we achieve standard SLA performance.
Yes. We begin with a forensic assessment of what structural conditions caused the failure. We have completed implementations others abandoned, including the $2B pharma brownfield rescue in our Work section.
Yes, alongside on-premise and private cloud environments. The advisory approach is the same — we recommend the deployment model that fits the business requirements.
GCC Build-Operate-Transfer
The economics of a dedicated GCC are compelling at 30–50 seats and above. Below that threshold, a managed shared services or staffing-based model is often better. We will say so honestly if that is the case.
A GCC is your captive entity — your employees, your culture, your intellectual property, your governance. The BOOT model builds your captive with Advait managing it during establishment, then transfers ownership to you completely.
Yes. We begin with a forensic assessment of what structural conditions caused the failure. We have completed implementations others abandoned, including the $2B pharma brownfield rescue in our Work section.
We operate where the talent and cost requirements of each engagement direct us. Our deepest networks are in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune. Engagements elsewhere in India are possible with a slightly extended talent acquisition timeline.
CPA & ACCOUNTING
Our US tax and GAAP advisory team is 100% CPA-credentialed. For cross-border engagements, our India-side delivery is handled by CA professionals who are part of the Advait delivery model — not an external referral.
If your business has material India operations, the gap between your US CPA and your India CA is where most of the structuring and compliance risk lives. Very few US CPAs understand FEMA, RBI, and Indian entity compliance. Advait closes that gap.
Yes. We have managed IRS correspondence, audit responses, and state tax disputes, including cases involving cross-border transfer pricing positions.
References & First Steps
Yes. Client names are withheld in public materials by agreement. After an initial conversation, we will connect you with a relevant client — same industry, similar engagement type — with their permission.
Yes. We execute a mutual NDA before any detailed case discussion, and apply NDA-equivalent confidentiality to all client information regardless.
Vivek responds personally within 48 hours to schedule a first conversation. The first conversation is a diagnostic session, not a sales call.
Yes, always free and without obligation. There is no retainer, no framework agreement, and no minimum commitment required to have the first conversation.