Insights

Advances in data analytics are allowing today’s auditors to gain greater insights into their clients’ organisational structure and provide them with higher levels of assurance at similar or even lower costs than ever before.

Asia Pacific businesses are caught in the crossfire of the US-China trade war. No matter how the conflict ends, trade patterns in the region are likely to change permanently and it will be those businesses with the most strategic foresight that stand to benefit.

True business transformation requires change to an organisation’s culture, processes and strategies in the face of shifting norms, digital disruption and evolving consumer needs. If done effectively, the benefits can be both immediate and long-lasting. However, transformation for its own sake is not a sustainable recipe for success. Before they begin the change process, companies must set clear goals to determine where they want to go and what enablers they will need to get them there. A clear plan for benefits realisation is critical to successful transformation.

For many manufacturers, cash flow is the limiting factor that determines how many new business opportunities they are able to pursue, and how ambitious their strategy can be as they plan for the future. The demands of Industry 4.0 require data-driven management both inside and outside the factory, requiring continuous capital investment to keep pace with a fast-moving business environment. Pricing pressures add to the challenge, reducing margins even as customer demands increase ever more quickly. Even the most forward-thinking manufacturers will have trouble staying ahead of the curve if they cannot access enough internal cash flow to keep the wheels of innovation turning.

On 28 February, the National Legislative Assembly approved the Personal Data Protection Act (“PDPA”). The Act is aimed at regulating the lawful collection, use, or disclosure of personal data that can directly or indirectly identify a natural person – but does not apply to the data of a deceased person. This Act also provides a framework how to process the personal data. The PDPA, which in many ways resembles a similar initiative in Europe (the General Data Protection Regulation, known as GDPR), requires a data controller (a natural person or a legal person), who has the authority to decide to collect, use, or disclose the personal data, to follow guidelines in an effort to protect each data owner.

This article provides some insight into why audit firms sometimes compromise audit quality, while also giving examples of how this happens, and relaying the implications of inconsistent audit quality for the profession as a whole.

I recently met with Richard to discuss how British businesses can establish themselves and prosper in Thailand. The two most salient points he made were about the imperative of understanding the complexities of the Thai market, along with the need to foster strategic local partnerships.

From the outside, multi-generation family businesses often appear to be models of stability. Yet underneath the durable exterior structure, many such companies must deal with highly complex family politics and emotional components that affect how they operate and how they are led. Lack of cohesion and strategy during crucial processes – like business transformation and succession – causes the vast majority of family businesses to fail before they reach the third generation.

In April, the Bangkok Post reported a curious case of Thailand forcibly removing a US national’s “seastead” residence on the grounds that it compromises Thai sovereignty. “Seasteading” is described as the making of a home in a new, previously uninhabited place at sea, and is associated with the concept of autonomy, self-sufficiency and a frontier lifestyle. This is usually achieved by building residential structures just beyond the fringes of a country’s territorial waters in an attempt to remove the structures from any governmental control.

Global business is facing a wave of disruptive influences that look set to spark the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We explore how the way professionals work is evolving, the leadership skills that will be needed within the dynamic mid-market to thrive, and how organisations can stay competitive in the war for talent and customers in 2030.

As one of the world’s purest examples of information collection, organisation, and processing, auditing is set up to benefit from the latest advances in software in a way that few other sectors can match. Data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation – these and other related innovations are a perfect fit for the complex demands of the auditing world. Many of the challenges facing the current generation of auditors involve the close reading of contracts, identification and analysis of transactions, reconciliation of accounts, checks for anomalies and inconsistencies, and generation of reports. With the benefit of new technology, each of these requirements can now be met faster and at a higher level of accuracy than ever before.

Most family businesses fail to survive past the third generation. Personal disputes, legal challenges, and other obstacles can tear family businesses – and sometimes entire families – apart. Fortunately, safeguards are available to help ensure a smooth transition between generations. The process of succession can be supported and facilitated before it even begins, with the help of a well-written family constitution.

Conversations in Business is a series of interviews and articles where I discuss best practices and insights with successful thought leaders in the commercial sector I recently had the pleasure of meeting with former Mead Johnson Nutrition CEO Steve Golsby to discuss some of the business insights he has accrued over a long and prosperous career. Steve’s career progression began in earnest during his time as a brand manager at Unilever. His work in the marketing department included two overseas assignments, and led to him taking the role of Country Manager. After 15 years with Unilever, he joined the American pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb as the head of its consumer products portfolio for the Asia-Pacific region.

1Q 2019 has gone by and we are fast approaching the mid-year mark. Thus far, the Thai economy has demonstrated mixed results, with modest expectations for the months ahead. The World Bank has cut down Thailand’s growth projection from 3.9% to 3.8% amid an anticipated global slowdown. The Bank of Thailand appears to agree and trimmed its growth outlook from 4.1% to 3.8%. At the same time, the Bank cut down export growth estimates from 7% to 3%. The performance of the country’s largest banks has also left some room for improvement, as they posted declining net earnings in the first quarter of this year.

Imagine you are a senior executive of a successful charity which supports homeless people with accommodation and meals. Your charity’s shelters support hundreds of people in your own town and in towns across the world. The shelters are busier than ever, however you measure impact by how long it takes an individual to get back on their feet and into a stable job – it’s now less than four months compared to more than six months at this time last year. But your donations and funding are at an all-time low. Your leadership team have concerns that achieving your mission to help the homeless in future may be impossible. You also have concerns over how the charity can be run more efficiently and effectively if resources are stretched – and wonder how to kickstart those key projects you have planned for 2019.

Despite a decades-long conversation, progress towards gender parity has been slow. Grant Thornton research shows that, while the global percentage of women in senior management hit 29% in 2019, in 2018 it was 24% – an identical figure to 2016, 2014 and 2007. It takes more than good intentions to create change: the business case for diversity must be convincingly argued. That case is clear: a study of 1,000 companies in 12 countries by McKinsey & Company found that organisations in the top 25% for gender diversity among executive leadership were likely to outperform on profitability (by 21%) and value creation (by 27%).