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Name Stephen DarleyCompany BDOPosition CEO APACHQ Brussels, BelgiumEmployees 64,303

EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW

Global giant

BDO, an international network of public accounting, tax, and advisory firms, is tapping into the huge potential

that lies within the Asia–Pacific region.

IMAGES YEW KWANG

In terms of size, BDO is the fifth largest accountancy network in the world. It has a place of its own in the market, being significantly (57 per cent) larger by revenue than its closest mid-tier competitor, and competes actively against the larger accountancy networks for multinationals and large audits.

Globally, BDO has a presence in 154 countries; 25 of which are in Asia–Pacific, with 64,000 people working from 1,400 offices worldwide.

The network was established in the early 60s as the Binder International Group with five original member firms in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, the US, and Canada. Ten years later, the British, German, and Dutch networks adopted a common name—Binder Hamlyn (UK), Dijker & Co (Holland), Otte & Co (Germany)—and its acronym ‘BDO’ has endured. In 1975, the financial services business opened an association of firms in Australia and its operations continued to grow, with further expansions into the Asia region.

In February 2013, Stephen Darley was appointed to the position of CEO for Asia–Pacific. This was a newly created role as part of a significant drive by BDO to lead, support, implement, and drive new strategic initiatives in Asia–Pacific at an

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international level. BDO recognised the great potential that was sitting in the region that is one of the world’s largest economies, and knew that it could effectively identify opportunities, align with complementary partners, and find ways to minimise the risks for prospective clients.

Stephen was well-equipped to take on the role and run with it. The Australian executive has resided and worked in eight countries across the Asia–Pacific region, gaining experience from both mid-tier and the larger competitors. He has spent more than 20 years in the financial advisory sector and has specific insight and knowledge on Asian, and developing markets. His previous roles have included working as a director for KPMG in Indonesia and Thailand, a consultant to the alternative investments  group for Standard Chartered Bank (HK) based in India, and  the Asia–Pacific Regional Director for another mid-tier network.

His role with BDO includes overseeing the operational processes of the Asia–Pacific region, including market analysis, practice management, the development of member firms, and business development initiatives. Stephen is based in Hong Kong and is also the Chairman for BDO’s Asia–Pacific board.

Stephen started his career with KPMG and says there were some interesting lessons that he took from that period of time. “It was in the late 80s and early 90s, which was the beginning of a very significant recession in Australia,” he explains. “I went straight into the insolvency and financial restructuring segments, which exposed me to interesting and challenging situations. There was a lot of stress in the economy, which required one to be quite nimble and creative in seeking solutions to complex problems. I am still able to use those skills today. The industry is all

about being creative, having tenacity, and being driven. In fact, one might say, ‘never waste a good crisis’.”

Stephen’s time working across various parts of Asia has also been an important part of his professional journey. He has worked in Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India; across a range of cultures and environments. “Through this experience, I have learned to be more consultative, to set the right example from the top, to be open, and to be honest. That’s the basis of the relationships that I have with all of the individual member firms in BDO. The whole ethos of BDO is that it is very relationship driven with a consultative approach. This fits in nicely with the leadership style I have.”

Stephen’s experience has culminated in him being one of 10 individuals on the BDO Global Leadership Team, and that in itself has been a pinnacle of his career. “If I look at the nine other individuals on the board, I think they are all highly experienced and intelligent people. That team truly is international, with people from all over the globe. We’ve got a good gender mix, and I would say that my leadership style is somewhat complementary to the other team members in that group.”

Since taking on the role, Stephen says there have been many highlights. He played a key role in introducing and nurturing a new member firm in India and now, three years into this relationship, the firm has grown

remarkably well, having being led by a  driven and visionary managing partner  who believes in the value that a  broad-based team of partners brings to an enterprise.

“India is a land of fantastic opportunity but it has its challenges,” Stephen explains. “As in all of our member firms, we aspire to have leadership that aligns to the BDO vision, and this tone from the top is what is absolutely necessary as the starting point when we introduce a new member firm into the network. In the case of India, three years ago BDO took a decision to admit a firm that would not have qualified into the top 20 firms in the country. However, it had the leadership and vision that has seen it grow to be the eighth largest single firm

in India. The decision that we took at that time was the right one and we look  forward to an enduring relationship  in India for the network and  our clients globally.

“I think it is critically important that I build and maintain relationships with the leadership of each member firm. This is built around trust, respect, and transparency—and firms that align to the global vision are destined to succeed and benefit from the relationship.”

Another highlight has been working with the leading BDO member firms in South-East Asia. “The development and growth opportunities across ASEAN are exceptional,” Stephen notes. “We are significantly better placed than the

competition and are well placed to grow exceptionally, for example in developing countries like Myanmar and Cambodia.”

Stephen says that he views challenges not as setbacks but rather, as opportunities. “I see significant opportunity in consolidating our position in the Asia–Pacific region, and by that I mean realising mergers and acquisitions. The opportunity comes with finding the right drivers, the right people, and the right culture—bringing all of the parties together.

“The opportunity to consolidate always presents itself with the realisation that BDO has more to offer to professional services firms than any other network outside of our largest competitors.

“Firms that align to the global vision are destined to succeed and benefit from the relationship.” - Stephen Darley

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The challenge to bring people together is firstly to determine a common culture and then a desire to grow the business for mutual gain. That is, a mutual gain for all stakeholders, including partners, staff, and clients. It is very interesting to observe these initial and ongoing discussions between the leaders of a BDO member firm and a merger candidate. Once the initial posturing is done, then the realities of good business and how to structure a deal to benefit all stakeholders is insightful and enhancing. Ideally, a merger should be completed within three to six months; otherwise too much time and effort is lost in the details of the deal.

“One really needs to have oversight regarding the whole process, and to some extent you end up being a mentor. You’re working with people’s emotions and once  you get to understand those emotions and their cultures, that is when you can achieve great things together. BDO has three defining qualities paramount to its operations. The first is the breadth, depth, and quality of our resources; the second is being agile and responsive; and the third is our relationship-driven culture.”

As one of the leading global accounting and advisory networks, it is uniquely built to provide the absolute highest standards of exceptional client service with a collaborative culture that values all of its relationships. This ethos also extends to the company’s supply chain and corporate partner network. Stephen believes that having good relationships is “extremely beneficial” as it can impact the firms and its clients greatly. One such relationship is with Microsoft, which he says is robust and longstanding.

“BDO is international and therefore a long-term relationship with Microsoft has been really important. This has resulted in us being able to drive key efficiencies, increase the line of the

economies of scale down through the BDO member firms, and see significant cost savings. It’s a centrally driven global enterprise agreement from our headquarters, but member firms individually benefit in the long run.”

According to Stephen, the future for BDO in the region is bright, pointing to a McKinsey report that projects that by 2025 more than 45 per cent of the Fortune Global 500 could be based in emerging regions, and predominantly the

Asia–Pacific region. Specifically, Stephen  notes that 120 of those companies will be in the China region alone. He adds: “BDO in China is very well placed, as this member firm has been ranked more highly than two of the largest global network firms. It provides professional services to some of the largest state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private enterprises in the country. These SOEs include the likes of PetroChina Company, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Aluminium

Corporation of China, Shenhua Group, and China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation.”

Despite its mid-tier status, BDO China is the number-one firm in the country in terms of revenues from advisory work on initial public offerings.

To ensure that it sets itself up sufficiently for this foreseeable success, Stephen shares three key areas he continues to focus on, noting that all are consistent with the global ambition and in line with maintaining the position as the leading mid-tier network globally.

The first is the growth agenda, as Stephen explains: “The BDO network is leading the consolidation in the professional services industry, having completed numerous strategic mergers and acquisitions in the past 24 months. Asia is a vast region and member firms in low-growth and high-growth markets are similarly motivated for growth and improved profitability. Size is not everything but it is a proxy for quality, service delivery, and an ability to invest in infrastructure and people to build sustainable growing member firms for the future. The professional services market is consolidating and it is clear that only the top two-to-three global networks in the mid-tier have the capacity to invest and support their respective member firms.

“As competition in local markets becomes more aggressive, and as regulators increase focus on quality, we see more and more member firms of other networks reaching out to BDO for solutions. BDO is the leading mid-tier network globally and in the Asia–Pacific region. That said, we cannot rest on our laurels and it is clear that there is still a need and demand for growth by consolidation. It is often the case that bringing in an external party with a fresh set of eyes assists in the negotiation and

the driving of the desired outcome for all stakeholders. In a number of countries where there is a dearth of depth and quality of merger targets, we are increasingly seeing growth through the lateral hire of partners and teams of other firms to drive the growth and consolidation agenda.”

The second is the efficiency agenda. “One of the key initiatives is to deliver consistent, high audit quality. Feedback from our member firms is that we also need to be more efficient with our audits and use data analytics to do our audits more efficiently. This is to provide additional insights in order to better compete in this area. I work very closely with other members of the BDO Global Leadership Team to drive these initiatives and efficiencies for the benefit of BDO member firms. This is a very exciting area for BDO and is critical to maintaining the network’s leading global status. Key to this is the Microsoft partnership in the development of the global portal and next generation of the BDO Audit Process Tool.”

Finally, the third priority is to win even more international business. “BDO member firms share a common ambition to win and service more international and global clients. BDO is the only network, outside of our largest four competitors, with a balanced and truly global coverage, and we are well placed to service and win more business from global clients. Adopting a partnering approach to winning international work is vital, as is the willingness to view the opportunities that arise as opportunities that benefit the BDO network, not just the member firm. In my role as the Asia–Pacific CEO, it is critical that all member firms fully understand their obligations to the network, which in turn will serve to raise member firm profiles in their respective markets.

“The growth agenda and the efficiency agenda feed well into winning international business. In this highly-competitive environment, the need for innovation and specialisation also drives the ability to deliver quality and exceptional client service. BDO has the tools and is building an increasingly more efficient and relationship-driven framework to respond rapidly to global client needs for cohesive, exceptional client service which cuts across pricing and the delivery models.”

“Firms that align to the global vision are destined to succeed and benefit from the relationship.” - Stephen Darley

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