ACCFAM (Head Office: Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture; Representative Director: Takumi Hatta) has launched a comprehensive service, through its Bangladeshi subsidiary ‘ACCFAM BANGLADESH PRIVATE LIMITED’ established in 2023, to provide end-to-end support for Japanese companies’ operations in Bangladesh—from the ‘pre-entry’ stage through to ‘local business operations and expansion’, and on to ‘business restructuring and withdrawal’.
Background: With a population of approximately 170 million, Bangladesh is one of Asia’s leading markets, where high economic growth is expected to continue, centred on the manufacturing sector. However, when Japanese companies enter the market and operate there, they are required to address a wide range of challenges, including: • Compliance with local legal and tax systems • Recruitment and labour management • Accounting, tax and audit compliance
• Establishing internal controls and governance; • Fraud and compliance risks; • Liaising with local government agencies; and other wide-ranging challenges. Economic relations between Japan and Bangladesh have deepened further in recent years, and investment opportunities for Japanese companies are expanding. However, there are very few services where a Japanese chartered accountant takes the lead in providing this support in collaboration with top-level local experts. Our Japanese accountants, who speak Bengali, are committed to Bangladesh—not merely as expatriates due to return to Japan within a few years—but as experts upon whom our Japanese clients expanding into the country can truly rely. We aim to support the business growth of Japanese companies for the future of both Japan and Bangladesh.
Service Overview
At Akfam, our Japanese head office and local subsidiary in Bangladesh work in close collaboration to provide one-stop support in Japanese, English and Bengali.
Our main services are as follows:
■ Market Entry Support
• Market research
• Company incorporation
• Obtaining investment licences and permits
• Opening bank accounts
• Establishing accounting and tax systems
• Introduction to local partners
• Support with visa and work permit applications
■ Business Operations Support
• Accounting, tax and legal support
• Overseas management support
• Overseas internal audits
• Financial monitoring
• Fraud investigations
• Establishment of internal controls
• HR and labour relations support
• Support for enhancing corporate governance
■ Business Expansion Support
• Support for establishing new factories and bases • M&A and financial due diligence • Joint venture (JV) support • Support for fundraising and capital increases • Various project management services ■ Withdrawal and Restructuring Support • Company liquidation • Share transfers • Business transfers • Liaison with local authorities • Tax and labour affairs settlement
• Post-withdrawal risk management
Collaboration with local experts
At our local subsidiary, a team of experts led by Japanese Certified Public Accountants and Bangladeshi Chartered Accountants (FCA) provides practical, hands-on support to address the challenges faced by Japanese companies. Covering a wide range of fields including accounting, taxation, auditing, internal controls, fraud investigations and management control, we act as a bridge between Japanese companies and local business practices.
Comment from the Representative: Based on the expertise we have cultivated in overseas auditing, overseas fraud investigations and overseas management support, Akfam Co., Ltd. has further strengthened its operational support framework through our local subsidiary. We are not merely a consultancy firm specialising in market entry; rather than treating our involvement as ending once a company has established a presence, we act as a partner who accompanies Japanese companies throughout the long term—supporting their overseas operations from ‘post-entry business management’ and ‘strengthening governance’ to ‘business expansion’ and even ‘withdrawal and restructuring’.