In the global business environment, technology for gathering accounting information from across national borders in a timely manner is continuing to evolve, but the development of human skills and human resource development for correctly interpreting the gathered overseas accounting information is not progressing sufficiently. The basic management function of accounting, which is to steer the management of a company based on accounting information, becomes significantly more difficult when crossing national borders. This is because accounting information cannot be properly understood unless you know the meaning of the figures in that country, including local accounting and tax systems, legal regulations, commercial practices, and prices, as well as the background to the figures.
After organizing the knowledge of each country necessary to interpret accounting information from overseas, Akufam works with local experts to develop skills for examining overseas operations from the perspective of the head office using figures, and aims to become a sort of overseer for the overseas operations of client companies.
The crossborder audit or investigation, which is Accfam’s main business, has the following characteristics/strength.
PURPOSE
Overseas auditing as consulting
Accfam pursues audits that satisfy the local entities being audited. Rather than simply listing what is not being done, we believe in contributing to the resolution of issues for both the head office and local management by sincerely engaging with local management from a company-wide management perspective, in line with the company’s situation and risk appetite. To this end, we have built a knowledge infrastructure database for each country that provides the prerequisite knowledge necessary for overseas audits, and we are also focusing on training experts who are well-versed in local legal systems and commercial practices.
SCOPE
Support for implementing management controls after an audit
One of the biggest complaints about audits is that they are all about Just pointing out, just talking without execution. And that the implementation of improvements is left to the local office. In particular, many of the expatriates sent to local offices are from sales or engineering backgrounds, and while they are not necessarily familiar with business management, they end up spending a lot of time dealing with head office management, which is a major factor hindering the growth of local businesses. In collaboration with local firms, Akufam will provide support for everything from planning to implementation of improvement measures to solve the issues of local managers, as required.
FLEXIBLE
Various cross border audit support service menus
We can design flexible support content that utilizes our expertise according to your budget and needs, such as internal audit training guidance without accompanying the audit team, acting as an interpreter, acting as an internal control process auditor, acting as an auditor for compliance with local laws and company regulations, and acting as an auditor for fraud risk, etc., according to the growth phase and needs of the company.
QUALITY
Unparalleled audit/investigation quality
SPECIALIZATION
Specializing in overseas auditing techniques, we have accumulated knowledge through our overwhelming track record of projects.
It has to be said that the quality of accounting reports overseas, particularly in emerging countries, tends to be very low even after auditing, and on the other hand, it is difficult to effectively implement overseas audits from the perspective of the head office, and many companies are struggling to develop their own human resources, which is one of the reasons why we have launched a business specializing in overseas audits. Specializing in overseas auditing technology and accumulating knowledge and experience allows us to provide an overwhelming overseas auditing service. Our company’s representative also started out with very little remuneration, and through trial and error, he gathered knowledge and improved the quality of the business. We believe that the value we can provide to our customers is based on our track record.
TEAM
Customer contact person x Acfam country expert x Acfam local expert
For crossborder internal audits/investigations, we recommend a three-way approach (co-sourcing) involving the company’s in-house staff who understand the target company’s business, our Japanese experts, and local experts. We have organized the requirements for effective overseas audits and who has them based on our extensive experience in this area, as shown in the table below.
We believe that this triangle team, which makes the most of each person’s strengths and covers up for their weaknesses, is a necessary condition for effective overseas audits.
FRAUD RESPONSE
Response to financial fraud risks
I believe that modern accounting audit procedures are almost completely powerless against financial fraud. In particular, in emerging countries, the reality is that they are almost completely ineffective against fraud, including the risk of collusion. In fact, there are many more cases of financial fraud (misappropriation, window dressing, corruption, etc.) than those that are made public. At Acquafam, we see financial fraud and management vulnerability as one of the key factors hindering the growth of public and private overseas business investment, and we are pursuing audit techniques that can identify fraud in a short period of time during overseas audits. Even Japanese audit and fraud investigation experts cannot find financial fraud overseas without local knowledge, including local commercial practices, feasible fraud methods and typical methods, and market prices. Acquafam has established an overseas fraud audit method and is constantly improving the method by accumulating results.
TRAINING
Training on Professionals
We at Akfam are serious about fostering a large number of overseas audit professionals, rather than ending up as a small town doctor serving a small number of elite client companies. In an industry with a culture that expects professionals to acquire expertise on their own, not to be taught it, Akfam is committed to fostering overseas audit professionals through internal sharing of case studies, a system for sharing expertise necessary for overseas audits, and a thorough human resource development program.
PRICE
Convincing price for cost-effectiveness
Many overseas audit firms have local experts take responsibility for the quality of the work and produce deliverables, while the home country side only provides some value-added services and translation work. While it is correct from one perspective to leave a certain amount of responsibility to the local experts, from the perspective of the head office, this tends to be a presentation of the results of the work that has been ordered and not a solution to the problem. In addition, the cost tends to be high, and there are many companies that want to use specialists but are unable to do so. At Akfam, our experts in the home country take responsibility for quality control, utilize the knowledge of local experts to the extent necessary to carry out the work, and prepare the deliverables themselves, thereby minimizing local costs and realizing high-quality overseas audits that are cost-effective and satisfactory.
GOAL
Customer Benefits and Social Benefits
We actively transfer technology to our clients so that more companies can conduct effective overseas audits that contribute to their business growth. We believe that we should not only look at our own profits, but also consider what is best for our clients and society at large.