UHY GLOBAL AUGUST 2020 REMARKABLE PEOPLE


SERVING CLIENTS, SERVING COMMUNITIES


PARTNER JOINS APAC GROUP BOARD The managing partner of UHY’s member firm in Nepal has been appointed as a board member to the respected and influential professional body the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA). He is currently also serving as the board member of the Nepal Rastra Bank, the Central Bank of Nepal. With a 27 year pedigree in audit, accountancy and management consulting, Dr Suvod Kumar Karn of UHY Suvod Associates, which has offices in Kathmandu and Itahari, has served on numerous international platforms representing Nepal, and has previously served as the president of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA). Suvod has multi-sector expertise including aviation, banking, utilities and petrochemicals. CAPA represents 33 national professional accountancy organisations (PAOs) from 24 jurisdictions that operate or have an interest in the Asia-Pacific region including the AICPA, ICAEW, ACCA, CPA Canada, CPA Australia, CA Australia and New Zealand, ICAI, JICPA, ICAN, among others. These PAO members represent two million accountants across the region. “I am delighted to have been appointed to the board of CAPA, a highly valued organisation that is all about contributing to the development of professional accountancy organisations, promoting high quality accounting, reporting and assurance, and being a voice of the profession,” says Suvod. “As directors we look forward to helping steer CAPA’s ‘strategic plan towards 2025’ over the next few years.” The confederation is one of four regional organisations recognised by the global accountancy profession, which is represented by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). PARALYMPIC HOPES LIVE ON AS WORLD WAITS The postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been disappointing for the athletes scheduled to compete – and despite being rescheduled to 2021 the uncertainty surrounding the Covid 19 pandemic is keeping the event in doubt. For her Paralympics campaign in 2020, UHY is sponsoring elite UK athlete Shelly Woods, whose medals in T54 wheelchair racing include silver in the 2012 London Paralympics marathon, silver and bronze in the 1500m and 500m at Beijing 2008, and winning the London Marathon twice. “The postponement of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is huge, but what is happening around the world right now is a bigger deal and everyone’s health and wellbeing is more important,” says Shelly. “I’m trying to see the setback as an opportunity to do more training to be in the best shape I can be as well as making the most of the time with my family. My goals have not changed – just the dates. I also started creating motivational fitness videos for athletes in lockdown which will hopefully provide some inspiration for people stuck at home.” Shelly was due to compete in the Boston and London marathons in April 2020, but both were postponed to later in the year. “If they go ahead I have a busy autumn marathon season with Boston, London, Berlin and New York marathons all weeks apart in September, so we keep training! “I’m grateful to UHY for its continued support – it enables me to compete at the highest level with the world’s best. I am fully focused on recalibrating my campaign for Tokyo 2021 in the hope that the Games will go ahead then.” UK Group Chairman Colin Wright says, “During these difficult and uncertain times, we look to our sporting heroes for inspiration and hope. “Shelly demonstrates the qualities we admire in life as well as in work – tenacity, hard work, good humour and determination not just as a sportswoman but as a human being. UHY Hacker Young is privileged to support her and we look forward to seeing her compete.” Shelly will also be supported by her husband Chris Oxley, (pictured with Shelly, below) who is a partner at UHY Hacker Young’s Manchester office. To follow Shelly’s progress follow her on Twitter @ShellyWoods86, via the UHY Twitter account @UHYHackerYoung. Look out for the hashtag #UHY4Shelly. BUSINESS HONOUR FOR MEHMET Mehmet Sengulen, managing director, UHY Advisors NY, Inc., US, has been honoured as one of the Long Island Business News ‘40 under 40’ for 2020. The award recognises those who already have a proven track record of success; who have distinguished themselves in business, government, education or the not-for-profit sector; who are involved in mentoring and promoting their profession; and who give something back to the communities in which they live and work. With extensive experience in public and private accounting, Mehmet is a subject matter expert for UHY Advisors NY, Inc.’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) practice and is a leader of the firm’s Technology and Software Industry Practice Group. In addition to his work with privately held and publicly traded companies and private equity clients, he works closely with start-ups across a range of industries throughout their lifecycle. Mehmet is also highly regarded by his team and known as a supportive and inspiring mentor. Michael Mahoney, Northeast regional managing director, UHY Advisors, says: “Mehmet is a natural leader and an ambassador for UHY, given his work ethic, charisma and experience. He is held in high esteem by his peers and clients and is well-deserving of this award.” A previous recipient of SmartCEO magazine’s Accounting Rising Star award and The M&A Advisor’s Emerging Leaders award, this accolade further acknowledges Mehmet’s expertise, dedication and professionalism. Mehmet says: “It is an honour to receive this award. I look forward to continuing to provide the Next Level of Service to my clients as we tackle the years ahead.” FIRM LANDS CSR HONOUR A Spanish online publication specialising in reporting on business efforts in areas of corporate social responsibility (CSR) – recently conferred an honour upon the Madrid office of UHY Fay & Co, UHY’s member firm in Spain. The magazine, Corresponsables, was celebrating its 15th anniversary recognising the businesses that strongly embrace sustainability, and UHY Fay & Co was one of the organisations recognised for its work. The firm was presented with a yearbook complete with a dedication from editor Marcos Gonzales giving particular thanks to Max Gosch, partner, and UHY Fay & Co’s CSR and compliance teams for ‘helping to build together a better world with journalism and responsible communication’. Max Gosch said: “We are so grateful for this recognition and congratulate Corresponsables for being a leading entity in promoting good practices in the business sector, related to sustainability and CSR. We hope to continue collaborating in the future.” UHY Fay & Co has offered specialised CSR services since 2013, and Max is widely recognised as an expert. He is among 21 CSR experts in Spain recommended by Global Law Experts and is co-author of the book The Challenge of Sustainability (El Desafio de la Sostenaiblidad), which discusses the planning and implementation of CSR. FUNDING THE FACTS Always keen to support new talent and promote the global development of accountancy skills at a prestigious place of learning, UHY LLP, US, is providing funding for the new data analytics course for audit and control at the University of Albany School of Business, New York. “This class gives students all the skills they will need to succeed after graduation,” says Mike Zovistoski, partner, UHY LLP, Albany (pictured far, left), who was joined at the cheque presentation by fellow Albany School of Business alumnae, Alex Zhang, partner, UHY LLP, Albany, (second from right), Jessica Blaha, senior accountant, UHY LLP, Albany (third from left) and Howard Foote, managing partner, UHY LLP, Albany (far right). “It gives us great pleasure to be able to invest in the future of our industry and to give back to the local university, that supported so many of us into this great profession,” he says. “Feedback from students was excellent. One testimonial following the course described it as ‘the most useful class’ the student had taken at the School of Business, and another thanked us for no longer making her afraid of data analytics. Statements like these make our funding feel so worthwhile.” FACING THE CHALLENGE OF LOCKDOWN As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to sweep the globe, UHY member firms and the communities they serve have been affected differently. But amid the uncertainty and adjustment to new ways of working, there have been important learnings too – and even unexpected benefits. UHY Global talked to two firms about their experiences. The team at UHY ECA, Poland, took action ahead of official directives in an attempt to head off some of the pandemic’s most disruptive effects and safeguard its team – read more here. Meanwhile, an established policy on flexible working at UHY TietoAkseli, Finland, enabled a swift move to supporting clients remotely – read more here. NEW WAYS OF WORKING: UHY ECA “We started our social quarantine before government measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus,” says Roman Seredyński, managing partner, UHY ECA, Poland. “Employees worked remotely, and we curtailed business trips, halting direct contact with clients.” That meant that even if one employee turned out to be a virus carrier they would not have had contact with others, so the whole office would not have to quarantine. “We had tested new technologies and solutions pre-virus,” says Roman. “In Poland, the qualified electronic signature has been legally in force for some time – it applies to statutory auditors and heads of audited entities. We can sign and forward every contract, engagement letter, audit report to clients via email.” Teams use secure data transfer platforms or virtual data rooms. “We have been organising partners’ and business line meetings via telcons for some time and with teams based in different cities we use Zoom to meet and the collaboration hub Slack for workflow.We felt it important to cooperate as if the current situation was standard rather than short term.” Overall, the business outlook remains uncertain. “Thousands of entrepreneurs in Poland have closed their businesses temporarily or permanently,” says Roman. “It is heart breaking to see people’s lifetime achievements collapse every day. Monitoring the market and financial standing of clients is crucial, we've learned to react and anticipate potential difficulties. Communication with clients is paramount – in a complex system good advice and experience cannot be underestimated.” UHY ECA Poland had to cancel its annual conference for Warsaw Stock Exchange companies, an event which gathers representatives from the capital market, allowing the firm to showcase its expertise as well as establish new relationships. “We are working on launching webinars covering key topics for this sector. We are finding other ways to reach prospects – through expert comment in press, blogs, newsletters and social media,” says Roman. “We also wanted to do something for the common good, so we joined #pytajeksperta – Ask an Expert – pro bono project, which is under the patronage of the National Chamber of Commerce. “The free portal gives quick access to vital business advice and enables virtual meetings with experts in labour law, civil and commercial law, digital transformation, finance, bankruptcy, restructuring and taxes.” FLEXIBILITY AND SUPPORT: UHY TIETOAKSELI In Finland, Suvi Vilokkinen-Määttä, director of marketing communications at UHY TietoAkseli, reports a smooth transition to electronic communication, and says the effect of the pandemic on business remains to be seen. “The restriction policies in Finland are having a tough and often negative impact on our business sector and companies,” she says. “However, at TietoAkseli, we have had a very open remote working policy for a long time and our service production process is almost fully digital. That has helped us to adapt to the current situation. We use Microsoft Teams both as a means of communication between the team and for keeping in touch with our clients. Although all of our offices are formally closed, we are working from our home offices.” Keeping in touch with clients and supporting them through the pandemic has remained a priority. “We have produced several bulletins for our clients explaining our own preparations and how we will be working while restrictions are in place, and have also produced a guidebook on preparing for the impacts of the pandemic,” says Suvi. Suvi reported the pandemic situation calming in Finland in late May, although there was no date for reopening the office.


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