Expansion is tough at the best of times, so how will the ICAEW approach the challenge of branching out into South East Asia during a global recession? Gina Dyer questions the new South East Asia regional director Mark Billington.

The ICAEW currently has 1,800 members in South East Asia holding an ACA qualification and with the opening of a new regional office and the appointment of Mark Billington as regional director, it hopes to spread its influence across the territory at a time when many international businesses are buttoning down the hatches under economic pressure. While conditions remain tough for commercial enterprises, however, it could be just the right time for a professional body to gather momentum, argues Billington.

Before the economic downturn, South East Asia was hailed as one of the next big powers in terms of its booming economic and infrastructural development, so has anything changed in light of falling demand for products and services from the West? “There’s certainly a change of focus in terms of what business is looking for”, he notes. “The desire to have people who show a commercial bent (which was high when the market was absolutely raging) has changed, and now what they’re looking for is financial acumen and sound leadership skills. They want guidance on how to set the highest possible professional standards because at times like this, that is what people look for”.

Breaking barriers
How crucial is success in this region to the ICAEW? “It’s important on several different levels. We have a significant number of members across greater Asia, and South East Asia is the centre of that. It’s also a leading hub for economic development, which makes it an obvious place for the ICAEW to want to increase and spread its influence”, he says.

“The point of the institute is promote the accounting profession wherever it finds it. We no longer want geographical location to be a barrier to membership. Historically that has been a challenge, but with the success we’ve had in Malaysia and Singapore so far with the launch of the ACA qualification and our plans to roll this out across the region, we’re taking away some of those barriers”.

Strategy setting
Although a qualified accountant and ICAEW member since 1990, Billington joins the fold having spent six years working in the telecoms sector in South East Asia, most notably for O2 where his remit was setting the company’s market strategy. “I don’t come from a traditional member body background”, he admits, although his commercial experience will certainly come in handy when it comes to selling the accounting body to Asian professionals.

“The most important thing when you’re setting a strategy is to look at the marketplace and work out what’s relevant to you and your stakeholders. It’s essential to be clear exactly who those stakeholders are and what they’re looking for from you, and set strategies that deliver coherently on that”.

One of the main priorities is, unsurprisingly, to support members: “We need to engage members and find out what they want from their institute locally. Secondly, we have to create a platform from which we can exert our influence and reputation. In the UK and Europe the ICAEW’s position is second to none in this respect. In South East Asia, we have a very niche brand and what we need to do is broaden the awareness of what we’re doing and what the ACA qualification stands for”.

His first 90 days in office have seen him fostering links with practices, most notably the Big Four and a range of mid-tier firms in the area, but it’s not from just within the accounting sector that he’s hoping to recruit members. “We are engaging with other enterprises as well, particularly in the finance sector, the oil and petrochemical industries (which have strong roots in this region), and in the technology sector. There are some big employers out here, all of whom recognise the value of having ACA qualified staff in their talent pool”.

There is a long-term strategy within the institute for promoting global engagement and, as the first regional director outside of the UK, Billington has an important role to play in its development. “It’s very exciting to be a part of that”, he says, and it will certainly be interesting for observers to see how the strategy develops.