Blogs
CEO Foreword To Business World - Sept 2021
August 2021
In a recent post on LinkedIn, I spoke about authenticity of leadership and referenced the sporting world, with the general premise being that authentic leaders inspire trust and create better teams.
These past eighteen months have changed a lot of people’s thoughts on how they perceive life: how they can work and how they can adapt when given very little choice. The expression of sentiment and emotions has become more accepted in the workplace (or, I should say, ‘remote workplace’), as colleagues battled through these difficult times, impacting on both their physical and mental well-being.
Openness, transparency, and honesty all lead to trust, which fuels authenticity.
At Russell Bedford, our network is nothing without integrity and trust. Clients are referred between offices around the globe, based on such reliance and a sharing of common culture and core values.
Our international board is in the process of completing a period of strategic review where, on the back of several recent years of incredible success, it was felt time to question who we are, where we are going and to ensure we continue on the correct path. This means examining why our network exists, what it aims to become, and how our vision will be fulfilled.
It is important to align achievements with vision, along with embracing and promoting our uniqueness and values, building on the network’s strengths and togetherness while, at the same time, providing clarity of the strategy for the future.
It was also agreed, from the outset, that our authenticity lies in being who we are; and not trying to be who we are not. And, throughout a process of consultation, we collated several examples that supported our merits. This resulted in a confidence to harness such benefits inherent to our group, in determining who we are.
An authentic brand culture passes on such confidence to clients and prospective clients to use the services of Russell Bedford firms in various jurisdictions, knowing they will receive the solutions they need, enabling them to achieve their own goals.
I am delighted to see our experts contribute to this edition of Business World, with articles on tax planning to help new franchisees, new EU e-commerce VAT schemes, opportunities in Northern Ireland, succession planning, impact of Covid-19 on transfer pricing and an analysis on Environmental, social and governance in agricultural markets.
We also have an article on ‘Doing business in Quebec’. Montreal was the venue planned for this year’s Russell Bedford annual conference. However, disappointingly, the ongoing uncertainties around international travel and social restrictions meant we, for the second year running, must hold this meeting online. We have learnt to live with such adaptability and flexibility for several months now and I am proud to see the accounting profession rise to this challenge; especially our Russell Bedford firms around the world!
I look forward to revealing our global strategy to members later this year as Russell Bedford continues on its path to even greater success. A path that demands authenticity, integrity, professionalism, and excellence; yet one that, in these continuing and challenging times, can never be certain and must often dictate a sudden need for prompt and effective refocus.
The same applies to businesses, as they proceed on their journeys of expansion and development; and on which our firms are fully equipped to help, with a huge range of experience, providing a broad spectrum of professional services.
As we approach the final quarter of the year, I wish our firms and businesses alike continued success and congratulate them on such admirable efforts and dedication throughout an indeterminable and arduous period.
(taken from the September 2021 edition of Business World, which can be found HERE)