Russell Bedford CEO on Asia-Pacific tour

July 2023

As part of his trip to Brisbane, Australia for the 2023 Russell Bedford Asia-Pacific Meeting, which took place on 13-14 July, Russell Bedford’s CEO, Stephen Hamlet, made the most of his time in the region by visiting some existing and prospective firms.

Stephen’s first stop was in Seoul, South Korea, where he met the team at the network’s member firm, Samhwa; one of the largest firms of accountants and auditors in South Korea. Established in Seoul in 1997, Samhwa Accounting Corporation expanded via two big mergers in 2013 and provides a comprehensive range of assurance, accounting, tax and business consulting services, having more than 6000 clients, including several with overseas operations in the USA, China and more.  

Stephen was delighted to present to the management team and enjoyed the fabulous hospitality afforded to him by colleagues at the firm.

Later in his travels, Stephen met with a prospective member firm in another country where the network is looking to expand, to discuss future membership opportunities.

Speaking about his visit, Stephen Hamlet said: “It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet with the team at our member firm’s offices in Seoul. I was particularly pleased to reconnect with the firm’s International Business director, Minji Park, having first met at the 2022 Asia-Pacific Meeting in Singapore and to meet the company’s CEO, Dongjoo Lee, and the rest of the team for the first time. Samhwa is a sizeable firm that offers significant benefit to the network in the Asia-Pacific region, and I was very happy to learn more about their service offering and company culture while being so well looked after and made to feel so welcome by everyone I met.”

He added: "As we continuously seek to expand the Asia-Pacific region, I was delighted to meet with a prospective firm on this trip. Stay tuned for more on this exciting development.”

Stephen also enjoyed time at the network’s Brisbane office, HMW, host of this year’s Asia-Pacific Meeting.

Stephen commented: “I always find it important to visit our host firm prior to a Russell Bedford conference. It’s an opportunity to reach all levels of the practice and engage with those who don’t get the chance to attend the event. I enjoyed very much presenting to our colleagues in Brisbane and answering their questions about the network.”