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People
quick to dismiss accountants as the ultimate bean counters
have definitely not run into the likes of Roberto Manabat
and Emmanuel Bonoan, the dynamic duo that has redefined
the business of accounting in the Philippines. Currently
sitting at the helm of KPMG Manabat Sanagustin & Co., the
Philippine affiliate of KPMG International, the pair has
ably guided Philippine companies through the accounting
labyrinth without getting in the way of their business
activities.
Given
their varied backgrounds, this comes as no surprise.
Manabat, chief executive officer, and Bonoan, chief
operating officer, have both enjoyed eventful stays in
government at a most exciting time in the nation’s
history, priming them like no other corporate stint can.
They stood witness to the Philippines’ exhilarating though
painful journey from a protectionist economy to an
unfettered one, helping craft laws that would ensure
Filipino firms would be able to stand their own against
the giants.
 “Government
prepares you for a lot of things,” says Bonoan, a former
undersecretary at the Department of Finance who worked
with seven finance secretaries when major fiscal issues
were being ironed out. “There are so many challenges,
issues, and none of them are simple.”
Remembered
for having written amendments to the value-added tax law
and arguing these before the Supreme Court, Bonoan has
known what it was to balance competing interests in the
name of national interest. Certainly, during that brief
government interlude, his concerns were far greater than
just taking care of a mere bottom line. Face to face with
the daily realities of the bureaucracy, he found himself
asking questions few others bother with.
“What do
you do about corruption, about poor tax collection? What
do you give up?” he recalls asking, knowing these are
inexplicably intertwined.
Manabat,
on the other hand, was with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) at an equally critical time, when
corporate standards were being audited. Ensuring their
enforcement was a major concern and Manabat found himself
minding the concerns of the SEC and private business with
equal interest. Every day, he would have a better
understanding of private business’ concerns as they relate
to government standards and requirements.
 “The
beauty of government is when you consult the private
sector,” he declares.
Both
unequivocally declare they have no regrets about “joining
and leaving government.” In fact, they see their
government experience as that which differentiates their
10-year-old firm from other accounting firms.
“We bring
our government experience to the table. We have a wider
view and we are in a better position to advice. We have
the government side and the professional standards side.
We’re able to help clients strategize and they appreciate
that,” says Bonoan.
Manabat
agrees. “It’s very exciting to relate to the external and
internal environment that impact directly on how a company
operates,” he said.
No mere
auditing
These
influences, after all, shape a company and its future. In
the post-Enron era, how a company copes with these
external forces could have a bearing on its future.
Indeed,
Manabat says, the firm does more than just go through a
company’s financial records. Not content with mere
auditing, it dispenses sound, solid advice that the
company can work with. “We’re not just an auditing firm,
but an advisory firm,” he states.
For sure,
clients welcome KPMG Manabat Sanagustin’s understanding of
their businesses, a welcome respite from auditors who
would rather impose their accounting templates on their
hapless clients without a thought to the nature of their
clients’ businesses. Given its people’s much wider
perspective of business, the company is able to offer its
clients more than rudimentary accounting advice.
With
Sabarnes-Oxley and international accounting standards now
a reality, businesses are expectedly going through
adjustment woes. Clients constantly complain about the new
standards, especially since these are not being
interpreted to their satisfaction.
For
Manabat, then, the challenge is to find “the practical
approach that follows the spirit of the approach but is
not a textbook answer.” This, he qualifies, does not mean
getting around the standards. It simply means dispensing
advice that “does not prejudice your clients because of
your limitations as an auditor.”
Clients,
of course, are appreciative of what the firm brings to the
table. “Clients don’t want a theoretical approach that
everyone has imbibed. They appreciate a combination of the
theoretical and the practical. It is a big value when your
auditor understands you.”
This,
though, is only possible because of KPMG Manabat
Sanagustin’s breadth of understanding of the issues that
their clients face, and their ability to put themselves in
the shoes of these enterprises.
“We attack
from different perspectives, we thresh out the issues,”
says Manabat, as would those who are actually immersed in
the business.
And that,
claims Bonoan, is KPMG Manabat Sanagustin’s greatest
advantage. “We have not developed tunnel vision,” he says.
“We have a very wide perspective, unlike others where
everyone on the team is homegrown.”
Driven and
hungry
Bonoan
notes how limited exposure to the vagaries of business can
stifle one’s ability to understand risks. The KPMG Manabat
Sanagustin team, having earned its stripes elsewhere in
the corporate world, thus has a strategic advantage. “I
don’t want to lose that edge at all,” says Bonoan.
This edge
is probably the reason why KPMG Manabat Sanagustin, the
youngest among the Philippines’ accounting firms, has
leapfrogged the competition to become the third largest in
the country.
“We are
driven and hungry. Never estimate the power of want,”
declares Bonoan.
Of course,
the KPMG global network helped, too.
Among the
accounting firms, KPMG Manabat Sanagustin is particularly
emphatic on industry specialization, especially with the
liabilities imposed by Sabarnes Oxley, which leaves the
firm with no choice but to truly understand the nuances of
the industry.
“We can’t
be generalists in this environment, especially with
sophisticated clients like banks and insurance companies,”
said Manabat.
Just like
ronin, or samurai without a master, “our skills are
representative of not just one master,” adds Bonoan.
Good
reputation
With the
challenges that continue to unfold, the company continues
to ramp up its capabilities.
“We want a
lot of changes, and are institutionalizing processes to
make ourselves more responsive in terms of reaction time
and quality, especially where the demand is increasing,”
said Manabat.
Its
singular focus on quality is understandable, borne out of
its resolve to never be a party to any accounting scandal.
“Reputation is very important,” says Bonoan. “We don’t
want to botch our name, which is what happens when
management is not on top of things. We make sure that our
quality processes are stringent. Management cannot be
complacent.”
In fact,
the company has turned away potential clients. If a few
individuals can bring a giant like Andersen Consulting to
its knees, then smaller outfits have to be even more
vigilant.
The firm
thus makes every effort to train its people in this risky
environment. “The external environment has kept us on our
toes, while the internal environment is undergoing a lot
of change,” notes Manabat.
“The
accounting profession is not a sleepy industry; it is
fastest developing where the risks are greater,” adds
Bonoan.
Work is
fun
Despite
the frequent pirating of Filipino accountants by foreign
firms, the two are confident that they can help build
their personnel’s careers, and throw in some fun for good
measure, whether it be through videoke nights, ballroom
dancing or Mandarin lessons.
For
Manabat and Bonoan, thus, the path forward is clear. To
forge ahead, there is much they have to do, starting with
themselves.
“Leaders
have to be people with vision, practical ones with a clear
sense of where they want to go,” said Manabat. At the same
time, they have to know the problems on the ground.
“We’d like
to believe we provide that good mix of vision and
on-the-ground operational management,” he says. Bonoan
agrees. “Ten years from now, I want a good mix of
homegrown talent and new blood. We don’t want to ossify to
a traditional firm where you have to pay your dues.”
Indeed,
tradition has to be challenged. “The world is changing,
everything now happens at the speed of clicking a button,
there are new ways of thinking.”
In a world
where the ability to harness the intellect always reigns
supreme, KPMG Manabat Sanagustin clearly has it figured
out. |
