Business Challenges are Increasing, MUC Encourages Collaboration at the MSI Global Forum

MSI Global Alliance, highlighting the companies challenges in leadership, management and financial which are increasingly heavy in the midst of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. This discussion surfaced in an international seminar on taxation, accounting and law specifically for MSI members in the Southeast Asia, East Asia and South Asia region, Thursday (6/18).

MSI Global Alliance is the world's leading association of law firms and independent auditors with more than 250 companies spread across more than 100 countries. MUC Consulting is a member of MSI and is the only representative of Indonesia in the inaugural webinar held by the London-based organization, by sending the Manager of Transfer Pricing, Tigor Mulia Dalimunthe and assistant Manager of Marketing Iksan Sadar.  

In the virtual international discussion, MSI Global Alliance Chief Executive Timothy Wilson mentioned the main challenges facing corporate leaders in the current situation whic among other things related to changes in the way the client and company staff work with remote working, as well as financial problems arising from the global economic crisis. 

According to Wilson, each MSI member company has its own problem characteristics. Since the impact of Covid-19 in each country is different for each company. "Some of the companies are quite impacted but now start to go back to normal, some are very affected and still full of challenges because the number of Covid-19 cases in the country is still increasing, "he said.  

From Singapore, Michael Heng, a Managing Partner of Heng Lee Seng LLP revealed that the company's turnover was dropped by approximately 30-40 percent annually during the period of April and May, along with the enforcement of lockdown by the Government of Singapore. However, the declining income of his law firm is still better compared to businesses in the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors which were much more hit during the pandemic.  

Despite being affected of the Covid-19, Heng Lee Seng LLP did not conduct termination of employment (PHK) on employees due to the assistance of the Government of Singapore which subsidizes employees' salary up to 75 percent. "That's of course very helpful. So although the impact is quite significant in our company, we are still lucky, "Heng said.  

Similar condition was also felt by Mansukhlal Hiralal & Company (MHCO Law), a law firm based in Mumbai, India. Bhushan Shah, MHCO Law's Partner said that business conditions in his country, especially Mumbai, were greatly affected by Covid-19. With the number of Corona cases that is still high in India, almost all law firms are under pressure."70-75 percent, almost no client. For us for the current situation, being able to reach a BEP (Break Even Point) is already happy enough," he said.

Unlike the case with Tricorglobal, a business consulting company based in Vietnam, which until now is still able to recruit new employees. Lim Chor Ghee, Tricorglobal Senior Manager said the country's economic and social conditions were far better compared to other countries in the region that were equally affected by the pandemic. As it is known, positive cases of Covid-19 in Vietnam only reached 345 cases without any death (zero death). Business condition there also has begun to return to normal in the last two weeks. 

Ghee admitted, his company has not been able to connect with several clients from overseas because the international arrival lane is still closed. Even so, he is optimistic that Vietnamese authorities will be able to control the outbreak of this virus and in September there is a possibility that international arrivals will be reopened. "As for our employees now, most are already comfortable working at home and in cafes or other cozy places, "explained Ghee. 

Collaboration

The condition of Indonesia was also being discussed. Iksan Sadar explained, even though the Indonesian economy is slowing down, MUC Consulting business operations are still running optimally even though most consultants work remotely. Along with the easing of social restriction rules, MUC Consulting has begun implementing working from office (WFO) for some employees. Yet, the company restricts the capacity of employees working in office at most 50 percent of the total workers and the rest remain working from home, unless there is an urgent need.  

On the occasion, Iksan also invited collaboration of members of MSI Global, especially related to publications by sharing information on policies and conditions of each country for clients of each company. "Because, as in Indonesia, the government provides tax incentives, so the form is collaborative publication for all clients, "said Iksan.  

MSI Global welcomes the.  collaboration innitiative. Timothy Wilson hopes that collaboration between MSI Global members can be a solution for every company to increase work productivity virtually and achieve business targets in the future.

Next, MSI Global Alliance will hold an international webinar with the theme "Marketing Your Firm in a Challenging Environment" on 25-26 June 2020, by presenting a professional marketing expert speaker, Ross Fishman. (Ken/Ags)