The SW International Partner Conference 2023 (SWIPC 2023) was successfully held on 23-25 May 2023 at the Mandarin Oriental Jakarta Hotel, Indonesia. This is truly an honor from the Board of SW International and the Managing Partner of its members around the world, to SW Indonesia. This is considering that SW Indonesia in the unification era just started operating on 10 October 2020, in which all SW International members struggled to survive and continue to grow during the pandemic.
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Through this NIHAO monthly newsletter, I have the opportunity to thank SW Indonesia to all the leaders of SW International and its members. I also thank SW Indonesia Partners, for your participation which has made us solid and ready to receive greater trust from partners in the SW International network. My thanks also go to the organizing committee, both from the SW International and SW Indonesia teams. We closed it beautifully in three (3) days together in Bali, you are rock!
On this occasion, let me share my thoughts regarding the meaning of SWIPC 2023 for our network and stakeholders. This is something I have never done in the previous NIHAO edition. In fact, I shared these thoughts in my welcoming speech at the opening of SWIPC 2023 on 26 May 2023. However, it becomes relevant when the NIHAO editor informed me that the topic of this special edition of NIHAO is about SWIPC 2023. I gave the title for the Welcoming Speech it’s BEYOND WINNING.
Importance of SWIPC 2023 – BEYOND WINNING
SWIPC 2023 is the first time and biggest event of our international network after the pandemic. This conference becomes a symbol of our winning, against the terrible threat of Covid-19. We won because all of us were resilient, we survived and we kept growing. More than that, in those dark years, every SW member demonstrated our contribution to helping others and caring for our planet, in our respective countries. Our social contributions were aligned with the initiatives of SW International. Winning from the most difficult situations – between life and death -, by continuing to grow, even being able to contribute to others, to our profession, to our respective countries, and to our planet, that’s what I call BEYOND WINNING!
Indonesia as the Host Country and Conference Theme
I think that choosing Indonesia as the host of SWIPC 2023 is brilliant. Indonesia is still in the momentum of our success of the Indonesia G20 Presidency 2022, and now Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2023. The eyes and ears of the world are towards Indonesia at this time. It is also followed by opportunity, economy, business, and investment come to Indonesia.
Also the choice of the conference theme – by Board of SW International – is very relevant, “Sustainable Quality Growth in a Challenging World”. Let us break it down! “Sustainable” has had such a loud echo in recent years. “Quality” is an eternal word in the accounting profession. And “Growth” is very relevant for our international network, where we are relatively new but growing into the Top 20 rapidly.
Challenges in the Challenging World (3G)
This “Challenging World” is relevant to the current situation of our planet. Where we live in a new normal during the post-pandemic recovery period. I identified at least three (3) challenges that we are currently facing, namely Global network, Geopolitics future, and Going digital – or as I call it 3G.
Global networks realized when big events in one country automatically have an impact on other countries. Disease outbreaks spread quickly throughout the world, paralyzing mobility in almost all countries and changes in various sectors that create a new normal era. The war caused many commodities to become restricted, prices increased and finally, high inflation, caused many social problems in many countries.
Disclosure of information makes transactions between countries more accessible, space for depositors in tax heaven countries is getting narrower, mobilization between nations creates new culture and many other domino effects. I live in Indonesia – and I am very connected with you, who are live in China, Germany, Australia, or Chile, cause we all live under the same sun. We all walk under the same moon.
Geopolitics affects the supply and demand for commodities, creates new market price of many commodities, shifts in the global societal wealth map and ultimately changes in the bargaining power of each country. Geopolitics talk about politic, economic, social, cultural, power, military, trading, population, demographics and other indicators that control the world’s geographical features.
Each country uses geopolitical policies to negotiate trade, business, balancing power over territory, immigration, cultural and media influence, pollution, education, and other things. At this conference, we will gain insight from the Chief of Staff to The President of the Republic of Indonesia, General (Ret.) Moeldoko, Ph.D., who previously served as Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. Geopolitics future is generally beyond our control. The challenge is whether we are able to understand geopolitics future and respond smartly.
Going digital is currently playing a vital role in transforming the business landscape. Our clients, our vendors, our “neighbor”, our government, and all stakeholders around us, are racing to be better one than the other, with digitization. Digitalization is the use of digital technology to improve business processes and workforce performance, improve customer experience, and introduce new products or business models. We use digital technologies to enhance conventional business models; or we use digital technologies to improve current business process; or we use digital technologies to build completely engagement business models.
At SWIPC 2023, we got insight about Digital Innovation from two speakers. From a macro perspective, there is Professor Richardus Eko Indrajit. From the perspective of digitization in our internal network, there is Yusong Chen. The challenge is to increase our literacy, and investment feasibility regarding digitalization.
Strategic Responses – The 5C Approach
The 3G challenge is indeed complicated and tough, but our network has shown resilience by winning – even beyond winning – through the dark period of the pandemic. I invite all Chiefs to face the 3G Challenge with five (5) Strategic Responses steps. They include Capacity, Competitive, Collaboration, Catalyst, and Contribution, or I call it 5C.
Capacity. I learned from my career journey in building companies, that we need to increase capacity to become a bigger company, and reduce our complaints and conflict to not become a smaller company. When we feel that our firm is still in the category of a small company, but we still have a lot of capacity, factually our firm is not really that small. A company is really small, it will not worry because too few employees or too few clients. About future, small companies feel “nothing too lose”.
When we feel that our firm is already in the category of a big company, but we have a lot of complaints and conflicts, factually our firm is not really that big. A company is really big, it will not be confused by too many employees or too many competitors. About present, big companies feel “the winner takes it all”.
Competitive. Let’s develop our mind “Completing Instead of Competing”. We take a breath for a moment, identify what other firms do not have and they need help. For instance many firms, who are member of other international network, do not have Tax Division or Advisory Division or BPO Division or Transfer Pricing Expert or Payroll Division or else. Between members of SW International, we also can complete each other to fulfill market’ needs. Those are our opportunity, we must We must take advantage of them.
We tend to compare ourselves to other people, when we should compare ourselves to our potential. Endeavor to make other firms better, instead of trying to prove that ours is the best. Switch our standard of comparison, mindset about competition. Our only competitors are our previous achievements, not others. What we have to do is just to complete, not to compete.
Collaboration. There are many lanes on the highway to success, that’s why we need to search for win-win collaborations with other entities, in which we both stand to gain something valuable. Sharing resources or lending assistance to others enriches, rather than impoverishes us. We need to collaborate with universities as a source of new talent, vendors with highly-innovative digital technology, other accounting firms, other finance profession, other member of SW International, and other stakeholders. Collaboration must increase our capacity, energy and ability, which ultimately results in synergy to leverage the success of all collaborators.
Starting with mind of “give then receive”, instead of the traditional model “take and give”. Alone we can do so little, meanwhile together we can reach much better. I believe that two are always better than one, when two become one.
Catalyst. “Catalyst for success” became our tagline after rebranding from ShineWing to be SW. This tagline is expected to be an answer, about what is our role for clients, as a “catalyst for success” about what is our role for employees, as a “catalyst for success“ about what is our role for stakeholders, as a “catalyst for success”.
But what does the “catalyst” mean? It means SW People must be an agent that provokes or speeds significant improvement. SW People is expected to provokes or speeds significant improvements for our client, our people, our stakeholders, our society, and our planet. Let’s make world say, “With SW, I am gonna get dressed for success!”
Contribution. In our first year, it was 2020 to 2021, SW Indonesia campaigned to contribute with the theme “We contribute, there we are!”. Awareness of contribute to helping others and protecting the environment must be our responsibility. Let’s demonstrate our effort on a comfortable home for us, to live together in there. The earth, that we live in as a together home, must be protected and cared with some Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) initiative.
We must allocate resources especially, to show our concern for those SDGs initiatives, and for the environment in which we live together. Including for accounting profession, tax consultant, and business advisers. SW People must continue to find new methods creatively, to heal the world.
Acknowledgments and Warm Regards
Dear Readers. Let’s move forward together facing the 3G World Challenges: Global network, Geopolitical future, and Going digital. We will win again, we will achieve BEYOND WINNING again, with the 5C Strategic Response: Capacity, Complete, Collaboration, Catalyst, and Contribute.
If our failures are dark rain, and our success is bright sunshine, then we need both to see the beautiful rainbow.
Warmest regard from Indonesia,
MICHELL SUHARLI
