Wanting to be self-reliant, Mr. Bernard Lee set up Audit Alliance all by himself. With supportive family members and great perseverance, Mr. Lee now leads a team of twenty confidently. Not taking his achievements for granted, he aims to bring his team to accomplish even further!

Company: AUDIT ALLIANCE Address: 20 Maxwell Road #11-09/10 Maxwell House Website: http://www.allianceaudit.com Interview with Mr Bernard Lee by Lin Weiting on 29-May-2008. Student can be reached at jazel37@gmail.com   Business Profile: Audit Alliance has a team of highly educated professionals who engage in activities such as Auditing, Company Secretarial Services, Taxation etc. Taking pride in their work, Audit Alliance is now a Top 60 Audit Firm in Singapore.   Interviewer's Comments: Mr. Bernard Lee has a very clear mind for what he wants to achieve. His determination to succeed is remarkable!   1. What is the nature of your business? The nature of my business is to provide audit and business advisory services.   2. When and why did you decide to become an entrepreneur / take over your family business? NOTE: If it is not a family business, ask: Do your parents have their own businesses too? Have they inspired you in one way or another? (Select appropriate question according to the entrepreneur being interviewed.) One of the reasons is due to government's encouragement. Around six and seven years ago, the Singapore government encouraged people to set up their own businesses. I was spurred by them and hence decided to set up my own practice. My parents are in agriculture business, they own rubber plantation and durian orchard in Malaysia. They did inspire me, especially my mother. She always taught me to be self-reliant. Working in big organizations, such as PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) where I was previously from, was good for experience. However, in terms of opportunities, sometimes it is better to have your own firm. For instance, if you are working in the Big 4 and you want to have the chance to travel, to handle IPO (Initial Public Offering) etc, there are a lot of people to compete with you for those assignments. Nevertheless, if you are running your own business, you will have more opportunities to serve the SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) clients and have more chances to travel. You will have greater control over your destiny instead of depending on the others.   3. What are your reasons for choosing to do business in this particular industry? This is my specialization and I am a practicing accountant. In the accounting field, there are several options one can go, such as audit, tax, corporate finance etc. If you look at the Big 4, the most important department is always the audit department. This is the reason why I choose the auditing line. Also, my contacts are built on this area and my clients know me as an auditor. Thus, it would be easier for me to extent from auditing to other services.   4. How did you put together all the resources needed to start your business? For example: getting the start-up capital, hiring staff, doing sales and marketing, advertising, etc. For the start-up capital, the money was the last bonus I got from my old firm, PwC. In 1998, when Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand, the firm decided to pay a very high bonus. My wife was also very supportive, she granted me $10000 interest-free loan and exempted me from paying household expenses for three years. For hiring staffs, I found most of my staffs through the advertisements in The Straits Times.   5. What are some interesting stories you have about your first few customers/first few years in business? For the first few years of my business, I got referrals from clients whom I had previously worked with in my old firm and also from my ex-employer. These formed the bread and butter of my business. Once the business gets going, I get more interesting assignments. For instance, in the recent years, we have assignments from China-based companies. We traveled to many parts of China and were exposed to a new culture. Clients would also bring us to attractions such as museums in their countries.   6. What are some of the challenges you faced when you first went into business? From the supply point of view, it was a challenge for me to convince new clients especially when I started off all by myself. Even with referrals, the financial controller of my potential clients would worry if my company will last. From the demand point of view, I found it difficult to attract staffs. People would prefer sizable firms instead of a company that consisted of only one or two employees.   7. How did you overcome these challenges? Please share some specific examples of the action you took to overcome the challenges. I partnered with other firms for assignments and gradually expanded my client base. Things became better after my company has built up a certain reputation.   8. Can you remember your worst day in business or a time when you felt like giving up? What happened that made you feel that way and how did you triumph over it? I have been quite fortunate to achieve growth in my business for the past few years. Perhaps this is due to the good contacts I have. In terms of recruitment, about 3 years ago, 70% of my staffs tendered their resignations to join Big 4. As my company is pretty decent in the market and my staffs were well-trained, Big 4 were quite interested to poach my staffs. I reacted to this situation by changing the pay structure of my company. Instead of giving monthly salary and year-end bonus, I adopted a performance-related system so as to reflect their capability and workload. With this, staffs' remuneration now becomes equal or even higher than those in the Big 4.   9. Can you share some of the lessons you learnt from overcoming your own business challenges that you think will help other businesses? First of all, it is important to attract and keep talents. This can be achieved through the performance-related pay system. Secondly, it also important for everyone in the company, from the top management to supporting staffs, to engage in professional training regularly.   10. When was the moment you realised the business would work and support you? As an accountant, I looked at the earnings before interest and tax to decide if the business would work and support me. I can say that my business break-even two years after I set up my company.   11. What are some of your proudest business achievements to date? And why are they so important and meaningful to you? Being one of the Top 60 audit firms in Singapore and one of the largest internal-service providers to government sectors such as URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority), Ministry of Law, Nanyang Polytechnic etc. These are not only important and meaningful to me, but also a form of recognition to all the team members who have contributed to the success of this company. With more exciting assignments, existing staffs will stay to gain more exposure and personal experiences.   12. How do you differentiate your business from your competitors? Please provide specific examples. I would say that my staffs are more attentive, they serve with passion and good attitude. I treat them as stakeholder rather than labour for production. I get a lot of enjoyment rather than just making money. It is a joy to recruit them as entry-level graduates and see them through their way to become CPA (Certified Public Accountants).   13. What are some business ideas you have implemented that created great results in your business? One of them will be the performance-related pay system I have implemented in my firm. I find this system pretty useful. Additionally, I think that our training activities are well carried out and helped to create great results in my business.   14. Where or who do you get your business ideas from? Partly from my old employer, PwC. Being one of the largest audit firm in the world, they have a good working culture. I implemented 90% of what they have to my firm. Even though mine is a small firm, our culture and working techniques are very similar to PwC. Additionally, I keep myself updated by reading magazines such as The Economist.   15. What do you see for your business in the next 5 years, and does it include any plans for expansion? Currently, Audit Alliance consists of 2 partners. Hopefully in the 5 years time, we can have 8 partners, 160 staffs and move from being a Top 60 firm to Top 30. With this industry going through the consolidation process, our firm is also constantly looking out for opportunities to buy over other firms when owners want to sell out.   16. What does entrepreneurship mean to you? To be able to think outside the box. Each entrepreneur needs to find his/her own unique selling point and exploit it.   17. What are some entrepreneurship qualities that you have which has helped you come this far? My ability to take on hardship, to have a good heart and leadership skills. To be able to inspire my staffs when their morale are low and to manage my finance effectively.   18. In your opinion, what other qualities does a person need in order to be successful in business? And why? (eg. Educational qualification, work experience, family influence, attitude, etc) In terms of education, one should have some basic knowledge of business. As for work experience, it might be good to start off in a MNC (Multi National Corporation) to pick up the good work practice and to build up your network. Family support is crucial as well. For instance, if you have an overseas assignment to China, the feeling is very different if your wife packs your luggage and send you to the airport as compared to another wife who nags and complains that you are going to China again. Without supportive family members, it might be wiser to work as an employee so that you can have more time with them.   19. In your opinion, what does it mean to have the "spirit of enterprise"? Answer yourself this question before you start business, "To be or not to be?" Setting up a business is not something that you can try for a few days and give up eventually. In Singapore, the opportunity cost of setting up a business is very high. The perseverance must be there. One must not be easily shaken by external factors and thus, lose focus.   20. Who or what motivates and inspires you? Firstly, my parents. Secondly, my mentor in PwC. He told me that one should only continue his/her job if he/she still has the passion for it. If one day, you find yourself dragging your feet to office, it might be time you need to quit and look for something new to do.   21. What are some of your business values and what would you like to pass down to others, particularly the younger generation? Treat people with dignity. Willing to share the hardships and rewards fairly among my co-workers.   22. Can you share some of the more significant events / incidents that affected or shaped your business philosophy and the way you conduct your business? i.e. SARS, new competition or shifts in market behaviour and trends, etc. The major event that affected our company was about 5 or 6 years ago. A new rule was implemented stating that companies with less than $5 million turnover do not have to engage in auditing activities. Eventually, it turned out to be a blessing instead. Although the number of assignments have decreased, the remaining assignments were of bigger scale. In terms of competitors, it was easier for new firms like ours to enter the market.   23. With the changes in the market today, do you think it has become harder or easier to succeed in business? Why do you say so? It depends. With sub-prime, there are more activities for corporate finance and liquidation. In the good days, we do IPO and fundraising. In the bad days, we rely on liquidation work. There might be higher risk, lesser business, more competition and higher cost. On the other hand, people who are selling out will look for us for evaluation purposes.   24. What advice would you give young people who want to start their own business? Start early. Join Co-curriculum Activities such as Enterprise Club when you are in school. Find out what you are interested in and start trading it. I noted that most successful businessmen are very sharp. They can look at your product and tell you what the Gross Profit Margin is or even sense a new business opportunity 3 months before the general public notice it. Also, never be afraid to fail, keep on trying!