Aoyama Sogo Accounting Office Singapore provides support to Japanese companies seeking to expand into Southeast Asia with a focus on accounting and taxes. What is the secret to the upward growth the company has seen despite the pre-existing fierce competition in Singapore? Mr. Naganawa became a partner at the firm’s Tokyo office at the young age of 27, before going on to set up the Singapore office. I interviewed him to hear what he had to say.

Expanding Into Singapore Together With Clients

―Please tell us a little about your company’s business activities.

Aoyama Sogo Accounting Office was established by former members of the audit firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC who set out to start their own office in 1999. I was working there, supporting clients who were looking to expand their businesses overseas, until I established Aoyama Sogo Accounting Office Singapore in 2012.

With our current workforce of 50 employees, we undertake various business operations for Japanese corporations not just in Singapore but all over Southeast Asia. These operations include support for overseas expansion, setting up companies, opening bank accounts, making visa applications, and outsourcing of general accounting and tax services, and advisory services.

―Would you mind telling us about your own professional background?

I became certified as a public accountant the same year I graduated university, and joined Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC in 1998. I worked in the Total Service Department, a department primarily supporting companies aiming for IPO, for three years, and then in 2001 I joined Aoyama Sogo Accounting Office.

At that time, the Tokyo office was experiencing rapid growth due to favorable environmental circumstances, and from only three founders at its founding, it managed to expand to more than 100 people in just seven years. Against that backdrop, the three founders who were there from the start needed to delegate authority, and I was made partner at the age of 27. Then in 2012 I set up the Singapore office, and reached my current position.

―Can I ask about the background of your expansion into Singapore?

We started supporting our clients’ overseas expansion in the Tokyo office, but from Japan, we didn’t know the actual practices on the ground and couldn’t be sure if our advice could be implemented as we said. I got the impression that we were unable to provide the kind of highly trustworthy advice that our clients really expected of us. My motto is “Provide feasible advice rooted in real practice,” so I was determined to go abroad myself for the sake of our clients. At the time, we were getting a lot of inquiries regarding China, so we considered opening an office there at first. But there was an increasing amount of stock being put in the future prospects of Southeast Asia at the time, and a shipping industry client I was handling at the time was looking to expand into Singapore, so we too decided on Singapore as the location for our new office.

―Did things go as planned when the Singapore office first opened?

The first three years were extremely difficult. There were already a great many accounting offices in Singapore that had been working as specialists for years, and so even when we received a request for a quotation, we would very often not be selected. Therefore, we steadily worked on all sorts of things such as “we’ll do whatever” and “let’s gain a lot of practical experience and increase our performance.” I personally feel that what’s important for a specialist is “to live in this place for a long time and make a real commitment.” For that reason, I first considered it as a time for self-investment and prioritized gaining experience over profitability. I dedicated three years to this.