INTHEBLACK February 2022 - Magazine - Page 29
Top right: Max Loh FCPA at
the EY Entrepreneur of the
Year Singapore Awards Gala
with Singapore’s minister of
finance, Lawrence Wong.
“IMAGINE A CAREER WITH NO LIMITS ON
WHAT IS POSSIBLE. IT’S UP TO THE YOUNG
ACCOUNTANT HOW THEY LEVERAGE THAT
TO ACHIEVE THEIR POTENTIAL AND
ASPIRATIONS. IT’S THEIRS TO BUILD.”
Singapore and Brunei managing partner, as well as
Asean IPO leader, Loh’s strategy of keeping things
simple in an ever-changing world began paying real
dividends.
“I now have more bandwidth to take on client
engagements, engage with clients, drive account
management and contribute more broadly to the
community. It’s what I like to do best,” he says.
His role as EY Asean’s IPO leader is all about driving
thought leadership to each of the partners in their
localities. The IPOs must be prepared and executed
in their own markets, even if the business they are
involved in is cross-border in nature. Loh sees his role in
Singapore as offering the regional players his advice on
growth opportunities, risk management and how best to
navigate complex business challenges.
“We can share the market nuances in this part of the
world, edit it for the clients in question, and bring that
thinking and execution through,” he says.
Decades ago at Andersen, Loh learned the lesson of
“Think straight, talk straight”. This strategic approach
does not age, even as the accountancy profession moves
towards ever-greater digitalisation, sustainability
becomes the new ethos and transformation is the
must-have to stay relevant in an uncertain world.
“How do you value a hotel when occupancy rates have
dropped from 90 per cent to 10 per cent because people
can’t travel?” Loh asks. “In the same way, how do you
value a pharmaceutical company that now has a global
vaccine product, or when intangibles now play a much
bigger part of a company’s worth than the tangibles that
you see on a company’s balance sheet?”
In all of this, the accountant must remain the bulwark
of logic and good sense, Loh says. “It’s about knowing
the sector and industry, the business model and trends,
and what are the pertinent issues and risks you need to
deal with.”
Loh’s strategy is based on a few simple tenets: do
the right things, do things right and remain principled.
Don’t get drawn into something you can’t deliver on.
Be pragmatic, positive and know what outcomes you
want. “There can be no compromise to quality delivery,”
he adds.
The last tenet is probably the most important. “Have
a purpose and live it daily,” Loh says. “The north star
sets the direction of who we are, our raison d’être and
what we do each day to unwaveringly deliver value to all
our stakeholders, including our clients, people and the
community.”
Loh has the following advice to early career
accountants. “Imagine a career with no limits on what
is possible. It’s up to the young accountant how they
leverage that to achieve their potential and aspirations.
It’s theirs to build.”
intheblack.com February 2022 29