02 Mar 2016

USA-China collaboration yields results for MGI member Selden Fox

USA-China collaboration is one example of how membership to a global accounting network yields results for North America member Selden Fox.

MGI member Sharon J Gregor from Selden Fox Ltd, USA, talks about the benefits of membership in serving a client with international operations.

MGI’s global reach and international expertise helped to serve the needs of a US company with operations around the world, as Sharon J Gregor from MGI North America member Selden Fox Ltd explains.

Selden Fox had an important manufacturing client based in the Chicago area that had overseas operations in the UK, China and Mexico.

“At the time they had firms in each of the locations and [when] we became the auditor of the parent in Chicago we had to review the work papers of all the other entities in those foreign countries. But when we got to the China workpapers, we couldn’t make heads or tails of them,” says Sharon.

Selden Fox Member Case Study Image So Selden Fox drew upon one of the association’s China members and
“worked hand in hand” on the client audit work. “Even though our client did not hire the MGI affiliate, we did,” notes Sharon.

How does membership of an international network help client business?

It’s a great example of how being an MGI member enables firms to share knowledge and offer a joined up global service.

“At Selden Fox, we have such strong technical expertise in our area, but our clients need it worldwide and statewide,” explains Sharon.

For example, even within the US there are multiple tax systems in place at local and State level in addition to Federal taxes, creating additional layers of knowledge and skills required by clients. When you add in tax systems in Canada, Mexico and farther afield - such as China - it requires a great deal of expertise and knowledge transfer.

“We have a lot of family owned businesses, a lot of non-profits, and we need the depth of technical expertise all over the US, North America and the world,” says Sharon.

What makes MGI special? ‘Entrepreneurial spirit’

The international reach of the association is just one aspect of what makes MGI distinctive.

Sharon explains: “We really wanted to make an investment in MGI. It took us many years to find the right organisation to join - we looked at a lot before finding MGI.”

Sharon joined Selden Fox from one of the Big Four - a firm that she says enjoyed technical expertise all over the world but lacked the “entrepreneurial spirit” that makes MGI  stand out.

“The type of service we gave our clients was not the same. We were commodities because the multinational firms we audited had expertise in-house.”

For Sharon, it’s a very different experience with MGI at Selden Fox.

“What we have is a network of firms like us,” says Sharon, “that have true entrepreneurial spirit and true personal service.”

Selden Fox is very active in attending meetings in North America and always attends the global AGM, which means building business and personal ties is easier. And this translates into being able to better serve client needs when it comes to calling on another member for help.

“We meet everybody, so they’re our friends. When we’re referring somebody to our client we know them already, it’s not just a name on a page.”

Download the full MGI Member Case Study here (PDF)

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For more information or to contact the firm directly, go to their MGI member profile page.