The Hindu Business Line : Struggle for a share of affluence

Are we spending too much time scratching our heads about places like Kabul and Baghdad and paying too little attention to Shanghai, wonders Gabor Steingart in ‘The War for Wealth’ ( www.tatamcgrawhill.com ).

The greatest danger terrorism poses could very well be that it distracts our attention, and that it prevents us from recognising our true rivals, he fears. “The fateful word confronting our generation is not terror, but globalisation.

It is the rise of India and China, not the goings on in the mountains of Pakistan, that will leave their imprint on this era.”

In the author’s view, the real conflicts of today are the war for wealth, a bitter struggle for a share of affluence, and the related struggle over political and cultural dominance in the world.

He finds that the new market economies, such as India and China, want to avoid becoming stuck in the low-productivity zone. The upward trajectory of these economies started in low-wage production, but that was only the beginning.

“Today, the world’s emerging economies are attacking the core of the Western productive society, training academics in large numbers so that they can perform the same, modern tasks that have been performed in New York, London, Paris, and Berlin for decades… They develop software, design cars, manage the accounting systems…”

Steingart cites the prediction of Princeton University’s Alan Binder – that the next great wave of offshoring will affect up to 40 million American white-collar workers. Something worrying, that should be, for the Barack Obama camp.

A compelling weekend read on how ‘the flat world is broken’.
Practise in imagination

Change is inevitable, and growth is optional, say Bob Moawad and T.J. Hoisington in ‘The Secret of the Slight Edge’ ( www.macmillanindia.com ). “Unfortunately, most people struggle with change. They resist it. Change is uncomfortable, but if you are going to compete and live fully, it is necessary,” the authors observe.

They ask, “Have you ever done something that initially you thought would be impossible or difficult only to discover it was nothing like what you had imagined?”

The biggest misuse of our imagination is worrying, aver Moawad and Hoisington. “There is an exciting thing that happens when you face the unknown — you realise things usually work out better than you thought. In the moment you step into your fears, you realise you are much more capable than you previously thought.”

They suggest, therefore, that one way to become an expert in any endeavour or to complete a desired change is to start by practising in the greatest nation on earth – imagination!

Powerful motivation lessons.
Family business consulting

Whether in farming or crafts, manufacturing or services, family businesses have been around for eons. Problems are not uncommon in family businesses; and for solutions, “families throughout the ages sought advice from trusted elders in their community, be they tribal or clan leaders, religious leaders, those thought to be sages, or a special person deemed to be able to be helpful,” writes Florence W. Kaslow in ‘Handbook of Family Business: A Global Perspective’ ( www.jaicobooks.com ). And now, there are consultants in this space, especially from outside the country, she adds.

Kaslow reasons that it is not only the scarcity of home-grown talent that prompts families to hire foreign consultants; there is also the need for privacy.

“Some of these families go so far as to meet with family business consultants on secluded islands or chartered boats to ensure total privacy and anonymity.”

A detailed discussion of the varied dimensions in the family biz equations.

Standard compliance
The responsibility for preparation of financial statements and for adequate disclosure lies with the management of the enterprise, while the auditor’s duty is to form an opinion on these financial statements and report the same. Thus reminds a recent publication of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ( www.icai.org), brought out in commemoration of the 60th year of excellence: ‘The Accountancy Profession and Economic Development in India’.
The Institute lauds the role of its members (CAs) in persuading their clients to comply with the requirements of the accounting standards. “Over a period of years, most enterprises such as public sector enterprises, banks, financial institutions, and large- and medium-sized enterprises started adoption of the accounting standards in the preparation and presentation of their published financial statements.”
Timely chronicling.

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D. Murali

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