HOW TO TALK ABOUT OUR BRAND:
BDO CORE MESSAGING & PROOF POINTS
JULY 2022
INTERNAL USE ONLY
DISCOVER THE CONTENT
INTRODUCTION: HOW TO TALK ABOUT OUR BRAND
DESCRIBING BDO
WHY WE EXIST
WHAT WE DO
WHERE WE HAVE IMPACT
CORE MESSAGING STRUCTURE
GUIDE TO BDO TERMINOLOGY
is a compilation of BDO-focused messaging and proof points that can help all of us to frame our written and verbal communications
BDO’s tone of voice is a vital part of our brand identity: it is our attitude and our personality, so it’s important we get it right. This section also contains important information about how to be clear about BDO’s legal structure
This section is all about how we are people helping people, always putting people first, professionally and personally. Covering: - The power of purpose (our WHY) - Sustainability - BDO’s diverse and inclusive people approach - Our relationship-driven culture - Advisers of the future initiatives
At BDO we are agile and responsive, ensuring that our clients and prospects, our own people, future recruits and our communities feel valued and understood. By listening and treating people as individuals and by creating ideas that deliver value, we ensure easy and effective relationships. Covering: - The digital client experience & digital acceleration - The scale and reach of our tools and platforms - The innovations being launched as concrete solutions for the benefit of our clients and people - Our commitment to quality risk management and independence.
The messages and supporting evidence that you’ll find in this section describe how we help our people, our clients and our world to be fit for a successful future. Covering: - Financial data - Industry expertise - M&A activity - Our client-centric approach and high performance environment
BDO’s organisational structure can look a little complex at first glance. This easy to read diagram is a useful reference point when it’s not obvious how to describe the different elements of our global organisation
The overarching structure for our brand messages is rooted in what BDO stands for, as well as what we want to be known for: our reputation. Our core messages are relevant to all our stakeholders and should always relate back to:
find out how
CONTENTS
The global pandemic brought enormous personal, professional and societal disruption – but it has also proved to be a major catalyst for change, driving us to think and work differently. As we gradually put the health crisis behind us, this messaging set enables all BDO people to communicate to our clients, recruits and other stakeholders how our global organisation is well-positioned to help them succeed in this new reality.
Storytelling helps to engage our audiences and to amplify the specific messages and proof points that are most appropriate for who we are addressing and in what situation. The messaging structure and facts that make up HOW TO TALK ABOUT OUR BRAND provide the detail that makes the BDO narrative powerful and believable. The top-level, globally focused evidence it contains is provided as a starting point: it is up to our firms to create locally-relevant proof points, whether service line-, industry- or people-focused. Please feel free to supplement these facts with appropriate firm-based evidence and use the content provided to create your own local stories. This is how we can engage our audiences in a way that feels personal to them.
Used correctly, this guidance will help all of us to include the right information in our brand messages, making it clear what differentiates our global organisation and our firms
HOW TO TALK ABOUT OUR BRAND should help to frame the messaging in all our written communications, internal and external, in print and online. It will also help us to avoid what not to say. This includes web site copy, press releases, presentations, bid documents, brochures, reports, blog texts and more. The messages work equally well when used verbally: when talking to clients, prospects, current employees, future recruits or a new firm*.
*please see also REALISE YOUR GROWTH POTENTIAL, an interactive microsite that aims to tell prospective BDO firms everything they need to know about joining BDO.
REALISE YOUR GROWTH POTENTIAL
HOW TO TALK ABOUT OUR BRAND is current as of July 2022 and replaces all previous editions.
HOW TO TALK ABOUT BDO is a compilation of BDO-focused messaging and evidence, or proof points. BDO people are our brand’s strongest advocates and this 2022 edition aims to help everyone throughout our global organisation to articulate what our brand stands for and to tell our brand story in the most compelling and relevant way.
INTRODUCTION
TONE OF VOICE
In general, please try to minimise the use of the more formal member firm - except when legally required (see below). A BDO firm or BDO firms is sufficient Do not describe BDO as the fifth-largest global accounting and advisory organisation Please avoid positioning BDO as an alternative to our larger competitors and refer instead to BDO being one of the largest…. When specifying any one firm, say BDO in France, rather than BDO France Legal considerations: it is extremely important that we avoid any undue liability because of misrepresentation or confusion as to the independence and separateness of the BDO firms and the legal structure of the BDO organisation . You can find more information relating to the need to be clear about BDO’s legal structure on pp 8&9 in the TONE of VOICE guidelines.
BDO’s tone of voice is a vital part of our brand identity. It can be thought of as our attitude and personality and is an important element when talking about BDO. It must be reflected in all our communications and applied consistently. Small subtleties in the language we use to describe BDO can have an impact on how we perceive our organisation - as well as on how the brand is perceived externally. For example, we should seek to use gender-neutral wording where possible: please try to minimise the use of stock terms such as Chairman or Dear sirs: rather Chairperson or Dear Sir / Madam, when appropriate. There is further specific ‘DOs and DON’Ts’ guidance to help us manage how our language is perceived in the 2021 TONE OF VOICE (ToV) guidelines. (see pp 5, 16 & 17).
Examples include:
this section continues here
This GUIDE TO BDO TERMINOLOGY diagram has been created to explain when to use certain terminology or disclaimers – and when not. It is included here – and in the TONE of VOICE guidelines - in order to assist our firms in describing our global organisation.
THE GUIDE TO BDO TERMINOLOGY
Please note in particular the guidance related to the correct use of:
- BDO International Limited – never BDO International - BDO as a standalone – only in a positive descriptive context - BDO Global Office – never use Global Office externally - BDO Global should only be used as a prefix never on its own, nor as an alternative to BDO Global Office. You should specify the entity to which you refer, e.g. BDO Global Tax, BDO Global Natural Resources - BDO organisation or BDO firms – when a disclaimer can be included* - BDO network or BDO member firms – only when no disclaimer is used* * Please see pp 8&9 in the TONE of VOICE guidelines for further clarity around the use of terms in legal documents (i.e. policies, contracts, technical manuals etc.)
The overarching structure for our brand messages is rooted in what BDO stands for, as well as what we want to be known for: our reputation. Our core messages are relevant to all our stakeholders (clients and prospects, our own people, future recruits and our communities) and should always relate back to:
WHY we exist: We are people helping people WHAT we do: We help our people, our clients and our world to be fit for a successful future WHERE we have impact: Our stakeholders will feel valued and understood. By listening and treating you as an individual and by creating ideas that deliver value, we ensure easy and effective relationships
As a global organisation, BDO is very aware that our material risks are broadening and becoming more complex with the realities of climate change, global pandemics and rising industrialisation. As the risks and concerns continued to mount, many of our firms have taken independent steps towards becoming sustainable, while BDO’s global response was to launch an all-firm sustainability strategy to assist our firms in adopting and integrating sustainability into their business and culture. This also supports them in developing a high quality and commercial portfolio of sustainability services for their clients.
The demand for transparency and accountability in environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters calls for an effective response. As part of the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance, BDO has committed to supporting the goal of global net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner, in line with the ambition to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. To guide us in achieving this important goal, we have established a Net Zero Advisory Council that will make use of the substantial expertise in this area existing in our firms to create a robust strategy for achieving net zero going forward.
THE POWER OF PURPOSE
A BUSINESS FIT FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Our evidence
Our net zero commitment
There is strong evidence to suggest that organisations with a clearly articulated and understood purpose are more dynamic, taking the lead in innovation and digital transformation and launching new services and products. As a purpose-driven organisation, BDO does better. BDO’s clearly stated purpose is our WHY: People helping people achieve their dreams. Our WHY is our fundamental reason for being and it shapes how we support our people and our communities, as well as how we work with our clients in a world of change. During these current times of uncertainty, it has never been more relevant. Our purpose remains our strength, and our people continue to remain our biggest asset. .
We are at an intersection of people and purpose, keeping our culture and our people at the forefront of our business as we continue to navigate the new reality In a business powered by people and relationships, our WHY helps our clients in choosing to work with us and encourages our people to stay with us Our WHY is reflected in our consistent expansion in headcount, because people want to work for BDO BDO firms and our people have responded to the many challenges posed by the global pandemic and are actively supporting and helping their local communities and charitable enterprises
Sustainability matters: to our people, to our clients, to our regulators, to society, to our senior leaders – and to future generations We believe businesses have an economic imperative and an ethical responsibility to do what they can to ensure a thriving, sustainable and equitable world BDO has invested in new talent with a dedicated sustainability skill set so that our sustainability services offering can support our clients through the transformation process to be fit for a sustainable future We recognise the need to continually adapt our strategy, our service offering and the way we operate and behave to meet the sustainability demands of all our stakeholders Our Sustainability Movement aims to inspire, educate and lead an unstoppable movement for sustainable business practice in our markets and in our organisation Its objective is to activate all BDO people to take part and learn more about how they can contribute to embracing sustainability practices as an individual, as a BDO employee and as an adviser to our clients Our sustainability approach aims to create and foster long-term benefits by taking into consideration how we operate within an increasingly complex environment – recognising threats, mitigating risks and capitalising on development opportunities BDO is a people business that embraces diversity, equality and inclusion to help our people to maximise their potential and achieve their goals Engaging our people is key to our success: our employees want to see BDO ‘Doing the right thing’ and to feel proud We know that it is imperative to ensure that our systems and foundations are resilient and fit for a sustainable future As we strive to protect our business and the interests of generations to come, we aim to work with the wider business community to facilitate change, guided by the goals listed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development / the UN SDGs.
READ MORE ABOUT OUR COMMITMENT TO NET ZERO
THE BDO SUSTAINABILITY MOVEMENT
BDO remains a people-powered business, combining digital awareness with truly understanding clients. Our professionals are transforming our client service approach. Our workforce continues to evolve as we adapt to the ever-changing global business landscape, embracing new technology, new ways of working, new skill sets and new talent. Throughout – and beyond - the global health crisis, BDO people demonstrate that they have the expertise and capability to adapt immediately to new ways of working and our 94,000+ people continue to connect and collaborate to support our clients worldwide.
RETHINKING THE POWER OF PEOPLE
2022 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY REPORT
BDO’s solid reputation in the market helped BDO firms to record our largest ever intake of new partners and staff, increasing global headcount by 6.8% at the close of 2021, to 95,414 people worldwide At both global and local level, we invest continually in platforms and programmes to provide the motivation for continuous, life-long learning Our diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) strategy actively helps our people to maximise their potential and achieve their goals. This focus on enabling all our people to grow in their role builds a better workplace and creates a great employee experience Our firms’ common objective to improve diversity in all its forms right across BDO is highlighted in our 2022 International Women’s Day report, with its theme of #BreakTheBias We believe that a global mindset helps our people to better serve our global clients and outsourcing, flexible resourcing and building expert teams with people from all over in the world further delivers increased diversity and added value Although the coronavirus pandemic caused lower global mobility numbers overall, each firm provided additional support to help secondees returning to their home countries for security reasons and worked hard to help those remaining in their host countries The public health crisis has seen the establishment of a wide range of wellbeing frameworks to support our people physically, mentally, financially and socially Our firms have been rethinking flexibility and embracing new ways of remote working in order to maintain productivity and continue to deliver exceptional service to our clients.
BDO’s people bring a particular quality to our working relationships and to how we respond to our clients. We understand that digital acceleration is impacting our clients more than ever: BDO’s unique culture of accessibility helps to build close relationships and maintains excellence in service delivery, ensuring that we create value for our clients and our colleagues. Agility and client focus are key and at BDO we do not underestimate the importance of human capital and the ongoing need to attract talent with a new set of skills. We are building a generation of proactive advisers of the future by attracting young talent with diverse backgrounds and expertise. Using and enhancing the skills of this new talent remains a priority.
ADVISERS OF THE FUTURE – HOW OUR PEOPLE MAKE THE TRUE BDO DIFFERENCE
Many of the new people who joined BDO in 2021 are skilled in sustainability and digital advisory, or have a background in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
In an increasingly flexible workplace, BDO continues to invest in platforms and programmes to provide motivation and enable our people to develop their abilities, using digital learning and virtual conferences to reach even more people
We provide leadership programmes locally and globally for our next generation leaders, enabling them to prepare for a digital age in which the knowledge and competencies required to engage with the future workforce and stay relevant to our clients will be radically different to that of today
Innovative ideas that appeal to a generation of digital natives are consistently being implemented by BDO firms. These include a recruitment bot that can manage over 75% of first interviews digitally, a learning management system that pivoted from full in-classroom training to 50% online learning and virtual pandemic crisis management.
BDO is committed to helping our clients succeed. During the extraordinary time from early 2020 onwards, COVID-19 and the resulting impact on the world’s economy led us to rethink the way we engage with our clients. Our firms have been able to respond to the common challenges and to create new ways to interact with our clients and with each other. Our people stood together and their agility and creativity allowed BDO to react swiftly to the new business environment during an exceptionally challenging period. Our global organisation’s continued growth is down to our firms’ focus on helping their people, their clients and their communities, together with the responsiveness of our digital platforms. This is how our own business remained resilient and well-positioned for success in the new reality. .
GLOBAL FINANCIAL RESULTS
EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE IN A PERIOD LIKE NO OTHER
A solid 10.8%* increase in global revenues to US$ 11.8 billion, up from US$ 10.3 billion in 2020, reflecting the strong demand from clients for BDO’s expertise in a fluid business landscape *at constant exchange rates BDO’s clear focus on audit quality, innovation, transformation, technology and sustainability has helped both BDO firms and their clients to easily adapt to a new future People numbers have significantly increased (+6.8%), with a marked shift towards new profiles. BDO’s 95,414 professionals are combining future-oriented technology with authentic intelligence to create smarter working environments in 1,728 offices BDO’s stated purpose, our WHY, has proven its worth. It is a core element of our culture, shaping who we work with and how we support our colleagues, our clients and our communities. It is reflected in everything we do.
BDO’s performance in 2021, as in 2020, is testament to conscious investments and to the bold decisions made during the global health crisis. These equipped the global organisation with the infrastructure and digital solutions that enable our clients to be well-positioned for the economic resurgence going forward and to deliver long-term value for them. The highlights of BDO’s global financial results for the year ending 30 September 2021 are as follows:
WE HELP OUR PEOPLE, OUR CLIENTS AND OUR WORLD TO BE FIT FOR A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE
Designed to help businesses re-evaluate the future, our 3-stage model encourages a broad rethink around original business models and commercial assumptions The three stages of our model can be considered separately to help organisations manage their business priorities and address the issues they are facing in the here and now It can be used to manage business priorities, address issues and leverage thinking, acting as an extra dimension for strategic level consideration and discussion It has proved invaluable in helping business leaders to reconsider business priorities and take the necessary strategic decisions today to be resilient in the future Our framework has been implemented in the majority of BDO firms and has positioned the global organisation to continue to grow, despite the continued uncertainty in market conditions and the impact of the health crisis We have used the model to guide our own thinking on the key issues most likely to impact our clients as they move into the post-COVID reality. A great example of this is our Global Value Chain offering which brings together specialists from a variety of areas across BDO to help our clients navigate and build resilience into their global supply chains..
GLOBAL INDUSTRY EXPERTISE
CHOOSING TO BE LEADERS IN OUR MARKETS
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
As both larger corporate and mid-market clients become more sophisticated buyers of professional services and look to expand internationally, they expect industry expertise from their service providers. BDO recognises this and has established global industry programmes whose teams work together on multiple projects, providing their clients with insights, new ideas and a tailored service in response to the particular challenges and opportunities within each industry.
In a rapidly evolving landscape, our clients have seen rapid and drastic change and they expect a seamless service across borders, with deep industry expertise and an unwavering focus on quality. The incorporation of new firms therefore continues to be high on BDO’s agenda. Market-critical mergers and acquisitions complement BDO’s service offering across a variety of industries and in order to deliver best in class solutions for our people and our clients, we continued to invest in acquisitions and conduct strategic mergers throughout 2021, with a strong focus on niche advisory, digitalisation and technology service providers. We are taking an active role in driving consolidation in our profession and are excited by the opportunities it brings. We believe that we are in the best possible position to continue to lead within our profession and, most importantly, provide exceptional service to our clients.
Our well-established global industry teams and supporting firms share the latest research, thinking and industry trends to anticipate issues and develop solutions Our service delivery is enhanced by our experts’ deep industry knowledge, enabling us to identify risks specific to each industry and helping to ensure quality delivery This benefits BDO clients around the world, whether it involves hand-holding a fast growth tech company or restructuring a manufacturer responding to a damaged supply chain, as we can always bring the latest and best thinking to bear in our advice We learn from our colleagues and work together to use best practice in establishing industry programmes in all our firms The global industry teams have collaborated to develop global industry credentials for clients’ benefit, as well as industry-focused thought leadership and other marketing materials.
Some examples of BDO firms’ transactions in 2021 included: EMEA: ProExC, a performance consulting organisation, joined BDO in the Netherlands. BDO in France was joined by BMP Progelink, a digital company and BIPE, specialised in big data analysis. BDO in Belgium concluded two acquisitions, both with accounting firms. CFI Hungary joined forces with BDO in Hungary, becoming the biggest M&A provider in the country. RSM Finland joined forces with BDO in Finland, together becoming a strong player in the Finnish market Americas: BDO in the USA welcomed MBAF, a leading accounting and advisory firm in Florida, as well as DemandGen International, a digital advisory services and solutions organisation. Simplicity, providing technology services and DVP Capital, a mid-market investment bank and financial advisory team, merged with BDO in Canada Asia Pacific: This year our growth in the Asia Pacific region was due primarily to organic growth while in 2020, DBW Group, a boutique business strong in business service and financial planning joined the BDO firm in Australia
BDO is a global organisation in a position of strength with client service at its heart. Through our commitment to delivering an exceptional client experience and by being leaders in our chosen markets - no matter in which country, service line or industry – we provide our people and our clients with opportunities to succeed. Our leadership strategy drives organic growth for BDO globally and in all of our domestic markets. Our high performance culture and continuing growth and profitability give us the confidence that BDO is well-placed to continue building on our success. We put our clients and their challenges at the centre of what we do and we continue to innovate and develop our range of services through our digital first approach, providing new solutions with a broader and future-oriented perspective. These include a new set of sustainability services, cloud transformation, predictive analytics and diagnostic tools, AI in professional services, amongst others.
BDO’s Rethink framework was created in 2020 to support our clients through their journey as they progress towards succeeding post COVID-19. It was launched globally within weeks of the pandemic taking hold and remained a core strategic approach throughout 2021:
RETHINK FRAMEWORK
A strong foundational infrastructure is vital for effective innovation and BDO invests continually in strengthening our IT infrastructure, particularly in the areas of information security, cloud services and digitisation This enabled all BDO firms to switch seamlessly to remote working when the pandemic hit – and to continue with hybrid working as required BDO firms are more connected than ever, sharing resources, working together in support of our clients, and committed to growing business together We believe that the best ideas for solving critical problems can come from anyone, anywhere and our successful in-house seed funding and incubator programme is collecting and nurturing speculative ideas and turning them into solid business cases As these progress from pilot testing to large scale implementation, the first best-in-class innovations will be launched as concrete solutions for the benefit of our clients and people We focus on enabling the digital client experience by evolving our services model to align with clients’ preference for digital channels and functionality Our strategic partnership with Microsoft is driving digital transformation and will help to increase the collaboration and productivity of BDO’s professionals, as well as allowing our advisers to offer the best Microsoft technology solutions to their clients BDO places user experience at the centre of all our IT systems and infrastructure and provides a structured approach to use the cloud as an innovative and sustainable platform and to prioritise data intelligence, AI and data security: in this way we manage and protect our data and our clients’ privacy APT Next Gen, used initially by our audit stream, is now being used by other service lines. The tool had 33,500+ users in 2021 and was used in more than 420,000 engagements across BDO There were over 115 firms actively using the BDO Global Portal in 2021 and 175,000 clients active on it worldwide. This is forecast to rise to 250,000 by year-end 2022: in other words, one third of our client base The continuous development of BDO Advantage ensures the analysis of large populations of data and assists in identifying the areas of importance for our engagement teams and the insights we can offer to our clients Our unique Global Web Template (GWT) – now hosting the web sites of 136 BDO firms – had 37 million views and averaged 1.9 million users per month in 2021 Key to efficient knowledge sharing internally is our global intranet, now upgraded through the launch of BDO World, a SharePoint-based platform. Mobile-enabled, its performance and resilience are continuously enhanced and the 100+ sites it contains allow BDO people worldwide to find relevant information and engage with colleagues easily Also internally, our relentless focus on information security and privacy standards has resulted in 100% of our firms having now been onboarded to identity access management (IAM), meaning secure single sign-on for all our global applications Similarly, our conflict of interest tool also has 100% firm utilisation, with +/- 58,500 checks being created over the last 12 months BDO’s scale and reach provides opportunities to negotiate the best deals possible with suppliers of tools and solutions, enabling all BDO firms to benefit from a range of globally-negotiated contracts and licences
The pandemic accelerated digitisation for all - but BDO’s exisiting innovation culture helped us to stay ahead of the curve, improving business efficiency and profitability and continuing to drive value for our clients. Digital transformation has shaped our progress over recent years and in today’s operating climate, the way we are using and further leveraging our digital landscape has been well and truly accelerated. Innovative technology on a global scale continues to improve our service provision and this enables our firms to co-create ideas, collaborate effectively and leverage their expertise to create digital solutions for the benefit of our clients, as well as for BDO. Throughout 2021, our clients were actively looking for alternative ways to maintain business continuity, reduce costs and increase efficiency. BDO’s connected, insights-driven and compliant digital audit suite supports intelligent processes and maintains business continuity, whilst reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Through connection with our global portal - an online collaboration space for our professionals and their clients - the exchange of information is streamlined in a secure way, enabling a single, consistent view of information across an engagement, saving time and providing immediate access for all BDO’s advisers Together with APT Next Gen, the latest iteration of BDO’s audit process tool, and BDO Advantage, an analytics platform that leverages world-leading technologies to unearth insights and intelligence for our clients and advisers, these tools enable the consistent improvement of our stakeholders’ digital experience
BDO’s focus on our own transformation and innovation means we can bring technology-enabled services, advanced data analytics and deeper insights to our clients’ businesses. Our global innovation programme is a key strategic pillar and continues to drive the stimulation, sharing and leveraging of ideas and digital services across all BDO firms. A number of the innovative projects being launched by BDO to support our clients with their technology and digital challenges are detailed below:
THE DIGITAL CLIENT EXPERIENCE
ALL OUR STAKEHOLDERS WILL FEEL VALUED & UNDERSTOOD. BY LISTENING AND TREATING YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND BY CREATING IDEAS THAT DELIVER VALUE, WE ENSURE EASY AND EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS
Quality is our guiding principle and 2021 was a period characterised by evolving regulatory standards and expectations: the environment in which all BDO firms now operate is one of heightened regulation, constant external scrutiny, expanded transparency expectations and more detailed compliance obligations. BDO is dedicated to strengthening our culture of quality and to enabling our firms to deliver high quality services. BDO services clients that operate across multiple jurisdictions and is committed to acting in the public interest. As part of BDO’s ongoing mission to drive quality throughout the organisation, we have appointed Regional Quality Directors for each of the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA regions. Their focus is on creating, strengthening and maintaining high levels of quality and consistency in compliance and practice and we are constantly investing in service quality enhancement, together with the tools and methodologies required to meet stated regulatory requirements and to service our growth-oriented global client base. Membership of BDO enables our firms to deliver high quality services and all BDO firms are subject to the obligations set out in the Regulations of BDO International Limited, which require them to abide by our global policies, procedures, methodologies and tools.
A CULTURE OF QUALITY
Quality monitoring programme (QMP)
Managing independence
Risk & crisis management
Accreditation
New firm admissions
Adopting the International Standard of Quality Management (ISQM)
A leading approach to privacy
BDO’s QMP is designed to monitor firms’ adherence and compliance with professional standards, as well as incremental BDO standards and requirements, including policies, procedures, methodologies and tools Each firm is subject to a Quality Assurance Review (QAR) at least every 3 years. At the same time, the results of our firms’ own Internal Inspection Programmes* (IIPs) are monitored annually through the global QMP. We are developing QAR programmes across all service lines, on topics such as client acceptance and continuance, ethics and risk management * for firms with more than 5 audit engagement partners The scope of a QAR covers an assessment of the design and effectiveness of the firm’s IIP or Other Monitoring Procedures** (OMPs), an assessment of compliance with professional and incremental BDO standards and the review of a sample of engagement files ** for firms with 5 audit engagement partners or less The QMP is managed by the Global Risk, Quality & Governance (RQ&G) department, while QARs are carried out by a team of independent and suitably qualified dedicated reviewers, for whom an ongoing training process is in place
The unprecedented scale, complexity and rate of regulatory change in our profession is addressed by our global risk strategy, which supports BDO firms in identifying, evaluating and mitigating against risk BDO’s International Risk Management and Audit Steering Committees work together with the Executive to assess, pre-empt and, if necessary, mitigate and manage risk. We also invest heavily in our global tools, which help our partners in safeguarding their firms BDO has a robust crisis management and communications plan in place, and a team that is able to react swiftly to different challenges. When appropriate, BDO is also advised by a leading global crisis communications agency, whose dedicated team is available 24/7.
The primary purpose of BDO’s accreditation process is to enhance all our firms’ focus on quality, in line with the key global strategic aim to deliver consistently exceptional and high-quality services The process of and the criteria included in BDO’s internal accreditation procedure are subject to consistent revision and strengthening
Prospective new firms are subject to a due diligence process and are evaluated against BDO’s membership criteria. These are conducted by the Global Risk, Quality & Governance department (RQ&G)
ISQM will come into effect at the end of 2022. It is a risk-based quality management approach that takes a more holistic view of risk, rather than simply setting quality control procedures for firms to follow ISQM applies to the audit practice - but will not be limited to it – and it applies to all BDO firms, irrespective of size ISQM presents us with a once in a generation opportunity to rethink our commitment to quality: we embrace it
BDO is committed to protecting the privacy of our clients’ personal information and has established the BDO Global Privacy Programme, an awareness and compliance programme that supports BDO firms in their path to compliance with privacy laws. It aims to help our firms to demonstrate our commitment to respect and appropriately protect personal data, while enhancing the culture of privacy within our organisation BDO is one of the first organisations to receive approval from the data protection regulators in the European Economic Area (EEA) for our Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) for Controllers and Processors. BCRs are self-regulatory means of compliance based on European data protection legislation
Independence is the fundamental principle driving trust in the reliability of audit, review and other assurance reports to third parties BDO is dedicated to upholding the highest ethical standards and maintaining compliance with the international independence standards of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), together with those of national regulatory or standard setting organisations Comprehensive due diligence is performed prior to accepting any new client or new engagement for an existing BDO client. The global procedures and systems used by all BDO firms are designed to identify, evaluate and address any threats to independence and/or potential conflicts of interest Technology: BDO maintains a worldwide database of each BDO firm’s restricted entities, including listed companies and the Global Independence and Conflict of Interest tool enables BDO firms to collaborate on service provision prior to client acceptance Community: Each BDO firm appoints an Ethics & Independence Leader who is responsible for implementing and monitoring compliance with the Programme Monitoring: Ongoing monitoring activities are carried out to ensure BDO is meeting the demands of the changing environments.
More detail can be found here:
BDO TRANSPARENCY REPORT 2022
This publication has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as containing broad statements only. This publication should not be used or relied upon to cover specific situations and you should not act, or refrain from acting, upon the information contained in this publication. No entity of the BDO network, its partners, employees and agents accept or assume any liability or duty of care for any loss arising from any action taken or not taken by anyone in reliance on the information in this publication or for any decision based on it. ‘BDO’, ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘our’ refer to one or more of BDO International Limited, its network of independent member firms, and their related entities. The BDO network (referred to as the ‘BDO network’) is an international network of independent public accounting, tax and advisory firms which are members of BDO International Limited and perform professional services under the name and style of BDO (hereafter: ‘BDO member firms’). BDO International Limited is a UK company limited by guarantee. It is the governing entity of the BDO network.
Service provision within the BDO network is coordinated by Brussels Worldwide Services BV, a limited liability company incorporated in Belgium. Each of BDO International Limited, Brussels Worldwide Services BV and the BDO member firms is a separate legal entity and has no liability for another entity’s acts or omissions. Nothing in the arrangements or rules of the BDO network shall constitute or imply an agency relationship or a partnership between BDO International Limited, Brussels Worldwide Services BV and/or the BDO member firms. Neither BDO International Limited nor any other central entities of the BDO network provide services to clients. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO member firms. © Brussels Worldwide Services BV July 2022
