The World is Changing: Opportunities are Available for Those with Open Eyes

An interview held with Tom Stansmore

 Watch interview here

Tom, could you tell us about yourself?

I was born in New York, grew up and went to law school on the East Coast of the US. I spent my carrier advising companies on strategic and tactical planning, practice management, and global standards implementation. International business practices, markets, and protocols have always been central to tax planning and structuring.

My life path and career have always been connected with emerging markets, hence the name of our company in Kazakhstan – Emerging Markets Group KZ.  Working in these markets always requires flexibility, resilience, and the ability to make quick decisions, and the rewards are always interesting and exciting.

You say that you have a legal education, is your activity in Kazakhstan related to jurisprudence?

Yes, but not only. We opened Emerging Markets Group KZ as a subsidiary of our US company quite recently but have already begun to serve clients in the fields of finance and accounting.  We also provide consultations regarding the type of legal entity best suited to achieve our clients’ objectives, then assist them during the registration process.

Why did you decide to open a company in Kazakhstan?

According to the Vice Minister of the National Economy of Kazakhstan, today the government is working on the relocation of about 400 companies from more than 30 countries. Earlier, the President of Kazakhstan instructed the country to create favorable conditions for companies that had left the Russian market to move here – for us this is a clear signal to develop business in the Kazakhstan market.

In brief, we go where our clients take us, value the decades of cooperation and trust we have developed, and very much want to help them explore new markets.

When you talk about financial services, what specific services do you mean?

One of our most popular financial services now is the preparation and automation of an information package of local accounting data for subsequent consolidation by the parent company, as well as providing consults and training of the employees on this issue. In other words, if your parent company has a specific reporting format that needs to be completed based on local data, we can help. We have seen many forms of these reports, we know how to automate them, and we can transfer this knowledge to your employees.

In addition, we advise on the preparation of financial statements under IFRS for the head office and are currently negotiating accounting and payroll services for a number of companies.

Because our team has highly qualified international tax specialists, we also advise on tax planning opportunities that consider international tax treaties, the development of an effective corporate structure, management and financing structure from an international tax point of view, as well as provide analysis and expertise on cross-border transactions in the context of international taxation.

What is the most important thing for you in running a business?

For me, the most important asset of any organization is its employees. If you think about it, people are the only asset a company has that increases in value over time. In my experience, the best professionals are the ones that not only know what they are talking about, but also care about the people for whom they are working. Building trust within the team is important to me because consulting is a complex industry based on the qualifications of employees and their ability to communicate with each other and their clients. Knowledge is meaningless if you are not able to share it.

What factors, in your opinion, influence the success of a consulting business?

Very often, companies are so busy with their core business that they do not have the resources to predict potential risks or even solve current problems that aren’t related to their core business. In most cases, developing the necessary talent and capabilities in-house costs more than bringing in outside expertise to solve the problem.

In your opinion what is happening with the market now? What trends are you noticing?

It is no secret that hyper-personalization is playing a more significant role in the consulting industry and the more we know about our clients, the better situated we are to help in solving their issues. Such close cooperation brings growth to both the client and us. We at EMG KZ always try to listen to our clients and build long-term, trusting relationships with them.

Change is part of life and is often synonymous with growing. Consulting is no exception.  Although it is often difficult to prepare for “change,” having flexibility and seeing new opportunities are crucial to navigate in new circumstances.

What kind of future do you see?

No one can see the future, and I have grown skeptical of anyone who says they can.  Although we like to believe we are in control of our individual destinies, often, the universe has other plans. Having said this, however, I’ve found that although it may not be possible to change the whole world, it is possible to influence your small corner of it. The future I see for Emerging Markets Group KZ is an office that attracts people who care about others, working to help clients secure their future in Kazakhstan.

What would you like to share as a recommendation for business in Kazakhstan ?

This is a rather broad and philosophical question, so please forgive me for speaking in generalities, but I have found that at least for myself listening (and listing closely) is often the key to making progress in many situations.  I have come to this conclusion after realizing that too often my own thoughts and preconceptions prevent me from paying attention to the details of what someone is saying and more often than not the core of the issue may lie in details.

Clients regularly ask general questions, and their framing of that question is based on their own experiences in different jurisdictions, and they expect an answer that will be as close to the position they took previously.  I’ve learned that sometimes something as simple as going to lunch often leads to a more in depth understanding of the nature of the question and my ability to take things a step further and introduce solutions that may have not existed in their previous experience.

Now the world is in a zone of turbulence, it is constantly changing, how do you cope with this, where do you find support?

A famous American poet by the name of Bob Dylan once said: “He not busy being born is busy dying.” It is human nature to focus on the things you don’t have or the things that you have lost. By doing so, however, one loses track of the important things that remain. I have found that by taking the time to think about what you do have, you can find the motivation to make the best out of a situation.