Sowing the seeds for a bountiful harvest

In FY09, now thankfully behind us, the global financial crisis hit like a tidal wave. With the collective hard work of all colleagues, however, we did our utmost to succeed at every task at hand. On the surface, the operating results for the year may have fallen short of budget, but real progress was made in realizing a culture of quality, continuously increasing efficiency, providing high-quality services, and other areas. Even in such a depressed economy, we did not stint on our commitment to corporate citizenship, nor did we resort to short-term expedients like layoffs, general salary reductions or unpaid leave, and the credit goes entirely to the contributions of all the people here at PwC. Looking ahead, FY10 seems likely to be full of challenges, as the global economy continues to struggle and the domestic jobless rate perhaps reaches 6%, but we believe deeply that this is a rare opportunity for us if we roll up our sleeves, put our back into it and hone our basic skills to get ready for the eventual recovery.

Looking ahead in this new year, I should not neglect to encourage you all in both “dedication” and “doing our duty”. As a member of an excellent global organization, PwC Taiwan must constantly innovate, and we must do our best at every task. Take client service, for example: When we take on a client’s case we must have even more dedication and commitment than we do in managing our own affairs. We must think more deeply about it than the client, and we must complete it with the utmost perfection, achieving levels of quality and value that exceed the client’s expectations, for that is what it takes to win clients’ heartfelt appreciation.

In terms of doing our duty, recall that we are all members of the big PwC family, and at work we are all equal; it’s just that we have different duties. Decision makers, in particular, must set a good example and shoulder greater responsibility. Therefore, as long as the economy remains in recession, all partners traveling abroad to attend meetings will voluntarily fly economy class, and until we achieve the progress anticipated in last year’s budget, I and other leadership team members are having our salaries reduced in accordance with the percentage shortfall. While savings from these measures may be limited, their significance is that they announce, in no uncertain terms, that at PwC there are no “bosses”, much less “hired hands”, because we are all partners joining hands to build PwC’s future.

No one can predict when the economy will recover. However, we can rest assured that as long as the world keeps turning, when darkness falls in one place, the sun comes up somewhere else. Therefore we should remain optimistic, pour our hearts into building a better future, and believe that our sweat and toil today will help plant the seeds for a fruitful harvest tomorrow.