Amidst global pandemic and all the challenges it entails, BDO in Georgia relied on clear strategy and a strong set of values to complete 2020 with significant growth and increased headcount. GEL19.5 million total revenue and 7.6% rise compared to 2019 means that the company reacted to a disruptive challenge timely and efficiently. By doing so it maintained balanced growth and directed maximum effort to the critical areas of business: amplified the support of its people and welcomed new talents, continued strategic investment in digital technology and placed exceptional focus on business ethics and responsibility in the relationships with clients and partners.
Important highlights:
- 7.6% increase in total revenues to GEL19.5 million, up from GEL18.1 million in 2019, reflecting the strong demand from clients for BDO’s expertise during the pandemic
- Consolidation of technology advisory services and solutions under the new brand of BDO Digital to help businesses with their digital transformation journey
- BDO’s Rethink framework helping both BDO firms and their clients to be resilient during the crisis and to succeed in the new reality
- Increased People numbers despite COVID-19: unique, people and relationship-based culture is BDO’s number one value
Audit & assurance remains BDO’s largest service line, accounting for 30% of revenues. Combined portfolio of non-assurance services has also increased and includes digital transformation services under BDO Digital brand, tax and legal practices, business services and outsourcing, corporate finance and business trainings.
Zurab Lalazashvili, managing partner says: “The unusual reality we had to face throughout the 2020 proved to be extremely challenging for the whole business community. We were once again convinced that clearly defined mission and values matter for an organization and its people. They served as an inspiration for each and every step we took during this whole period - through caring and supporting our people, focusing on professional responsibility and ethics towards our clients and third parties, embracing innovation and digital technology which practically saved businesses and kept them afloat.
We did our best to be reliable partners and business advisers to our clients, stay responsive no matter what and keep providing seamless services with ultimate quality. The COVID-19 crisis has affected businesses in strangely similar but also different ways. We set ourselves the ultimate goal of sharing our knowledge and experience with all our communities to help them succeed in new reality, since we had followed a series of similar steps through our own journey.”
PEOPLE FIRST
Putting people first for BDO means caring about and supporting our own people first and foremost. By the management’s decision not a single staffer was laid off on the grounds of Covid-19 crisis, rather we welcomed more new talents in the team. The challenging times did not affect staff salaries and remunerations either. 97 professionals were promoted throughout the year and as at 31 December 2020 BDO in Georgia was represented by 11 partners, 204 professional and 48 administrative staff.
As immediate crisis management actions required, we ensured employee health and safety in the office. But when the global pandemic was announced shortly, the company was already strategically equipped with refined, comfortable and safe system for remote working. In the specially arranged virtual spaces various trainings and work meetings were constantly available for employees the whole time.
To boost the sense of togetherness and ensure constant flow of valuable information during the social distancing we launched the BDO intranet portal, a virtual office which helped our people to overcome the shock of severe lockdown and inevitable stress. Thus despite working online from different parts of the country, we managed to maintain team spirit and have some fun through the specially designed intranet activities.
CONSTANT DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION
The meaning of development for BDO, apart from following and implementing modern trends and technologies, lies singularly in encouraging innovative mindset and sense of evolving. We believe that the advisers of the future, as we ambitiously aim at, should first and foremost be able to know when technology itself is a solution and in a long run, realize its role and effect for the sake of progress generally.
However in today’s ever-changing world, neither “future” nor “long run” seem far away, rather they quite simply encapsulate the next inevitable stage of development. It is with such conviction that we approach innovation and the role of digital technology at BDO. Right at the beginning of global pandemic and the announcement of social distancing around March 2020 the company had internal infrastructure so prepared that virtually within a week it managed to shift to remote working. Any single staffer with a device (notebook, smartphone) connected to internet represented a fully equipped traveling BDO office.
Information and data security ensured by ISO/IEC 27001 allowed for safe and comfortable transfer of work environment and service provision on cloud for BDO teams and clients. We work every day to provide maximum comfort for our clients and help them move consistently to the new stage of development.
Implementing BDO Portal, a modern collaboration platform in the service delivery process was one of the tools in this mission - we support and assist our clients with their digital transformation journey to make it as smooth as possible.
Along with introducing BDO Portal, 2020 was the year of record series of digitalization projects - automations, data analytics, applications, support portals and chatbots in BDO. It was the adequate response to the crisis that displayed much needed resilience to better navigate the new reality.
Intense digitalization of BDO’s service offering, vast potential of data analytics and robotic automation served as foundation for establishment of the new brand, BDO Digital consolidating the full spectrum of technology advisory services and solutions offered by the firm. This move aimed to help businesses with their digital transformation journey - gaining competitive advantage through embracing leading technologies and rethinking cyber and information security as matters of utmost importance.
PROFESSIONALISM AND BUSINESS ETHICS
The 2020 COVID-19 crisis was truly challenging for business community. Turning these challenges into opportunities did not appear to be an easy job but discovering how to do this was absolutely critical to survive. To contribute to informational accuracy and preparedness immediately we set up a crisis response page on BDO website and started arranging all the latest COVID-19 guidance and advice for business to find in one place. This was a hub offering accurate, information, special services, free of charge webinars and trainings, analytical data, media resources and 24/7 contact channel to anyone who needed it.
Shortly after the global pandemic was announced, BDO rolled out global RETHINK framework offering support to businesses with navigating the new reality. The 3-stage model offers help to those on a journey to recovery as it identifies the key stages, issues and opportunities to be considered as the situation progresses towards succeeding post COVID-19. BDO in Georgia soon engaged in putting the framework in practice, launched the Georgian version of the website and started sharing experience and helpful approaches within the framework to Georgian businesses.
20 YEARS OF INNOVATION
2020 marked the 20th anniversary of BDO in Georgia. Due to the pandemic we made the conscious decision to pass on the proper celebration of the date, although our history and the unchanged mission served as inspiration to go through the unusually challenging year.
It’s been 21 years since BDO follows the millennium perfectly mirroring its peculiarities and pace of development. Under the brand built uniquely on relationship culture and innovative mindset come together the advisers of the future - striving for excellence and realizing the value of responsive collaboration.
Trusting BDO’s story and its exceptional people we continue to dream big. Ahead lies a path to an interesting post crisis period, which we embrace with experience and resilience.