Whilst stronger economic conditions are driving businesses to look at international expansion, concerns about entering new markets continue to dent optimism…
In a bid to gain market share, four in five (82%) chief financial officers (CFO) would look abroad, according to research commissioned by TMF Group, a leading global provider of high-value business services.
Published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the study ‘Corporate overseas expansion – opportunities and barriers’ also finds that the next biggest motivation for CFOs to expand overseas is to open new markets for their products and services (67%). Nearly half (49%) indicated that expansion is also in response to increased competition in home markets, while the same number of CFOs also cite improving R&D and technology resources as a reason to take their business abroad.
| Top 5 reasons for CFOs to choose expansion into foreign markets |
% |
| Gain market share in target market |
81.8 |
| Opening new markets in products and services |
66.7 |
| Improve R&D and technology resources |
48.5 |
| Seeking foreign markets in response to increasing competition in home market |
48.5 |
| Producing more cost effectively |
42.4 |
Despite these reasons, however, the CFOs questioned are concerned by the socio-economic conditions, environmental considerations and security and safety issues when moving into a new market. 30% of respondents rated these issues as 4-5 (on a scale from 1-5) in terms of the severity of problems their company has encountered when moving into foreign markets.
In terms of other concerns for CFOs, the availability of skilled local workers, visas and immigration issues, and the costs of the local workforce, also. Each of these issues was highlighted as a concern for over 30% of CFO respondents. By contrast, COOs and CPOs are more concerned with local employment customs, practices and laws.
Frederik van Tuyll, Chief Executive of TMF Group, said: “An increasing number of businesses are looking to expand abroad as part of their growth strategy and to attract new talent. However, moving into new territories can be a time-consuming and expensive process – whether it is sourcing the right people or understanding the local regulatory, tax and compliance environment.
“Even once established overseas, firms continue to face fresh challenges as they attempt to manage the many local nuances that influence their business strategy. Businesses should pay careful consideration to local practices and customs or they risk commercial and reputational damage.”
In order to navigate the various challenges of doing business abroad, different business functions have contrasting views on the extent to which external help should be used. Chief legal officers (CLOs) are more likely than their COO or CFO counterparts to advocate in-house control of the legal and compliance aspects of the expansion.
While just under half of CFOs similarly opt to undertake some of elements of international expansion in-house, a greater number look to work with external service providers to complement their own knowledge and expertise – particularly in the areas of legal and accounting and tax compliance. Global CFOs are also keen to harness any local support that may be available from the government or chambers of commerce in their destination market, with around half accessing these services across a range of technical areas.
In the area of legal compliance, over a quarter of respondents would choose to work exclusively with external experts.
| Percentage of respondents equally using in-house and external service |
% |
| Legal compliance |
49% |
| Physical location & set up |
42% |
| HR admin & payroll |
42% |
| Accounting & tax compliance |
52% |
|
Percentage of respondents relying on resources provided by
the local government and/or chamber of commerce
|
% |
| Legal compliance |
42% |
| Physical location and set-up |
58% |
| HR admin & payroll |
42% |
| Accounting & tax compliance |
52% |
- ENDS -
About TMF Group
TMF Group is a leading global provider of high value business services to clients operating and investing internationally. It focuses on providing highly specialised and business-critical financial, legal and human resource administrative services that enable clients to operate their corporate structures, finance vehicles and investment funds in different geographical locations. TMF Group has operations in more than 80 countries across the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, and has more than 20 years’ experience in Central and Eastern Europe.
www.bjfrht.com
About The Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the world leader in global business intelligence. It is the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group, which publishes The Economist newspaper. The EIU helps executives make better decisions by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on worldwide market trends and business strategies. More information can be found at www.eiu.com or www.twitter.com/theeiu.
About the survey
In August-September 2015, the EIU surveyed 155 senior level decision makers that have a good knowledge of the issues involved in their company’s expansion into overseas markets. The organisations came from a range of industry sectors including manufacturing, professional and financial services and IT and technology.
Respondents were drawn from senior roles closely involved in the day-to-day management of territorial expansion, and included 33 CFOs.
For further information, please contact:
Harriet O’Reilly or Justin Griffiths
Powerscourt
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446
tmf@powerscourt-group.com