It’s a Small World After All!

It’s a Small World After All!

I know, I know… now that song will be stuck in your head all day.  It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears, it’s a world of hopes, and a world of fears.  You’re welcome.  From 35,000 feet and 11 hours into a 16-hour flight, the world doesn’t seem all that small.  Granted, when my feet touch ground, I will literally be half-way around the world.  First stop:  Hong Kong.

International business is so frequently done electronically — e-mail, voice mail, video conference, fax (yes, sometimes we still must fax).  Knowing, understanding your client, your colleague and even your competitor, requires face-to-face meetings.  International Business occasionally means International Travel.  Make sure your passport hasn’t expired and you have the right visa to enter the country, if required.  But beyond getting to the airport, preparing for international business means understanding where you are and where you are going on many different levels:  business structuring, laws, foreign currency, cash management, banking regulations, profit repatriation, taxation, transfer pricing, transfer of assets, business customs and etiquette — even geography and so many other topics and issues.

Though the mountains divide and the oceans are wide, it’s a small world after all.

In this blog, my colleagues at WithumSmith+Brown and HLB International and I will provide our perspectives gleaned from working internationally — either from one side of a computer screen or video conference, to one side of a conference table on the other side of the world.  Over the next 10 days, I will meet and discuss international business opportunities with fellow HLB tax practitioners, clients and prospective clients in Hong Kong, Taipei, Shenzhen, Jinan and Beijing.  This blog will cover current and former international business trips and presentations, in addition to discussing current international business, accounting and tax issues — with links to more in-depth analyses and treatises.  Once in a while, we’ll challenge your geography skills and will even acquaint you with different business customs and etiquette.

There’s so much that we share that it’s time we’re aware:  it’s a small world after all.  When we understand our world, when we get to know personally and professionally our international colleagues, contacts and clients, the world truly does become smaller.

For more information about our International Services, fill in the form below and our team will be in touch.