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THE PREVAILING MOOD IS UNCERTAINTY
It is tempting to summarize the results of KPMG's 2006 Global Auto Executive Survey as simply "Go East, Young Man!" It isn't as easy, or straightforward as that. Nothing, it seems, ever is in the automotive industry.
Last year was one of extremes for the automotive industry. General Motors lost $8.6 billion in 2005. Ford announced it was cutting some 30,000 jobs as part of a restructuring effort in hopes of returning the company to profitability. On the other hand, Honda's profits increased by 24 percent in the last quarter of 2005 alone.
These contrasts illustrate several of the key findings of the KPMG report, including:
- Asian brands are seen as the most likely by far to gain global market share.
- Asian brands are expected to the most dominant over time.
- Non-Chinese Asian companies are thought to be the most likely to succeed in China.
- New manufacturing capacity will be added in Asia, South America and Eastern Europe at the expense of North America and possibly Western Europe.
In fact, Asian and European executives are now as gloomy in not gloomier than their American counterparts.
Hints about how industry executives are dealing with these issues can be found in what they think is important. According to the KPMG report "product quality" is the most important issue followed closely by "reducing costs."
Now, accountants know something about product quality. After years of reputational black-eyes, public trials and high profile regulation, the accounting industry is emerging as a popular career choice. Accountants have worked hard to raise the professional and personal standards of the industry and could easily be seen as role models for the automotive industry.
Thanks to Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), reducing costs may not be something associated with accounting presently. Most experts agree, however, that the regulatory costs will decline over time as companies, their accountants, the public, regulators and auditors become more comfortable and familiar with the intricacies of SOX. Certainly, when it comes to streamlining processes, and tracking finances, few professional are more capable than accounting professionals.
The accounting profession has a great deal to offer the automotive industry, both in terms of professional skills and also in personal terms. Those who have clients in the automotive industry face a challenge, but it is one they have, in their own experiences, already overcome. Those who don't...maybe it's time to explore a new market.
Written by Jay Hammond, Managing Editor, AccountingWEB.
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