The right man for the job

Nasser al Mugheiry FCCA relishes his work as managing director of an accounting firm in Oman. Accounting, he says, is in his blood

It has been a busy day for Nasser al Mugheiry. In the morning he flew in from London (where he attended an ACCA Council meeting) to join in the celebrations at the official opening of the ACCA Gulf States office in Dubai, where he was special guest. And, with a couple of hours to spare before his flight home to Muscat in Oman, he�s wondering whether to leave the confines of a blissfully cool, air-conditioned café to brave the bustling malls in search of gifts for his children. �I can�t decide,� he says. �It�s too hot but whenever I�m away I always bring back something for my kids.� Which leads us on to his previous visit to UK, when the doting father trudged the length of Oxford Street looking for presents.

His trip to London in July is one he recounts with pride not least because he met Her Majesty The Queen during her visit to ACCA�s corporate headquarters on UK Enterprise Day. Nasser hands me his mobile phone on which he has saved a photo of him shaking hands with The Queen. The two look as if they are sharing a joke. �I wasn�t expecting to greet her at all, so it was a surprise when she came up to me.� He takes one last look before popping the mobile back in his pocket. �I really liked her.�

2004 is proving to be an eventful year for Nasser. Earlier this year he was appointed vice chairman of the Omani Association of Certified Accountants. And, next month, his practice, Abu Timam, celebrates a decade in business, which is no mean feat given the rarity of independently-owned accounting firms in Oman. �The challenge for running an accounting practice in Oman is acceptance. There aren�t many Omanis who are doing this sort of thing. People are sceptical. They wonder whether you can you do it. Can you succeed?�

Although Nasser was assured of his success as a practitioner when he took the brave, and some would say risky, decision to set up his own accounting firm, he admits that in his early career as a student accountant, he doubted whether he would ever qualify and realise his ambitions. He struggled with his ACCA studies but decided to keep trying. �Giving up was not an option as far as I was concerned. Why quit after investing so much time and effort? I had to succeed and I did, in the end.�

He began his accounting career in 1980 as a junior accountant at Deloitte Haskins & Sells, one of the pioneering accounting firms in Oman. He was fresh out of college in Bahrain where he spent four years studying for a business degree and was among the first Omanis to train with an accounting firm in the country. He quit four years later to continue his ACCA studies full-time in the UK at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University). �Back then there was no support of any kind for studying ACCA. It was difficult. I got fed up with working and studying alone, so I packed it all in and left for the UK. I could have found a sponsor to help me finance my studies but I wanted the independence. Also, there was less pressure. I liked the idea of not having to answer to anyone,� says Nasser. He used his savings and, with support from his family, he completed level 2 of his studies. He then moved to London to embark on his final year of study with one of the accounting colleges. While there, he joined the London office of Deloittes through a contact with his former employer back home. He stayed for a year but, unable to pass all the papers in his final exams, he decided to return to Oman. �I was 31-years-old. I felt I had enough accounting experience and study. Besides, I wasn�t getting any younger. I wanted to settle down, so I came home.�

Back in Oman, he didn�t waste any time. He met his future wife, got married and promptly qualified as an ACCA. �I could have got any job I wanted. There were so few accountants back then,� notes Nasser. �Actually, there still aren�t that many finance professionals in Oman.� After a brief stint back at Deloittes, he joined Coopers & Lybrand, rising through the ranks to senior manager. But he wanted more. �Coopers was a large firm. There were so many managers all looking to get into partnership. I wanted a short-cut and I couldn�t see any other way than being my own boss,� recalls Nasser.

He was granted a licence by the Omani Government and set up his firm, Abu Timam, which translates as father of Timam, his then five-year-old son, in December 1994. That, says Nasser, was the easy part. �My wife was very supportive of my decision, but I was giving up a lot: my income and job security. But it was challenging. From now on I was on my own. I had to start fresh. I had to look for work, it wasn�t delivered to me, and that made me a much more mature businessman.�

Persuading potential clients that he was the right man for the job proved tricky, he explains, especially when he was up against the large and by then, well-established international accounting firms. And, although colleagues in the Omani business community were supportive of his decision to go it alone, he found their support wane when his business was fully-operational. �One of the most difficult but probably most enlightening things for me was realising that, once I left Coopers, people lost sight of what I could do as an individual. People liked the fact that I was working for Coopers and, without the name behind me, I had to go out and prove myself all over again.�

Portfolio

Ten years hence, Nasser has managed to overcome the sceptics. His practice now has a large portfolio of SME clients in a range of industries, including education, trading, and agriculture, and he has a staff of 18. Over two years ago, he linked up with Grant Thornton, an international organisation of independently-owned accounting and consulting firms. �I reached a point where I knew a local name had some disadvantages in Oman. Clients wanted an international name behind the business. So I started looking for an international network I could join.�

The business has adopted Grant Thornton methodology but not the internationally-recognised name. �The Government won�t allow me to remove the original name of the business because it is registered in my name. But, in a way, that�s a good thing. It makes us local but if anyone ever asks, we�re international too. All that helps when we look for new business.�

Global marketplace

The prospects of winning new business looks good, particularly with the Omani Government endeavouring to modernise Oman so that the country can take a more active part in the global marketplace. Since accession to the World Trade Organisation in 2000, the Sultanate has continued to liberalise its markets, amend its financial and commercial practices to conform to international standards, and update its company law to encourage foreign investments. All of which bodes well for Nasser and Abu Timam. �As Oman opens up, there will be more business coming in. Of course, the big international firms won�t have to work too hard to get new clients because they are perceived to be the best in the Sultanate, but there should be enough to go round,� he says. �I�d like to see my practice grow and become one of the most respected in Oman.�

The Government�s steps to foster a strong and transparent system for trading has also helped in the development of an accountancy body in Oman; the first of its kind. The Omani Association of Certified Accountants was registered earlier this year and Nasser is clearly excited about his role as vice chairman on the board. �It�s early days yet. But we�ve been given permission by the Government to go ahead and we plan to become operative by the end of the year,� he notes, adding that he hopes to solicit the help of other accounting bodies, including ACCA, to make sure the Association is on the right track. �We�ve got a lot to learn from others to make sure we don�t make mistakes.�

Nasser�s involvement in the accounting profession extends beyond the borders of Oman; he served a term as a member of ACCA�s International Assembly championing the needs of fellow ACCA�s in the Middle East and, last year, he was elected to ACCA�s Council, which he admits came as a surprise. �I think it validates all the work I�ve been doing in the Middle East,� he reasons. He admits that he relishes his work in furthering the profession in Oman and the Middle East and his hands-on role at Abu Timam. �I don�t know anything else. Accounting is in my blood,� he laughs. But his full-on schedule leaves little time for his favourite sport of wadi-bashing - an exhilarating 4x4 drive through dry riverbeds in the desert. �I love it but I don�t do it as much as I used to. My weekends are short anyway - I have one day off and I make sure I spend it with my wife and children.� Talk of his family makes him pause. He starts nodding slowly. �Hmm. I�d better go shopping.�