Management and Business Context: BDO Australia

This essay discusses the organizational structure, internal and external factors affecting BDO Australia's business operations, business risks, business practices, and important functions of the organization.

Running Head: MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS CONTEXT 1
Management and Business Context: BDO
Australia

MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS CONTEXT 2
Brief Introduction about the Essay and Organization (BDO)
BDO is an Australian Organization that offers business and accounting advisory services in the
country. This firm provides various services such as corporate finance, audit and assurance,
corporate tax, business insolvency and recovery, wealth management, financial planning,
performance improvement, forensic accounting and risk advisory services. In addition to this,
BDO serves to government, financial services, retail, infrastructure, media, technology,
telecommunications, energy and automotive industries. It was founded in the year 1975 and
currently based in Sydney, Australia (BDO Australia, 2018). The vision statement of the BDO is
to become the leader for excellent client services by including five attributes such as customer
needs, communication, commitment, people and value (BDO Australia, 2018). This essay
includes the organizational structure of BDO Organization through which it offers its services
effectively. Company has a systematic organizational structure that assists it in operating
business operations smoothly. There are various internal and external forces which are affecting
BDO’s business operations. Furthermore, some important points about the organization are
discussed like: business risks, business practices and important functions of organization.
Analysis of Organization
BDO Australia offers accounting and business advisory services to different Australian firms and
individuals. The organization has established a systematic organizational structure through which
it will manage and flow its services. It has a hierarchical organizational structure that flow the
works from top level to lower level of management (Financial Review, 2017). Under senior
management, there is a CEO who has all the authorities towards other levels of organization. The
middle level of management is divided according to the services and departments such as
business advisory services, tax and secretarial services and audit & accounting services. The
organizational structure of BDO is given below:

MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS CONTEXT 3
However, BDO is operating its business in advisory service sector successfully but still there are
some internal and external forces which affect the growth of business in Australia. External
factors are political, social, economic and technological factors. In Australia, there are various
political decisions which are amended by its government (Wheelen, & Hunger, 2011). It has led
the auditing and accounting firms to make changes in their business operations. The taxes and
other regulations have been changed with the changes in the government. Trade barriers, tax
changes, new legislations and governmental policies have a large impact on the business of
accounting firm. The political situation in Australia is stable that has skilled and well-educated
employees. It assists BDO to enhance its business operations by hiring experienced workforce.
The economy of Australia is very strong and it has various resources which attract Foreign
Direct Investment from other nations. Some economic factors such as unemployment rate and
economic conditions may have a huge impact on business operations of BDO. In the coming
future, the organization will have several opportunities to grow. In Australian economy, service
sector is the largest contributor so it is profitable for this organization as it is operating its
business in service industry by offering auditing and accounting services (Price, 2007). There is a
need for customized panning for both the firm and its clients. Social factors also play a vital role
for this company. Like, people are becoming aware about these auditing and accounting services.
They are contacting the firms like BDO for their personal tax advices. It has enhanced the needs
CEO
Business Advisory
Services
Senior
Consultants/Managers
Supporting consultants
Tax & Secretarial
Services
Secreterial/Tax
Consultants
Audit & Accounting
Services
Senior
Auditors/Managers
Supporting Auditors

MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS CONTEXT 4
and demands for the services of BDO in Australian Society. Technology plays an important role
in auditing and accounting advisory services offered by BDO. For the organization, it is very
important to ensure that it has been using updated technologies and accounting software. With
the passage of time, BDO needs to adopt more innovative technologies to stay competitive in the
industry (Wheelen, et al, 2017).
In addition to external forces, there are some internal factors which affect the growth of business.
The internal factors of the company can be defined under its strengths and weaknesses. One of
the major strengths of the company is that it is offering services as a top financial consultancy.
The organization has recruited an effective and talented workforce that gives the best advices
related to taxes and businesses. Looking at the Australian Market, it can be stated that BDO has a
strong financial position in this industry. These strengths play an important role in enhancing its
business operations (Prajogo, & McDermott, 2014). Apart from this, other internal factors are the
weaknesses of company that have adverse impact on brand image of organization. The
weaknesses of BDO are that firm has a weak Information Technology (IT) division that is unable
to manage the records of people and businesses. They are not able to adopt and manage updated
technology and accounting/auditing software. This firm is working as one of the top advisory
firms of Australia so sometimes it is not easy to approach this due to higher fees and expertise.
Moreover, BDO has a less brand visibility in Australian market than its competitors in the
industry.
With attaining advantages and opportunities, BDO Australia is facing some risks while operating
business as audit and accounting firm in Australia (Bleda, & Shackley, 2008). One of the major
risks for BDO is the fluctuations in economic situations in the country. It has stressed the firm
and its customers as it is affecting their decisions regarding investment and transactions. It can
harm the brand image of organization. Another risk to the company is related to cyber security as
the issue of cyber-attacks has been increasing in Australia (Ashenden, & Lawrence, 2016). BDO
has the account details and other confidential data about clients and their businesses. The
increase in the number of hackers has enhanced the chances of data-theft from firm’s system and
software. It may breach the trust of clients towards company’s services. Due to this risk, the
organization is facing operational risk also as its affects its operational effectiveness and
efficiency (Kew & Stredwick, 2016).

MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS CONTEXT 5
In order to mitigate the above risks and enhance organizational performance, BDO needs to
make some important decisions in its business practices. Human resource is an important part of
the operations of BDO so it is significant to manage them effectively (Cheng, et al, 2007). The
organization should execute the strategy of employee engagement so that it can motivate them
towards their work. It should involve the middle and lower level employees in the decision
making processes so that they can feel more motivated and engaged. It will give them great
employee satisfaction and employees will be able to satisfy the customers. In this way, the
company can improve its overall performance in Australian industry (Mone, & London, 2018).
The organization should conduct a training program for its IT department so that they can
enhance its technologies and operations. It will enhance skills and knowledge of employees of
BDO that will enhance the performance of company. As an auditing and accounting advisor, the
organization should make efforts to maintain its financial stability by partnering with strong
financial institutions (Lam, 2014).
However, the above-mentioned practices will assist it in improving its organizational
performance. Additionally, effective management of different functions will also lead it towards
attaining its business strategy. The major functions of BDO’s business are such as finance,
marketing, human resources and operations (Libby, 2017). Human resource plays an essential
role in attaining the organizational strategy and its goals. All the roles and responsibilities in the
organization are allocated to its employees at different levels. They contact to the clients and
understand their needs and demands towards business and accounting advisory services. They
serve the customers by providing financial services accordingly. Marketing is also another
important function for BDO. There is lack of brand presence of BDO in Australian market so
marketing can assist the organization in achieving its strategy effectively. Through this, the
company can promote its services in the Australia and other nearby nations (Gnizy, & Shoham
2014). BDO can conduct marketing research and understand the demands of clients/businesses.
It will adopt and execute effective marketing strategies through which the company will be able
to approach its targeted audiences. Finance function can assist the organization in giving funds
for attaining objective by the implementation of effective strategies. In this way, all the above
functions will eventually improve the performance of BDO (Erasmus, Strydom, & Rudansky-
Kloppers, 2016).

MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS CONTEXT 6
Conclusion
From the above essay, it can be concluded that BDO is one of the well-established organizations
in Australian advisory industry. The above essay concludes that organization is running its
operations very smoothly by the use of systematic organizational structure. There are some
internal and external factors which are both favorable and unfavorable for company’s business
growth. The company is facing the risks related to cyber security and economic risks which can
be mitigated by the adopting effective business practices. By developing and managing different
functions, this financial consultancy firm will be able to attain its objectives and strategies.
About BDO, it can be stated that it is one of the largest financial service providers which assists
the clients to fulfill their needs related to accounting, auditing, tax and finance.

MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS CONTEXT 7
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