Yoon Hoon-soo, New CEO of Samil Accounting Firm: "Accounting Firms Are All About People... Collective Intelligence Is Needed"

Establishing a Horizontal Organizational Culture... Creating a Workplace Where Members Are Happy
Diligently Fulfilling the Role of Capitalism Guardian to Settle Accounting Reform

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Yoon Hoonsoo, the newly appointed CEO of Samil Accounting Corporation (age 55), expressed his ambition to create an organization rooted in a horizontal culture where collective intelligence and diversity are respected. Through this, he intends to not only improve service quality but also drive future growth to become the most trusted No.1 accounting firm in society.

In an interview with Asia Economy on the 29th, CEO Yoon emphasized, "Nowadays, it is not an era where a single star player moves an organization," adding, "Given the extensive business structure within accounting firms, including audit, tax advisory, and financial advisory, collective intelligence based on diversity and inclusion, as well as a horizontal organizational culture, are absolutely necessary."

He noted that it is difficult to maintain competitiveness with a culture characterized by 'command,' 'obedience,' and 'verticality' as in the past, and such firms are easily eliminated. Especially since a significant portion of the accounting firm's workforce consists of millennials, creating a culture that fits their thoughts and lifestyles is the organization's biggest challenge, he explained.

Through years of ongoing accounting reforms, the long-standing industry goal of normalizing audit pricing has been achieved. However, alongside price normalization, the social atmosphere demanding greater responsibility from accounting firms involved in producing and verifying accounting information has also become clear.

CEO Yoon stated, "As the top firm, Samil Accounting Corporation must fulfill its social responsibilities to ensure that the system is well established in line with the purpose of accounting reform," adding, "Ultimately, this means improving audit quality so that recipients of information can trust and rely on accounting information, faithfully fulfilling the role of guardian of capitalism."

He said, "In the past, independence from companies was not guaranteed, but under the new External Audit Act, it is now largely ensured," warning, "If accounting firms fail to fulfill their responsibilities, this accounting reform will have been for nothing." This points to the accounting industry's test in fulfilling its social responsibilities.

Regarding South Korea's accounting transparency ranking, which is among the lowest worldwide, CEO Yoon remarked, "I think this has been a significantly insufficient area," and insisted, "At the very least, it should rise to a level commensurate with the size of the domestic economy." As of 2018, South Korea ranked 61st out of 63 countries in accounting transparency according to the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland. He added, "We cannot immediately reach the level of advanced countries like the U.S. or the U.K., which have undergone over 100 years of capitalist development, but we must quickly catch up to the levels of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan."

On changes in the accounting market environment due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, CEO Yoon said, "An era where artificial intelligence (AI) replaces many human tasks in the accounting industry will soon come," adding, "Small-scale automation is already progressing rapidly, and by maximizing the use of digital technology, personnel will be able to devote more time to high value-added areas that require judgment."

He stated, "Unlike manufacturing, accounting firms are not industries dependent on facilities or equipment but entirely on people," and emphasized, "It is the management's responsibility to ensure that all members of Samil Accounting Corporation can work happily."

CEO Yoon graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Business Administration and earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the same university. He joined Samil Accounting Corporation in 1987 and has walked a path solely in audit work for over 30 years, earning the nickname 'audit expert.' From 1994, he handled audits for numerous Silicon Valley companies at PwC's San Jose office in the U.S. He later led U.S. initial public offerings (IPOs) specializing in Korean companies' listings on the U.S. stock market and was recognized for his global capabilities and expertise while serving as head of the Global Services Division and leader of the Complex Services Group.

In 2004, he also served as a member of the Accounting Standards Advisory Committee at the Korea Accounting Standards Board. Since July 2017, he has served as the head of the audit division, acting as a savior to prevent revenue decline in the audit sector, demonstrating crisis management skills while responding to current issues such as the new External Audit Act and the 52-hour workweek system. CEO Yoon will officially begin his term on July 1, with a tenure of three years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.