Pub. 3 2021 Issue 2

19 nebraska society of cpas W W W . N E S C P A . O R G events in Omaha included a joint concert performed at the Holland Center by the Omaha Symphony and the Shizuoka Philharmonic orchestras. Af ter just one rehearsal, the orchestras blended their performances together to a full house. While 80 Shizuoka guests were inOmaha, we hosted them to a banquet attended by 450 people. In addition to the concert, the Shizuoka delegation gifted to Omaha a Japanese Tea House that was built in Japan and reassembled at the Japanese Park at the Lauritzen Gardens botanical center. I led a 60-member delegation to Japan to celebrate the 50th anniversary in Shizuoka, where we attended dinners and tours hosted by locals. OSCA gifted a Jun Kaneko ceramic sculpture to the Shizuoka Zoo while we were there. OSCA received a special commendation from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the events and activities during the 50th anniversary. Q: Tell us about your experience of living and working in a foreign country. A: Nancy and I have traveled to 59 countries on all seven continents, including my four-year assignment from 1998 to 2002 as a CPA in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The managing partner of the Saudi practice was Sami Al Sarraj, who went to college in America andwas married to anAmerican. I workedwithCPAs and Chartered Accountants from Britain, Pakistan, Australia, and Saudi. All of our services were performed in English and then translated into Arabic for governmental and tax filings. We attracted and retained capable Saudi CPAs, who were all members of the Saudi Organization of CPAs (SOCPA). The Capital Markets in Saudi required joint audits of publicly held companies. This called for much collaboration between the auditors, and resulted in effective audits, but were more costly for the registrants. We lived in a three-bedroom villa on a Western compound called Arizona Golf Resort. It had one of only two grass golf courses in Saudi at the time. We were part of a golf group of 15-20 couples who traveled to other Arabian cities like Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi for long golf weekends. To this day, we continue to travel with friends from Toronto and London. The experiences we shared created lasting friendships. Theweekends in Islamic countries are onThursdays andFridays rather than Saturdays and Sundays. My assistant’s name was Haque; he was a Bangladeshi national working in Saudi. As practicing Muslims, our staff and clients would stop whatever they were doing for the five prayer calls a day. During work hours, theywould go to a nearbymosque or say their prayers on a prayer rug in their office facing theHolyCity ofMecca.Meetings with client executives could start at 10:00 or 11:00 at night. This meeting schedule resulted from when the Saudis lived in the desert and had a Bedouin lifestyle two to three generations ago. Living in an Islamic culture was challenging, yet fun at the same time. One learns to adapt to the culture. It’s been 18 years since we lived in Riyadh and perhaps some of the cultural norms are gradually changing. Q: What advice do you have for young CPAs? A: As Warren Buffett said, “By far the best investment you can make is in yourself.” That means investing in your education and development. CPA firms have as much interest in your career development as you do. You are the service component of the deliverables to clients. While you are developing your personal skills, you’re exploring and observing many different organizations andmanagement styles. It can openmany doors for future employment opportunities. My advice for young CPAs: Challenge yourself to take onmore client responsibility, volunteer to become active by seeking leadership opportunities in community activities and business organizations. Your self-development will increase as you focus on client assignments while members of the CPA firm will observe your eagerness to take on more responsibility. As you develop your technical skills, people skills, and presentation skills, you will be recognized as a young professional by your firm, your clients, and the business community. t Interested inconnectingwithGeorge?Youcan reachhimvia email at gjbehringer@icloud.com. George and Nancy ride elephants in the Mekong River in Laos. The Behringers return from a hike in Antarctica. Sami Al Sarraj and George pose for a photo on the Behringers’ last day in Saudi.