The pursuit of success and excellence
Topnotch global professional consultancy firm Ramon F. Garcia & Co. started from the dream and determination of its founder and visionary Ramon F. Garcia
The road to success is often an uphill climb wrought with trials and sacrifices at every turn, but hard work, determination and faith brought one visionary to achieve his dreams.
Thirty five years ago, Ramon F. Garcia was only 35 years old when he started his own accounting firm bearing his name.
He had just quit his job at a well-known accounting firm due to differences with the partners and he was at the point of his life where he wanted to be on his own and start a company he had no inkling at that time would become something big someday-bigger than he could imagine.
He had neither the money, partners, nor a roster of clients to support him on his new venture, but the lack of them never deterred his determination.
Ramon F. Garcia & Co. started in a rented apartment in Bangkal, Makati, which also served as home for his family. His homebased office only had a borrowed table, a ream of letterhead, and box of business card.
Garcia says he knew the risks of going on his own, having worked in his brother's business while pursuing his degree in accountancy.
He says he was "exposed to risk-taking at a young age."
"Since 4th year high school, I was a working student attending to the day-to-day operations of my eldest brother's mini grocery store. My brother trusted me even at a young age to do the merchandising of goods. Divisoria was a normal place for me to buy the goods, as the price there was the lowest," he said.
"When I was in college, I was assigned to man my brother's Tires, Batteries and Car Accessories store. This is where I was exposed to salesmanship and sourcing of goods."
Asked what prompted him to start an accounting firm, he says: "When I resigned from Carlos J. Valdes & Co., there were a lot of offers from multinationals. And during those years from 1979 to the early 1980s, a lot of professionals were being offered work in the Middle East with big salaries. But I said to my wife, I don't want to go abroad. I want to stay here in the Philippines and start my own business."
Garcia admits going through a lot of challenges. Because he was young, he had a hard time convincing clients to avail of his accounting services. But he persevered.
"I talked to company owners, president, and officers and they ask 'who are you, you're so very young.' But I've shown them real dedication. During that time I don't really look at the money, all I want was just to get clients."
The first few years that he was running his own firm taught Garcia to be frugal and efficient. "There has to be a line between the needs of the business and your personal needs," Garcia said, stressing on the importance of not touching a centavo of what the business was making for his or his family's personal expenses.
What the company made was reinvested on the business, or made to pay for employee allowances and salaries. His family contented themselves with what he earned on the side.
He was frugal. He was shrewd. He worked long hours and studied the ins and outs of the business, achieving little successes along the way. But he was not satisfied, he felt something still lacked in his life.
"The turning point of my career and my life was when I became a Christian. From then on, my whole perspective changed. I realized that I was too much in
a hurry. I wanted things to happen, how I wanted, and when I wanted them. But that's not how God operates-everything in His own time," shares Garcia, who is an active member of Victory Christian Fellowship.
A changed man, Garcia looked at things in a new perspective. "I learned the Christian way of running a business and dealing with people," he says, adding that it's this code of ethics that has kept the firm afloat and stable amid rough waters.
What catapulted the company to success is a combination of a number of factors, with integrity, values, and honesty along with expertise and excellence shaping the direction with which partners and employees execute their responsibilities.
"The consistency on values especially on honesty and integrity is important. That's why I always quote intelligence and technical abilities will give you success, but it is integrity that will sustain your success."
"I always tell my staff that you have to listen to the environment, listen to what the industry is requiring. It's being dynamic. So when you talk of being dynamic, that means you have to adapt to the situation."
Dynamism for Ramon F. Garcia & Co. also meant embracing technology to boost productivity. The company was one of the pioneers to use information technology into their systems.
Ramon F. Garcia & Co. will celebrate its 35th year this year. Garcia is proud of its organic growth.
"I started when I was just 26 years old. I helped grow this company through hard work, and we didn't step on anyone's toes. We nurtured our people by providing them with professional growth to help them grow from within because we wanted to protect and maintain our culture, our 'values system.' It is important yet very hard to maintain, and I'm happy to say that it was a slow but steady growth over the years."
RFG & Co.’s advantage over the others is that it is a company that boasts of highly trained professionals who have the skills and consistently do what is right for client's business.
"We're a global company. "We provide service excellence, service beyond ordinary, professionalism and highly talented audit team, strong and experienced leadership, strong track record, and value for business," says Garcia.
Today, Ramon F. Garcia & Co. has gone a long way from its "apartment days operations" to a successful company included among the top ten accounting firms in the Philippines and among the most distinguished and respected names in the accounting industry.
A general professional partnership, Ramon F. Garcia & Co. provides competent and reliable accounting and advisory services in specified areas, such as audit, tax, advisory, risk, and outsource. And it has been providing these top notch services for thirty years.
The company is also one of the twenty three audit firms categorized under group A under the Securities and Exchange Commission, which means the twenty three are the only accounting firms that can audit listed companies and big banks.
In 2007, RFG & Co. became a member of Crowe Horwath, one of the top ten accounting services companies in the world and No. five in the Asia-Pacific.
Its pursuit of excellence guided by the highest standards of integrity and professionalism, Ramon F. Garcia & Co., has earned for itself the respect of its clientele.