BARRY Salzberg, global chief executive officer of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd, is the man confident that a three-year, US$160 million check written for the China arm of the auditing giant will provide a silver lining among the economic clouds.

The allotment to China was part of a US$750 million commitment Deloitte has made to its 11 key growth markets.

Salzberg, 59, said he believes that "proper planning prevents poor performance." The heavy investment plan was rolled out even as the global economy is reeling from a debt crisis in Europe, tepid growth in the US and a slowdown in China.

The firm reported record revenue of US$28.8 billion for the 2011 fiscal year.

Salzberg admitted that not all Deloitte partners were enthusiastic about big injection of money during such challenging times. And it's not only the economy that is challenging.

In May, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said Deloitte's Chinese office was violating US law by refusing to hand over documents the SEC wants concerning a Deloitte client it is investigating. The organization called it a "conflict between the laws of the US and China."

Despite that, Salzberg is keen to reaffirm Deloitte's commitment to China and its determination to expand in the country. The firm has 10,000 people in China and expects to increase that number to 15,000 by the end of 2015.

Salzberg holds degrees in accounting and law from New York universities. He joined Deloitte in 1977 after graduation and has steadily climbed up the corporate ladder.

He was admitted as a partner of the firm in 1985. In 2007, he was named chief executive officer of Deloitte in the US, and last year he moved up as global CEO. During his stay in Shanghai on June 6-8 for an annual meeting of senior leaders, Salzberg agreed to sit down with Shanghai Daily and talk about Deloitte's business in China and his management outlook, together with Chris Lu, Deloitte China CEO.



Q: Why hold the annual gathering of all the Deloitte country CEOs in Shanghai? We have heard a lot about the rosy China story, but the country itself is experiencing a slowdown.

Barry: The meeting is to convene all the Deloitte leaders to kick off a new fiscal year that starts June 1 and to talk about the vision for tomorrow. There is no better place to pick up than Shanghai. Even with economic challenges, there are still robust business activities here that affect the world. Combining strategic significance, great opportunities and places of continuous investment, China seems to be the perfect place for us to hold the meeting this year.



Q: Could you elaborate on "continuous investment" in the markets, especially in China?

Barry: We have identified 11 markets worldwide as of strategic significance and require investment to take advantage of the opportunities in those marketplaces for the good of the entire Deloitte network and our clients. One of these 11 markets is China. The total investment we are making in the 11 markets is US$750 million over the three years that began June 1. More than half of that US$750 million is allocated to the Asia-Pacific region, with the markets specifically being China, India, Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia.



Q: How much money will go to China and what for?

Barry: About US$160 million of the investment will be made in China. Most of the money in China will be dedicated to building up our talent pool - learning, developing and hiring. We will also invest in new businesses. About 75 percent of our investment will go toward people, hiring new college graduates and skilled business leaders.



Q: What's the global picture?

Barry: We now have 195,000 people worldwide. We expect by 2015 to grow that number to 250,000.



Q: You say that even when there are worries about a global economic slowdown and euro woes?

Barry: The real trick of managing successfully through crisis is to find a silver lining. There are always opportunities that a crisis brings, whether new business, re-inspiring people or acquisitions whose prices are lower. We make bold moves and never waste a crisis.



Q: What if the bold moves are not always appreciated?

Barry: To give you an example. We invested US$300 million in a physical facility dedicated to the learning and development of Deloitte employees in the US. That investment was made during the downturn of 2008. Then, 20 percent to 30 percent of partners didn't agree with me. But today, more and more of them send apology letters for not being more supportive then. Through the years, they've seen the benefits of giving employees a sense of belonging, relevance and a feeling of our commitment to them. We may replicate the Deloitte University practice in other markets in due course.



Q: What's your expectation with the latest investment plan?

A: We expect robust growth in the years to come. In an economic downturn, mergers and acquisitions may go down, but restructuring business may go up. We have ups and downs within the firm, but we still expect growth as a whole.



Q: How robust is robust?

Barry: It may not be possible for us to manage aggregate double-digit growth worldwide, but we still expect double-digit growth in many of the 11 markets of strategic significance.

Chris: Let's talk about China to demonstrate that. We expect double-digit growth in China.



Q: Auditing firms faced tighter scrutiny after the 2008 global financial crisis. As a firm with business in 150 jurisdictions, Deloitte sometimes seems to stand in the middle of some sort of dispute. How do you handle those?

Barry: That can happen and has happened. Our approach is to be totally cooperative and totally transparent with regulators to resolve any conflicts. We will also protect the organization by not only complying with regulations, but being aware of the implications of conflict. We will also do what we can to help two sovereignties to work together to work out an acceptable solution to eliminate the conflict.



Q: China has recently asked the "big four" accounting firms to go further in localizing their businesses. By August, they must cut the number of partners with overseas licenses to 40 percent of a firm's total, down from around 50 percent now. By the end of 2017, the number must not exceed 20 percent. What's Deloitte's level now?

Chris: We are there already (to meet the 40 percent requirement) now, and we will continue to work towards meeting that 2017 deadline. We have confidence and have been moving in that direction anyway even before the law is there.