WHEN CLAYTON HEBBARD took up his new role as regional consultant at accounting firm Grant Thornton, with a focus on building the company's family business practice, one person asked: 'How can you have a business in China serving family businesses when there is a one-child policy?'
For Mr Hebbard, such preconceived ideas are not a concern. Fresh in Hong Kong after 10 years in Bangkok, he has come to know a thing or two about owner-managed enterprises.
'There are vast similarities within the Asian region. Essentially all the businesses we are dealing with in Thailand are Chinese family businesses. Most of the family businesses I have come across in China are extensions of Chinese families which had roots in other countries. They are the same whether they be in Hong Kong, China, Singapore or Malaysia, there are the same cultural issues,' he said.
In 1995, Mr Hebbard set up Grant Thornton's Thai family practice, which initially operated out of a local audit office before going independent after two years.
With families at the helm of 85 per cent of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, there has been a strong move towards professional management, particularly since the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98.
From three staff then, the Bangkok practice has ballooned to more than 100. Building on that success, Mr Hebbard has relocated to Hong Kong to develop the business, but still spends half of every working month travelling around the region.