The Bean Counter Who Changed the World

"Never call an accountant a credit to his profession; a good accountant is a debit to his profession." — Charles Lyell

When this diminutive octogenarian quietly walked into a room, everybody stood up and took notice. When he began to talk with his characteristically soft voice, everybody stretched their necks to listen to every word he uttered. The voice, however, goes perfectly with the body. No other person I knew had a voice at once so distinctive and beguiling. It too, recedes at the right moments, turning mellow at points of intensity. When it wished to be most persuasive, it hovered barely above a whisper so as to win you over by intimacy, if not by substance. He was neither celebrity nor royalty, yet multitudes of businessmen and professionals flocked to him as if he were some sort of entertainment luminary. He was no pop idol material but he’s definitely talent. After all, this was Washington SyCip, who, by no coincidence, was the founder of the largest Filipino accounting-based service organization, SGV & Co. / Ernst & Young Philippines known for hiring the best and the brightest minds. His uncommon zeal in the pursuit of excellence, not only in financial and corporate management, but also in the development of world-class professionals practically laid down for him the path of his own destiny. He had practically fostered professionalism among Asia’s new generation of managers and helped introduce a new basis for mutual respect and cooperation. On October 7, 2017, he passed away quietly in the Pacific Ocean en route to Vancouver. He was 96.

I had heard of Dr. SyCip's various pioneering exploits in the accounting profession way back when I was still a junior at the University of the Philippines Diliman pursuing an accounting degree at the UP College of Business Administration (now, Virata School of Business, UP Diliman). At that time, I was made aware of his personal accomplishments — how he completed a four-year accounting course at the University of Santo Tomas in just two-and-a-half years with "summa cum laude" honors; how he passed the Certified Public Accountant examinations when he was just eighteen; how he eschewed his Ph.D. in Columbia University to enlist in the United States Army as an intelligence agent; and how he began his "David And Goliath" battle with the foreign accounting firms operating in Manila at Escolta, with a modest shingle, and a small desk for a secretary — which fascinated me to no end. That was why, when representatives from SGV & Co. visited our college to seek out potential recruits for their firm, I was one of the first to fall in line, not so much by virtue of a love for accounting (I actually hated it) but because I wanted to experience how it is to work under a firm run by "The Legend" himself.

To be sure, it was serious HARD WORK. The "horror stories" I heard from upperclassmen were true — long hours, limited work/life balance and not-so-competitive compensation packages (at least, a quarter-of-a-century ago). But it was all worth it. Working for SGV & Co. was like going back to school where I gained so much knowledge about information systems, client relationship management, business processes and, yes, accounting — technical skills that served me in good stead years later.

Curiously, throughout my two years working for the firm, the only time I remember getting closest to "the boss" was when he incidentally took the same elevator with me. And the "conversation" I distinctly recall having with him was when he turned to me and asked, "which floor?" I was so starstruck that instead of saying "ground floor" where I was supposed to go home after a day's hard work, I said, "fifth floor" — back to where my cubicle was.

Fortunately, my encounter with Dr. SyCip did not end after my short stint in SGV & Co. Surprisingly, I had better opportunities in getting to know this esteemed icon when I joined JCI Manila, a premier leadership organization for young men which he helped establish together with other business luminaries in 1948. In several instances where I needed to get source material for a coffee-book project on JCI Manila, I had the great opportunity of having coffee with him at his swanky Makati office suite in SGV. There, he opened my eyes to the organization I belonged to in an entirely different perspective by regaling me with many "war stories" of his youth, his close association with esteemed industrialists like the late Ambassador Ramon del Rosario, Carlos Palanca Sr, and Roberto Villanueva who were at the prime of their careers, and how JCI Manila was making a great mark in the country as the premier organization for young upstarts like himself. “During my time,” he mused, "JCI Manila was very active in creating positive change in our communities... in fact, we were even more active than the Rotary Club."

It was also during these conversations that I learned that the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) was a product of his own idea that he floated as a JCI project. At a time when the country's leading universities did not have strong business course programs, Dr. SyCip untiringly promoted the idea among Filipino leaders. So much so that, when AIM opened its doors to students in 1968, he was invited by the project’s steering committee to chair the new school’s Board of Trustees — a position he held until his passing.

I can still share many pleasant personal encounters with Dr. SyCip, but they probably pale in comparison with the many other stories from more illustrious friends whom he had probably touched more profoundly. Certainly, many of his old colleague’s business leaders couldn’t get enough of him; after all, his own prodigious feat in building SGV & Co. provides dramatic testimony to the positive potential of free enterprise.

Through SGV & Co. / Ernst & Young Philippines, Dr. SyCip has, in fact, generated prosperity not only for his clients but also for thousands of current and former employees whose careers he has fostered. Through the SGV & Co. Group and the movement of SGV-trained managers into other companies and institutions, Mr. SyCip’s professional protégés now span the globe. His quest for excellence and unrelenting passion for quality education has taken SGV & Co. to the very zenith of success. “One should always be very knowledgeable about one’s profession,” he once told me. “Otherwise, there are opportunities to be lost.” But all told, perhaps his greatest legacy lies in his immense faith in the Filipino talent, which provides unremitting hope for the future of his country, despite the stumbling blocks which have constantly hampered the nation’s search for genuine progress over the past century. Brandishing his characteristic optimism and wit, he summed up the outlook for the Philippines, the land of his birth, with this single statement: “The future is limitless.”

His legacy as a remarkable business figure, a far-sighted strategist for the Philippine accounting profession as well as greater Asia and a dedicated leader for SGV & Co. as Founding Chairman shall live on with the valuable lessons he leaves behind. The example he set for world peace through international understanding shall not be forgotten and outlive his lifetime. All who knew him — like me — are enriched by his memory.