Futaba Audit Corporation: A Great Example of the Plante & Moran Network in Action

When Futaba Audit Corporation joined the Plante & Moran (P&M) Network last month, Managing Partner Yuichi Toyama said that he hoped to leverage Plante & Moran’s in-depth experience in global operations to enhance their quality control in assurance engagements. He also stated that Plante & Moran’s Midwest presence and experience with Japanese transplant companies in the region affords significant synergies. It didn’t take long for Toyama to be proven correct.

Just weeks later, one of Futaba’s clients was looking for a firm to conduct J-SOX implementation in the United States. Futaba told their client about the P&M Network, and the client quickly recognized the Network as a great way to assist them globally. They arranged a meeting between Plante & Moran and their subsidiary—one of the largest Honda suppliers in the States—who were impressed with the firm’s expertise and emphasis on The Golden Rule. Plante & Moran was engaged to perform the J-SOX implementation.

Shortly thereafter, Plante & Moran was given the opportunity to return the favor. Plante & Moran had recently retained a new audit client, a world leader in X-ray spectrometry. The client, whose parent company resides in Japan, had previously been a Big 4 client; their parent company was still being served by the Big 4 incumbent there. However, they began to be increasingly displeased with the service.

Plante & Moran’s client informed their parent organization of the Plante & Moran Network and strongly recommended Futaba for the Japanese audit engagement. The CEO of the parent company agreed, and Futaba was awarded the engagement.

“Our relationship with Futaba has proven to be very beneficial to both companies,” says Yusuke Kuramochi, a partner with Plante & Moran’s Japanese Business Services Practice. “The fact that we’ve formed a reciprocal relationship so quickly is a testament to the power of the P&M Network. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Futaba.”