It's been almost 3 months since I started working for a regional public accounting firm as a part-time employee. I work part-time as a Japanese translator to assist with communication between the prospective Japanese clients and the partners in this firm. Whenever they need me as a translator, I get a call, and either I go work with them or work from home.
Last month, I had a chance to visit a prospective client located in Eastern Indiana with two partners. The company we visited was a Japanese-owned subsidiary of a manufacturing company. So I thought I would be doing interpretation. It turned out that there were no Japanese personnel at the meeting, and we all spoke in English. Although I didn't do much this time (other than introducing myself, and sitting next to the lead partner), it was nice to observe the business. On another occasion, I attended a seminar held by the Japan-America Society of Indiana in August. The seminar was about the Japanese craftsmanship in the Japanese automotive industry, and focus of the event was learning the typical Japanese business style and networking with many mid-to-small size Japanese-owned companies in the Midwest. It was nice. I could see some of my ex-coworkers, friends, and acquaintances there, which was a bonus.
It was somewhat a surprise to me, knowing local public accounting firms (like the firm I work) have connections to Japanese businesses in the Midwest. I thought most (or all) of such businesses are in the Big 4's field. I've never imagined a need of bilingual staff at a local public accounting firm until recently. Maybe because of some unknown reason, or maybe because of an increasing pressure from Big 4s to the mid-to-small size companies for the quality standard strain (like we've learned in A514), some type of "distribution of business" within the public accounting field may be happening. It looks like for the regional public accounting firms, this particular business segment is a growing potential. I will report more, when I do more work.
