Five minutes with Hisham Sorour

Tell us about yourself

My Name is Hisham Sorour, and I’ve been the Managing Partner in Baker Tilly Kuwait since 2000. I have over 35 years of experience in accounting, auditing and consulting.

Tell us one thing you learnt during the COVID-19 lockdown/pandemic?

One of the important lessons that I learnt during the pandemic is to never give up. In every challenge, a new opportunity arises. It is more about how you can grasp the opportunity than just accepting the consequences of the pandemic. "There is always light at the end of the tunnel" - Ada Adams.

Tell us about an accomplishment that shaped your career?

After the Iraq invasion in 1991, I was engaged with the Public Authority for Assessment of Compensation (PAAC) in Kuwait, where I held the position of a financial analyst to guide Kuwaiti individual and corporate claimants to assess their losses. This opportunity enhanced my knowledge in the field immensely. In addition, I have attended conferences with the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) to discuss the claims and justifying approaches and methodologies to acquire the best results of claimant’s rights.

What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

Furthermore, prioritise your goals and always try to achieve a goal at a time.Simply to never quit and to never stop trying. A quote by Bear Bryant that I admire is; "Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and do not quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and do not quit until you reach it. Never quit.". Furthermore, prioritise your goals and always try to achieve one goal at a time.

How do you think the pandemic has changed the way we work?

The pandemic has changed the way we work drastically. We have implemented a cloud system to help us work remotely, scheduled video conferences from various video conference platforms to meet with our clients, and used file-sharing platforms to send and receive large files. In the long term, using these platforms will increase our efficiency and effectiveness in how we handle our engagements.

What opportunities are there for your firm in the next few years?

As our dependence on technology increases day by day, digitising our business and providing our services online is the "new normal" but, there are risks that must be mitigated. That is why I believe there is an increasing demand from clients to digitise their business and provide them with cybersecurity audit and consulting.

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