and subsidiaries of major public companies in north america and europe are incorporated here. these subsidiaries must adhere to the sarbanes oxley or similar legislation and this has the potential for exposing local auditors to higher scrutiny, not only from local regulators but foreign ones as well. these include securities commissions and accounting oversight bodies. this has resulted in higher professional indemnity insurance and calls from audit firms for limited liability partnerships. ( on this matter, representations were made to the relevant ministry by icab on behalf of audit firms – successfully so ). these kinds of protective mechanisms help the csme as they give firms a more secure base from which they can grow and can assist their entry into the global marketplace. the csme then plays a key part in the region ’ s defensive mechanism and can be a vehicle for going global. the merging of national boundaries until recently domestic firms principally acted within a domestic market, and this market was governed by national rules and protected by national barriers. the global thrust started long before csme, but now the boundaries between national economies are becoming blurred, as there is a growing penetration of production and markets. such events give rise to new dynamics in terms of markets and production. services have now become a powerful source of income in many countries including ours. this applies to accounting services as well. but even in the services industry there is an overriding need to deal with global forces, regulatory and otherwise, and to ensure that the benefits of the services industry are maximised not only regionally but internationally. the global co - operation phenomena in the past the regional and international dimensions of production were usually the preserve of large multinationals, as they built oligopolies through concentration in national markets, through internationalisation and though the branding of their product. in a sense, the opportunity for local and regional companies to piggy - back on that branding is now most welcomed. what you are marketing today is the deloitte brand and that brings with it name recognition. even though it is also possible to observe a strong concentration in many industries at a global level, resulting in the building of global oligopolies, these oligopolies are at the same time searching for co - operation and for ties with jurisdictions like ours. this search for co - operation results from the limits to concentration and the desire to avoid customer anonymity which can so often be an accompaniment to large size. regulation is becoming very international and as a regulator, we, in the central bank follow what is

their processes, to save time and to shorten output schedules. it enables a more effective alignment with the rapidly changing demands of the customers since new enterprises with different skills increase functional flexibility. most businesses benefit by establishing a more solid presence in new markets, either directly of through a local partner, particularly since some traditional customers are still wary of conducting extensive business over the internet because of the uncertainty of legal environment governing such transactions. concerns about enforcement of contacts, liability, intellectual property, privacy, security and other matters have caused international business and consumers to be cautious. hence, it is useful to have a local presence. nevertheless, subsidiaries of foreign companies may require financial statements under us, canadian or uk gaap, thereby expanding the work of local firms and increasing their exposure. international business jurisdictions like ours, therefore, tend to benefit from a vast international exposure even though they are locally based, because their clients are multi jurisdictional. evaluating entry options research shows that over 80 % of companies seeking to expand plan to grow by adding new customers and entering new markets. however, entering new markets often involves learning, adopting and implementing new business practices and policies. fortunately for us in the caribbean, regional markets have, for the most past, similar accounting and regulatory systems, so that expansion regionally should not be problematic. successful companies who instinctively recognize the importance of new customers and new markets, are the firms which tend to succeed since they are proficient at establishing both effective marketing and new business development processes, including benchmarking and competitive analysis aimed at achieving sustained growth. in the increasingly market - oriented, global economy, challenges bring changes. even banks and others in the financial industry are revising their strategies, focusing on revenue generation after years of focussing on costcutting measures. global trends point therefore to increasing revenue growth, but the success of many firms located in the region, will be also determined by how well they respond to the forces that are changing the face of their respective industries, including the changing requirements relating to standards, and the need for additional transparency with respect to both the customer and the investing public, and how well they adjust to these global trends. the csme can assist in helping firms in accessing external markets through using the region as a stepping stone, though this intermediate step is not always essential to going global. with the help of some of the initiatives of government as well as initiatives from private firms themselves, successful regional expansion is possible. each firm will need to be able to formulate its own