Helping organisations solve their business challenges is the ultimate goal for professional services firm, EY Japan. The firm’s advisers provide clients with the support they need to adapt and be successful in a fast-changing world, and its services span four key pillars — assurance, consulting, strategy and transactions, and tax.

The connected nature of the global economy means that macro events and international politics, as well as business and social trends all have an impact on Japanese organisations. As such, they expect their advisers not only to have an in-depth understanding of their industries, but to also bring fresh perspectives and insights from other sectors and regions to help inform strategy.

An FT Professional Subscription offers teams across EY Japan with the trusted source of global market intelligence they require to stay informed, identify trends and effectively guide clients in navigating often complex challenges.

EY’s global network of firms works with over 200,000 clients of all sizes and industries. EY Japan advises an equally diverse range of organisations from start-ups to large conglomerates, and across sectors from media to healthcare.

Andrew Cowell is a Global Client Service Partner for the firm, with experience of advising Japanese multinationals in the areas of taxation, transactions, corporate restructuring and risk management. For Andrew, the global reach of the FT is a key benefit. “The FT has been, and still is my primary source. It’s the thing I read first in the morning,” he explains. “The FT gives me a broad sense of global news.”

For professional services firms where knowledge is the core service they provide to clients, being well- read and well-informed is critical. Associate Partner, Therese Cowled operates as a knowledge leader for EY Japan and has a responsibility to ensure the firm’s tax experts have access to the information they need to keep their commercial awareness sharp.

“My internal clients are the tax partners who are servicing our largest accounts from a tax perspective,” says Therese. “There’s a real focus on ensuring that our people in Japan have an awareness of the global content and tools available to them from providers such as the FT.”

While the FT is renowned as a truly international news source, Therese also highlights the FT for its local coverage of Japanese business and companies. “There are very few global media outlets that report extensively on the Japanese market,” she explains. “One of the most valuable qualities of the FT, especially for non-Japanese speakers, is the variety of Japan-related content it publishes on companies, the economy and culture.”

Client-facing advisers are constantly required to showcase their commercial acumen in order to maintain and enhance their credibility. What role however does the FT play in fostering stronger client-adviser relationships? “It gives you an edge,” replies Andrew. “Speaking to a client and being able to reference that you saw something in an FT article, and making those links, just makes everything you’re saying even more current and relevant.”

In Therese’s role, having instant access to the right information at the right time is equally beneficial. “Breadth of information is important in my role,” she explains. “If a partner comes to me and asks what can you tell me about this client? It’s good that I can tap into the most appropriate source, and often that will be the FT.”

The availability of FT content on desktop and mobile devices, as well as through podcasts and email briefings, enables teams at EY Japan to stay informed on their choice of platforms and ensures they’re not blindsided by breaking news that could impact a client.

The FT’s network of over 600 journalists around the world provides advisers at EY Japan with a broad range of global perspectives they can use to develop a ‘big picture view’. However, it’s the quality of those journalists and the exclusivity of the insights they produce that makes the FT particularly valuable in Andrew’s opinion.

“The FT has well-regarded commentators, such as Gillian Tett,” he says. “The Moral Money newsletter started covering ESG in a way I haven’t seen before, and shows how the FT is often a step ahead when it comes to spotting trends.”

The access the FT has to senior business leaders and policymakers also provides Andrew with insightful pieces that he wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere. “When the FT Editor, Roula Khalaf, attends something like Davos, you get a lot of interesting analysis delivered in a concise way,” he says. “I really like how the journalists will share what they’re hearing on the ground, and provide opinions that may challenge my own views.”

Therese references Asia Business Editor, Leo Lewis as another example of an FT journalist who regularly provides valuable talking points for both internal and client conversations. “Leo Lewis writes lots about companies in Japan,” Therese explains.

“His commentary on Japanese culture and society is also really interesting in terms of providing a fresh perspective.”

Using the myFT feature on FT.com, subscribers at EY Japan are able to follow their favourite FT opinion writers and correspondents covering key clients and sectors. By setting up custom alerts and email briefings, relevant articles can be pushed to readers, saving them considerable time on research.

Through its Professional subscription, EY Japan has made the FT a source that all its people are able to benefit from. While market intelligence is critical to its client-facing teams, Andrew argues that it was important for the business to subscribe to the FT in a way that allowed it to be used firm-wide.

“It’s not only from a market knowledge perspective that we think the FT is useful,” he says. “We also consulted with our talent team and it’s something that we’re offering to everyone as part of their broader learning and development.”

In fast-expanding parts of the business such as consulting, access to the firm’s group subscription is an increasingly common enquiry from new starters. “We’ve seen a lot of growth, particularly in our consulting line and we have a lot of new people joining us,” says Therese. “I often get contacted about our group subscription to the FT and how to get on it. We get a lot of positive feedback from our new joiners.”

An FT Professional Subscription is the most flexible and cost-effective way for organisations to provide common access to the FT’s trusted commentary and analysis. “It was very compelling to be able to subscribe to the FT in this way,” Andrew concludes. “It remains very good value for money.”

Request a free trial today and see how our award-winning journalism, from 600 journalists across the globe, can help you and your team make informed decisions and reach your goals faster.