Navigating Global Finance: Key Strategies and Insights with Tariq Raza

In this episode of The Business Catalyst Podcast, host Sadaf Abbas welcomes Tariq Raza, Managing Partner at Sharp Site Solutions. Tariq is a seasoned finance professional with more than 20 years of international experience. The conversation focuses on the evolving landscape of global finance. Tariq shares his views on regulatory challenges, cross-border taxation, and the complexities businesses face when expanding internationally. He also offers practical guidance and valuable lessons from his extensive career, helping organizations navigate today’s fast-changing financial environment.

About Our Guest

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What You’ll Learn:

• The key regulatory and currency challenges businesses face in cross-border operations.
• Common compliance mistakes companies make during international expansion.
• How tax regulations differ significantly across major global markets.
• Practical strategies to structure global operations effectively and minimize risks.
• Why strong financial partnerships and advisory support are critical for sustainable growth.
• Insights into upcoming global taxation trends and how they may reshape business strategies.

Transcript

Sadaf Abbas: Welcome back to ‘The Business Catalyst Podcast’. We are thrilled to be back, bringing you insightful conversation with business leaders, and who better to kick off our return thanTariq Raza, who brings over 20 years of experience in global finance and currently serves as a strategic and Financial Partner to Sharpside Solutions LLP. He helps businesses across the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and Middle East navigate the often complex world of international funds.

Sadaf Abbas: Tariq, welcome on board, and it’s wonderful to have you with us.

Tariq Raza: Thank you for having me.

Sadaf Abbas: Tariq to get started, after such a long and successful career in finance, what keeps you passionate about this field? And what still excites you about transitioning and accounting?

Tariq Raza: What keeps me passionate about finance, especially, accounting and all…., actually, when I started my career, with the Yousuf Adil, Chartered Accountants so that was the turning point of my career, when I, visited so many clients of Yousuf Adil, and I found out that the services of accounting, auditing, finance, and all. And, working on the planning and control file of Yousuf Adil, which is affiliated with the HLB International. And after some time, they are affiliated with Deloitte, so it’s a wonderful time for working with them and, giving, so much affection, towards, these subjects, and I find great satisfaction in, always, going anywhere, on behalf of Yousuf , they’ll to give services to the clients, so… always, it’s a passion for me to do and, make my long-term care as well.

Sadaf Abbas: That’s great to hear. Now in your role as a strategic partner you’re working with several businesses across the major global markets. What are the one and two biggest financial challenges you are seeing in these business practices, and you think that this is a major hurdle right now?

Tariq Raza: Well, there are so many hurdles we are facing, but the most challenging part, I think there’s two key things. For example, the regulatory fragmentation and, currency, volatilization, between the countries, cross-border, change of the rules and principles of the taxation and the accounting methods as well. So, I believe that the businesses operating across borders often struggle to keep up with, constantly changing the laws in different jurisdictions. So, I… from my side, if you ask me, then, all my career and tenure, I feel that the two key challenges right now. The currency and the regulations as well.

Sadaf Abbas: I totally agree, because each and every time after the budgets. Each country is basically revising their policies.

Tariq Raza: Absolutely.

Sadaf Abbas: We need to see, as our text, partitioned, and you can say as an accounting, we need to see that what are these new frame ones, what are the new policies we need to apply in the currency.

Tariq Raza: Definitely.

Sadaf Abbas: These are the two, two hurdles. So, when businesses start thinking about expanding into new countries, what’s one really common mistake you see when it comes to international transition accounting?

Tariq Raza: Actually, the common mistakes, usually, newcomers make is the understanding of complexity of local compliances they have to meet.

Sadaf Abbas: In… in the companies.

Tariq Raza: Because they’re having an experience of their home country, but that is not, fulfilling, the challenge to, make out and overcome all the complexity towards the cross-border businesses as well. So, this, common pitfall  in global expansion. I feel that most of the businesses are underestimating the complexity of local compliances. That is the main thing.

Sadaf Abbas: Yeah, that’s amazing. So, if I say you work with a diverse range of countries, could you maybe give us a quick, easy-to-understand example of how text regulation might differ significantly between, let’s say, the USA and the UK, Canada and the Middle East? Just a favor for our audience.

Tariq Raza: But certainly, take the US and the UK, for example. In the US, the tax system is based on citizenship and worldwide income, while in the UK it’s based on residency. And, I think everyone knows that the non-domicile tax benefits, these fundamental differences can significantly impact planning for multinational entities as well.  And, the other part you can say, for example, if you compare the U.S. and Canada.

Tariq Raza: In Canada, you can submit your return for your corporate taxes, with a single form. But… Here in the U.S, you have to split it into different entities, like, the segmentation, you can say, partnership. Company, so corporation, so that’s the different forms they are using. So, these are the differences that we have to, understand, and we have to, give significant fundamental changes, and, to convince our clients as well, that if they want to make a business cross-border, then how can they stay in the business, and they can secure their tax returns?

Sadaf Abbas: Okay. And the deadline is very important for each country, right? Pakistan, USA, UK, and UAE, every, every single country is having their own, you can say, deadlines and their tributes.

Tariq Raza: Otherwise, they will… they will face a penalty, and…

Sadaf Abbas: Somewhere.

Tariq Raza: Kind of, interest charges as well.

Sadaf Abbas: Yeah, certainly. So, let’s talk a bit about our partnership. You’re a strategic and financial partner with Sharpside Solutions, in collaboration with Oak Business Consulting. How does this partnership structure benefit your clients who are operating globally? What are the core values you bring together? What do you think?

Tariq Raza: Yeah, I think our partnership combines the technical expertise, and, and the consultant support in the business planning, financial modeling, and strengths. This synergy allows us to offer end-to-end international financial solutions, helping clients grow obviously, across, different jurisdictions and compliances.

Sadaf Abbas: So,  what was it about joining forces with Oak Business Consultant and SHARP SIGHT SOLUTIONS LLP that particularly appealed to you and aligned with your own professional goals?

Tariq Raza: Well, the decision was strategic. Both firms share a vision of delivering tailored client-focused solutions. The partnership resonated with my goal of offering seamless international support, something I believe is crucial in today’s interconnected economy.

Sadaf Abbas: Especially when we are working in the, you can see, finance industry, the partnership needs to be aligned, so we can provide more diversified services in one place.

Tariq Raza: Yeah, more diversified and more complex businesses as well.

Sadaf Abbas: So, on a slightly more personal note, Tariq, after spending so many years navigating in global finance, is there any particular aspect of your work, maybe solving a real complex tax issue, that you find especially satisfying?

Tariq Raza: But what I find most rewarding is unraveling complex cross-border tax issues.And, transactions, them, into strategic, advantages for clients. Helping a business expand globally. Being financially healthy is incredibly fulfilling and always giving guidance to those who are newcomers and who don’t know about the complexity as well. So, in… a different type of compliances. They… they have to feel that they are new for them. So, our job is to give them some good advice as well.

Sadaf Abbas: So, moving ahead, what’s one trend in international taxation or accounting that you think businesses really need to keep their own in the next year or two?

Tariq Raza: Well, I think a key trend to watch is the global move towards minimum corporate tax rates and a good service taxation as well. These changes are reshaping how profits are allocated, and taxes can be reduced globally. Especially for digital And service-based businesses.

Sadaf Abbas: So, finally, thank you so much. Do you have any other advice? What do you think you can provide more, Tariq, with your expertise, before closing the podcast?

Tariq Raza: Well, I think, if any newcomer comes to the business, anywhere in the world, they must have to know about the main, key areas, like regulations. And the currency conversion as well. So that they can make their finances easy, and the right way. And smoothly to, to understand how they can grow their business across-border.

Sadaf Abbas: Thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us today on the business category list, and any last word of wisdom, encouragement of your, of our listener, they navigate to the world of business. You already told us, okay, one is courtesy conversion, second is the regulation. And do you think that more after the taxation accounting, which will be encouragement for our listeners?

Tariq Raza: Well, in most of the clients that I have personally, I thought about what the main question in their mind is. How can we grow our business, globally? So, I think they have to understand different countries, different regulations.  And, how they perform their business. The main thing is how to maintain their accounts. How to… how to maintain all the things according to the country’s trend and compliances they have to meet. And, they also must appoint some good taxation advisor as well, so that they can, he can guide them towards a good business.

Sadaf Abbas: Even, even, correct, when to register a company, any legislation in the USA, UK, Canada, UAE. In these countries, when you open a company, you need to see the legal structures. So, legal structure is also very important, and once the legal structure is done, you need to face the, you can see, consequences. So, I believe the corporate secretary, accountant, accounting, tax advisor is a very major role to play when the company is going forward to establish a company in any other company.

Sadaf Abbas: So, thank you so much, Tariq. It’s been a pleasure having you, and thank you for everyone tuning into the Business Catalyst. We are excited to be back, and looking forward to bringing you more insightful conversation.

Tariq Raza: Yeah, yeah, thank you very much. Pleasure is mine. 

Sadaf Abbas: Thank you so much for your time Tariq. Have a good day.