Laos through my eyes – Mark Jerome

This article is part of a series of guest blogs contributed by Brits who have lived and worked in Laos, or who have other interesting links to Laos.

I am a chartered accountant who has been working in South East Asia for 16 years. Currently, I am partner in-charge of KPMG in Laos, as well as being the Asia region representative on KPMG’s International Development Assistance Services Working Group.

I caught the travel bug when back-packing as a student and became an accountant in order to be able to work abroad. My horizons then were much more limited: Western Europe, the USA, or Australia. I managed to get a short-term posting in our European Head Office, and happened to be in the room when the European CEO was looking to staff a team on a project in Vietnam.

I spent 2 years working on the project and stayed on when it was completed.  I asked our Asia-Pacific CEO if there was any work for me here.  He said yes within a day, and we then spent the next 12 months working out what I should do.  An opportunity then came up in Laos and it was offered to me.

At the time, KPMG’s Lao office was tiny and I was given the freedom to develop it.  I was here from 1999 to 2002. Work was not always easy, but the challenge was enjoyable, the staff were exceptional and Vientiane was a delightful place to live.  It was also in Laos where I began to build my experience in serving NGOs and funding agencies.

I spent the next nine years based in Hanoi, developing my experience with the not-for-profit sector.  Not to forget getting married, which was probably the best thing I’ve done in the last 30 years.  So when the chance came to move back to Laos, it was not an automatic decision.  It was a great opportunity, but it meant splitting my time between Hanoi and Vientiane; my wife and I spent some time discussing it before deciding to give it a try.

Two years later, it is still working well.  Obviously, Laos has developed significantly since I was last here. But work is still challenging, I’m still very happy with the staff and Vientiane remains a delightful place to live…