EBM – with its commitment to taking care of the key supporting functions of a business – is ensuring clients, including leading local and international companies, are free to fully focus on driving their enterprises forward.

Sok Cheng, known as Sandy, the founder of EBM – the Kingdom’s “One-Stop Service for Investors” and Cambodia’s leading consulting firm since 2008 – says the company’s services are becoming more in demand as Cambodia bolsters regulations.

“Demand is growing from year to year since our country strengthened tax, business and investment regulations in 2016. We are the first generation of licensed tax agents, with our services starting to grow from 2017.

“As a consulting firm, we always provide free consultations for those looking for greater understanding about Cambodian regulations,” Cheng said.

Cheng started EBM back in 2008 as a recruitment agency – Employee Benefits Management – “with the aim of helping as much as we can to get youth their dream jobs”.

“We very much enjoy our recruitment service, which we see as part of our contribution to society. And with the Cambodian economy growing from year to year, our clients needed more services from EBM to support their business.

“So in 2017 we transformed EBM from Employee Benefits Management into Effective Business Management, becoming a one-stop service for investors, handling all back office support,” she said.

The company’s services range from company registration, accounting and tax filing, recruitment services and payroll outsourcing, to bookkeeping, statutory compliance and tax declarations.

It also handles skills development, company secretarial and call centre outsourcing.

“We really enjoy carrying out all the services we provide and are happy to do so. We can help employees get better jobs, a better working environment and better pay, while EBM helps employers get things done correctly and on time with cost efficiency.

“We take care of all administration and compliance, allowing employers to focus on growing their business. EBM is also licensed tax agent, so we also play an important role by collecting tax payments for the government on time and correctly.

“The most popular services our clients are looking for is tax declaration followed by statutory compliance because these two services are most linked together. We need to follow the law and submit documentation on time to avoid unnecessary fines from the government,” Cheng said.

With a professional background in consulting and believing investment information in the market is insufficient, with it difficult to summarise all procedures in order, Cheng wrote a book for those wishing to invest in Cambodia.

“I strongly recommend that investors read the ‘Handbook for Investors in Cambodia’ on the EBM website – www.ebmcambodia.com – to understand more about investing in the Kingdom,” Cheng said.

Having graduated with a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Pannasastra University of Cambodia, is also a certified tax agent with the Kingdom’s General Department of Taxation (GDT).

Cheng has worked for more than 21 years across a range of sectors, such as consulting on human resource management, accounting and tax filing, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), telecommunications, internet service providers (ISPs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

She has also gained an abundance of experience at international and local companies, as well as

NGOs, and is keen to pass on her wealth of knowledge to her young, talented team.

“Our team is young and dynamic. Young people are active and willing to learn new things, and are able to catch up on new technologies. Many ministries and the GDT regularly update their online systems and applications, and our team stays up-to-date with their knowledge accordingly.

“They chose this area of study at university, so after graduating they began working in the field – and importantly they really enjoy doing so. “Every day brings new things to learn, because our clients range across different businesses and industries,” Cheng said.

And this mix of experience, dynamism and commitment coupled with its extensive range of services ensures EBM can provide its clients with important advantages.

“By continuously learning new things, improving our skills from day to day and staying abreast of new regulations, we strive to provide our clients with the most up to date developments and bring the most benefit to their business.

“We want our clients to be able to step into the Cambodian market confidently and without any uncertainty,” Cheng said.