“There is life beyond the balance sheet or scorecard.”
The most meaningful part of Tony Balshaw’s career has been work that is “all about enabling families in business, addressing people and relationship issues”.
Balshaw, 65, has headed KuGompo city’s VOS Solutions CC - now trading as VQS - since 1994, providing the full spectrum of accounting, tax and advisory services; specialising in family business advisory services and B-BBEE consulting.
But he had never meant to settle in the metro.
Balshaw said: “I came to East London with the intention of leaving the region after a two-year, nine-month contract – that was 38 years ago!”
The chartered accountant, who worked from the time he left school to fund his education, arrived in East London in 1988.
“The region was thriving, offering abundant economic opportunities, especially as we transitioned into a democracy,” he said.
Balshaw studied through Unisa, holds a BCompt (Hons) and is a CA (SA) and member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).
Chartered accountancy opened “a tremendous number of doors” from his mid-20s, but Balshaw found his calling in the complexities of family-owned businesses.
The work, he described as “an emotion-based family system overlapping with a task-based business system”, where the interests and dynamics of family and the demands of running a family company meet.
This included advising families from different cultures and nationalities, speaking at conferences and conducting workshops around the globe.
He has spoken at numerous conferences, including the Family Business Network’s world conference in Rome, chaired a session at the FBN-IFERA World Academic Research Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland, and conducted family business programmes for Young Presidents’ Organization chapters in Pakistan, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and Turkey.
Balshaw also holds an Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising, co-authored a book on B-BBEE, has completed the B-BBEE Management Development Programme and is a Fellow of both the International Family Firm Institute and the Institute of Directors in SA.
He has authored a number of books and articles including the bestseller "Thrive! Making Family Business Work" published by Human & Rousseau, after the late Clem Sunter encouraged him to put his experience into a book.
Balshaw is currently authoring a new book "Generations" sharing his decades of local and global experience with families in business from diverse cultures.
Balshaw said he took particular pride in the people who have worked at VQS over many years.
“As the chief executive, [I find it rewarding to develop] people’s talents beyond the ordinary and achieve success as a team.
“The many trainee accountants, young and older staff that came through the firm, have gone on to have meaningful careers and fulfilment.”
He wanted to equip them with the skills to tackle work and life challenges, describing his approach as “giving people the lenses and life skills to look at, understand and deal with seemingly complex issues in a sustainable manner”.
He hopes to keep mentoring people "who have a passion for life".
His motto: “Go hard, fast and for glory!”