The office was so quiet that only the faint hum of the air conditioner could be heard.
"I want to see the real revenue and gross margin trends by product and by region. What is the success rate of new product promotions? At what stage are the old products in their lifecycle? The accuracy of sales forecasts must be improved; this is directly related to the production departnt's scheduling and inventory." Takuya Nakayama pushed the summary report back in front of Yoshimura. "Take it back and redo it. Don't try to fool with that set of good news you presented at the eting. I want firsthand, real information, more specific, especially regarding client quality and risk assessnt."
Yoshimura took the report and retreated sheepishly.
Takuya Nakayama picked up the cup of cold black coffee and drank it in one gulp.
To hold down this ga, relying solely on the old man's support and the expressions of the old shareholders was not enough.
He had to subdue the arrogant soldiers and fierce generals under him with professional competence backed by real results.
His current strategy was very clear: watch more, speak less, do less.
See through the bottom line of the finances, see clearly the veins of sales.
Before he had fully grasped every gear of this enormous machine, he did not intend to easily issue orders for major personnel or structural adjustnts.
The internal phone on the desk rang again.
"Managing Director, President Nakayama would like you to co to his office," the assistant's voice ca through.
Takuya Nakayama stood up and smoothed the hem of his suit jacket.
The old man calling him at this hour ant he had most likely heard the rumors from the sales departnt.
In the president's office on the top floor.
Hayao Nakayama stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, rolling two walnuts in his hand.
Hearing the door open, he turned around.
"I heard you gave Yoshimura a dressing-down?" The old man walked over to the sofa and sat down, gesturing for him to take the seat opposite.
"I didn't dress him down, I just told him to redo the report," Takuya Nakayama replied calmly as he sat down. "The sales departnt's old habit of chasing volu without regard for paynt cycles needs to be fixed."
Hayao Nakayama let out a scoff. "You kid, you want to start swinging the axe as soon as you take over. Yoshimura has been with Sega for fifteen years; even if he hasn't achieved great things, he's put in the hard work."
"Hard work doesn't pay the bills," Takuya Nakayama said, looking his father in the eye. "You didn't ask to take over just to act as a figurehead. I need to re-evaluate the backgrounds and performance stability of the sales directors and regional managers. Are there any irreplaceable star salespeople? Does their client base belong to them personally, or does it belong to Sega? If these landmines aren't cleared, they'll beco future liabilities."
The old man stopped rolling the walnuts and stared at his youngest son for a long while.
"The fact that you can see this level shows that the reports you've been reading these past few days haven't gone to waste," Hayao Nakayama said, placing the walnuts on the coffee table. "I built my career on arcade machines, and I believed in conquering the market. As long as the goods could be distributed, the money would always co back. But Sega's operation is too big now, with tens of billions in funds rolling through the accounts. A single slip-up could an total ruin."
Takuya Nakayama nodded in agreent.
"That's why internal controls and approval processes must be tightened. Cross-departntal collaboration—especially between sales, finance, and production—can't be handled by each departnt doing its own thing. How sales etings are conducted, whether cross-departntal cooperation is smooth... these are the details I need to get a grip on."
"Go ahead and take charge. But don't rush; make sure the materials and plans are fully prepared before you make your move," Hayao said, leaning back on the sofa and letting out a long sigh. "These old bones of mine really don't want to look at those dense columns of numbers anymore. Kazuki has a trial class at kindergarten tomorrow, and I have to go and film it."
The conversation ended with the old man's concern for his grandson.
Takuya Nakayama walked out of the president's office and glanced at his wristwatch. 5:10 PM.
Twenty minutes left until it was ti to get off work.
Back in his own office, he sorted the stacks of docunts on his desk and locked them in the safe.
The financial cognitive frawork had been established, and he had already grazed the core lifeline of sales.
Over the next few months, he would need to map these theories one-to-one with the actual data.
No need to rush.
One bite at a ti; he would slowly take the helm of this giant ship.
Although he had already assigned tasks to Yoshimura, Takuya Nakayama's own steps did not stop there.
The next day, he took several thick books out of his drawer.
"Modern Corporate Financial Managent," "Principles of Auditing," "Detailed Explanation of Japanese Tax Law."
These were books he had specifically had his assistant bring back from Maruzen Bookstore a couple of days ago.
In his previous life, Takuya Nakayama understood gas, markets, and had a rudintary grasp of capital operations, but if he really had to examine every single entry in the account books, he would be at a loss.
Previously, being able to make Yoshimura break into a sweat relied on a "focus on the big picture" managent logic and the business common sense accumulated from the future. The numbers in reports are processed layer by layer; what is presented is always what managent wants the higher-ups to see.
To avoid being deceived by those below, one must possess the professional capability to penetrate this fog of numbers.
Sega's accounts had long been audited by an external, third-party accounting firm.
In Japan, this is a mature system that has been in operation for many years.
Any accounting firm practicing in Japan must register with the Financial Services Agency and possess the corresponding professional qualifications.
Globally renowned accounting firms from the West, if they wanted to conduct business in Japan, could only do so by affiliating with local Japanese firms through partnerships.
This created a very unique industry landscape.
In 1995, the Japanese audit market was firmly controlled by the "Big Four Audit Firms": Ernst & Young ShinNihon, KPMG Azusa, Tohmatsu, and ChuoAoyama Audit Corporation.
These four giants carved up the audit business for the vast majority of listed companies in Japan.
Shin Nihon is backed by the Ernst & Young network, Azusa is affiliated with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Tohmatsu belongs to the Deloitte system, and ChuoAoyama is a mber of the PwC network.
While their nas sound impressive, their operational logic is steeped in uniquely Japanese characteristics.
These four so-called "audit corporations" were not tightly organized entities built from the ground up, but rather patchwork organizations ford by the rger of over seventy small, local firms.
This pieceal structure led to loose internal managent and deeply intertwined, complex interest relationships.
Each small firm retained strong local characteristics and their own client networks.
They serve Japan's large corporations, and their market position is rock-solid.
Takuya Nakayama opened his "Principles of Auditing" textbook and stared at the chapter on "Independence."
Japanese corporate culture is deeply rooted in the concept of "Wa" (harmony) and the "lifeti employnt" system.
Employees possess an extrely high level of loyalty to their companies, but this loyalty often degenerates into blind obedience to departntal interests or even to direct superiors.
Coupled with the "gekokujo" (the low overcoming the high) gene ingrained in their bones, it is not uncommon in Japanese business history for subordinates to conspire to deceive higher-ups in order to et performance targets or cover up certain mistakes.
A scandal that shocked the world in his previous life flashed through Takuya Nakayama's mind.
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