Meet the CPA backing Cambodia’s business growth

When Yuvady Keo CPA returned to her home city of Phnom Penh in 2024 to start an accounting practice, few people believed she would succeed. Some said the now 27-year-old Sydney University graduate was too young to run a business. Others said she could not compete with established players in the market. One critic even described her as “not enough”.

Rather than undermining her confidence, Keo says the scepticism fuelled not only her entrepreneurial spirit but her determination to prove that she had exactly what it takes to build a business.

“I have always had an entrepreneurial mindset,” says Keo, founder of Your Guiding Star Accounting, which provides end-to-end accounting, tax and advisory services to small and medium sized enterprises in Cambodia.

“I knew early on that I wanted to build something from my own ideas. A lot of people doubted that I could do it, and while that hurt a bit, it also pushed me to a higher standard.

“When clients started coming to me, they believed in my vision, and that showed me that impact is not about how long you have been in the market — it is about the value and authenticity you bring.”

An entrepreneurial ecosystem

Keo is on a mission to help Cambodian businesses succeed. This requires building trust among clients who have been traditionally reluctant to open their books to third parties, while also fostering a deeper awareness of compliance.

“Compliance is common knowledge in countries like Australia, but in Cambodia we are still at the stage of educating people about the importance of accurate record keeping,” says Keo.

Your Guiding Star Accounting is just one part of a multi-business ecosystem Keo has built from the ground up. In 2024, she founded Ying Huo Chong Chinese School, where she also sharpens her own Mandarin proficiency — a skill she views as a strategic business asset.

In 2025, Keo launched MeetMe25, a hybrid space that combines a cafe with a co-working area, seven private offices and two meeting rooms.

“It is designed to empower young entrepreneurs to explore innovative ideas in their business and contribute to the growth of the community,” says Keo. “The pricing model is quite unique for Cambodia because people just pay a flat fee, which eliminates various overhead costs such as electricity.”

MeetMe25 hosts workshops on topics like accounting, taxation and business skills, as well as Pilates classes and cultural experiences that promote Cambodian heritage.

“I do not view my businesses as single entities but as interconnected systems that feed into each other, and my accounting skills are at the core,” says Keo. “Clients from one business can be referred to another and insights from one industry can be used to inform another.”

Branding for growth

Keo credits her connection to Australia for helping to launch Your Guiding Star Accounting. Her first clients were Cambodian-Australian businesses who recognised her CPA qualification.

“From there, I used my CPA qualification as the main theme of my marketing on Facebook and Instagram to help build my credibility,” she says. “One of the first videos I posted was about how I gained my CPA qualification and it helped to build my brand.

“I think it was a smart strategy, because if everyone trusts my qualifications, they will want to learn more about what I do and how Your Guiding Star Accounting can help them,” she adds. “My business grew from there, and earning the trust of my clients has been very rewarding.”

Keo spent almost 10 years in Australia before returning to Phnom Penh. While completing her Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Sydney, she leveraged volunteer and internship experiences to hone her accounting skills and went on to become a senior financial accountant at utility company Icon Water in Canberra.

Today, Keo works with a range of clients across industries such as retail, wholesale and professional services. She views accountants as strategic business partners who use financial data to help clients manage risk and make the critical decisions that fuel their growth.

“I want to empower Cambodian businesses to grow smartly and sustainably,” she says. “I have always been someone who thinks in systems, and accounting provides a framework to turn complex information into actionable insights and meaningful stories. When financial data is presented well, it helps leaders make decisions and grow with purpose.”

Cambodia experienced a rapid economic rise in the 15 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the Work Bank puts annual growth during this period around 7.7 per cent, cementing its lower-middle-income status in 2015.

While the pandemic triggered Cambodia’s first economic recession in 25 years with its economy contracting 3.6 per cent in 2020, growth reached almost 6 per cent in 2024. 

The country, which is home to around 750,000 micro, small and medium enterprises, maintains its ambition to become a higher-income economy by 2050. While agriculture, tourism and textiles remain its major industries, the Cambodian government views AI as an opportunity to accelerate innovation.

Keo sees huge potential for Cambodia’s economy and the SME sector that helps fuel its growth.

“After working in Australia, I wanted to make a meaningful impact in my home country,” she says. “Many of my clients are experiencing rapid growth, but they are also navigating rising costs and tighter margins, and there is a level of market complexity that can be difficult to navigate without robust systems to track performance and respond quickly.

“Many SMEs still rely on spreadsheets,” adds Keo. “For Cambodian businesses, we need to normalise the idea of external parties doing their books, because there is still a traditional view that they do not want to reveal their financial information to a third party. That is why I spend a lot of time understanding my clients’ pain points and challenges, because this builds trust.”

A guiding star

Keo says marketing via social media continues to build her business profile. “In Cambodia, you have to be flexible and go where your customers are, which is mainly on Facebook and Instagram,” 

Last year, Keo filmed a “day in the life of…” video for CPA Australia, which highlighted her role in inspiring the next generation of accountants in Cambodia. She regularly speaks about the profession at school events and career expos, and aims to foster a sense of excitement about the growing role of AI in accounting.

“I view AI as a business partner, not a threat,” she says. “When I speak to students, my goal is to show them that AI can take care of repetitive accounting tasks so that we can focus more on strategic or higher-level analysis work.

“That desire to make an impact for my clients inspired the name of my business, because it reflects exactly what I aim to be for them — a guiding star that helps them navigate complexity, make smart decisions and grow with confidence.”

Keo hopes to develop the skills and confidence of her small but growing team by promoting opportunities to learn on the job. “I think you learn by doing,” she says.

“If you make mistakes, fix them and learn from them. I encourage my team to fall forward, because they will still be making progress, and that is how you grow.”

Resilience and vision

While Keo is inspired to teach others, she is also committed to her own ongoing education. “I like learning new things and that is why I am trying to improve my Mandarin,” she says. “I began learning when I was young. I remember feeling bored after I had finished all my homework, so my grandmother suggested I learn a language.

“I spend about two hours a week on it now, and while I am not quite fluent, I am halfway there. The teachers at the language school I run are the same ones that I started learning from years ago. I think it is important to maintain a strong network.”

She also believes entrepreneurship has enhanced her personal growth.

“I have always thought outside the box and wanted my voice to be heard,” she says. “At the same time, I do not just grow my business — the business grows me as well, because I have become very patient and disciplined. I have had moments of doubt, but I stay focused on the long-term.

Her next goal is to expand into audit services while continuing to promote the importance of compliance and “the smart, informed financial management that will help Cambodian businesses to grow”.

“Accountants who combine technical skills with strategic thinking will play a crucial role in ensuring that this growth is both strong and sustainable,” she says.

Keo may be fine-tuning her business plans for the future, but she still makes time to appreciate what she has achieved in just two short years.

“When clients believe in my vision, it validates the work that I have put in and it reminds me that business success is about creating value and meaningful relationships,” she says.

“I am proud of what I have built and the resilience that I have developed, especially because so many people said I could not do it. Building something from nothing is never easy, but this is just the beginning.”

One piece of advice

“You have to know what you really want from your career. You only live once, and while money matters, what makes you happy every day matters more.

“For me, that is entrepreneurship. It is physically and mentally tiring and you need to have a clear plan, build a strong support network and expect some challenges along the way — but I find it so satisfying.”