BKR International Worldwide Bulletin: July/August 2022

BKR International Worldwide Bulletin

July/August 2022

Letter from the Worldwide Chair

I really enjoyed attending our recent regional meetings: the Americas Regional Meeting in Memphis in May and the Joint EMEA & Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting in Athens in June. I would like to thank everyone who made these two meetings such great successes, particularly our two host firms, Watkins Uiberall, PLLC (Memphis) and FRS Protypos Elegktiki A.E. (Athens), for their assistance and genuine hospitality. It was a great sign that life and business is beginning to return to normal after the pandemic, though I am aware that in certain parts of the world things are still not there yet.

Given the post-COVID situation, both meetings were well-attended and proved to be valuable opportunities for members to share ideas and gain new insights with their colleagues after so long without personal contact. The energy that came out of the business programs demonstrated how valuable face-to-face meetings can be. Both cities had unique selling points: Memphis with its musical heritage and Athens with its wealth of history, which allowed members and their companions a great opportunity to explore different cultures.

As we do every year, BKR International has a scholarship program to assist worthy future members of the profession in pursuing their careers. This year also saw the renaming of the Americas Scholarship award as the BKR Sheldon B. Webster Scholarship Award, in memory of a great BKR contributor, Sheldon B. Webster (Birmingham), who passed away recently. The first recipients of this new award, Hannah Holmes and Caleb Criswell, received their scholarships in Memphis. At the joint meeting, Panos Papas from Greece, and Tan Wei Hsien and Ooi Hooi Ying from Malaysia all received their awards. This program demonstrates our commitment to the future of the industry.

In Athens, James Hickey, from Business Vision Consulting, briefed the Worldwide Board on the findings of the first stage of his strategy work. The good news was that the report was very positive, but, as you would expect, there are areas where we could do better. The report will be sent out to regional boards shortly. The Worldwide Board, in conjunction with the regional boards, will take this work forward, alongside James Hickey, with the aim to present our strategy work at the Worldwide Meeting in Amsterdam in October.

One area the Worldwide Board has reviewed is how you are invoiced for your dues. For the Americas Region, this will not change, but, for members in the Asia-Pacific and EMEA Regions, you will no longer receive a separate invoice for your dues from New York. All your dues invoices will be sent by your regional Executive Director, who will be responsible for collecting the worldwide portion of your dues directly. So, from now on, you should only have to deal with your Executive Directors regarding dues.

I will also take this opportunity to say thank you to the outgoing chairs of the Asia-Pacific and EMEA Regions, Subir Dutta from Doshi Chatterjee Bagri & Co LLP (Kolkata) and André Buijsman from Flynth Adviseurs & Accountants B.V. (Amersfoort) for their contributions to the board, especially with the challenges of COVID. They will be replaced on July 1 by Rui Pinho from Esteves, Pinho & Associados, SROC, Lda (Porto) and Carine Tan from Peter Chong & Co. Chartered Accountants (Kuala Lumpur). I truly look forward to working with them. In addition, Marcel Blöte from Flynth Adviseurs & Accountants B.V. (Arnhem) will be my replacement from the EMEA Region and will be a non-voting member until I hand over as chair at the Worldwide AGM in October.

I am looking forward to the Worldwide Meeting in Amsterdam from October 22-25, 2022. Continuing with the theme of "Your People, Your Future," we will meet in the Movenpick Hotel, Amsterdam City Centre. The meeting is being hosted by our Netherlands members, Flynth Adviseurs & Accountants B.V. and Molade Trust Management B.V./Gateway Business Support B.V. (Amstelveen). Planning is well underway. Remember, every BKR firm gets one free partner registration, which includes all social events.

Please do contact me or our CEO, Tim Morris (London), if you have anything you would like to talk about. We always welcome your thoughts and are keen to assist in any way we can.

Best regards,

Graeme Boake

Boake Incorporated

Johannesburg, South Africa

Presentations, Photos, and Video from BKR's EMEA & Asia-Pacific Joint Regional Meeting Are Now Available!

BKR's recent EMEA & Asia-Pacific Joint Regional Meeting in Athens proved to be a great success!

Presentations from the event are now available on our website here.

Photos from the event are also available here, and watch video from the meeting here.

Download Presentations and Photos from BKR's Americas Regional Meeting in Memphis!

Many thanks to the 150 members, companions, and guests who attended BKR's Americas Regional Meeting in Memphis! Download the presentations and photos here. Please hashtag #BKRMemphis22 and #BKRelationships to share your favorite photos on our social media pages.

Save the Date for BKR's 2022 Worldwide Meeting!

It is never too early to begin making plans for BKR's flagship event of the year: our 2022 Annual Worldwide Meeting, to be held at the Movenpick Hotel in Amsterdam from October 22-25.

Members requiring visas to attend the Worldwide Meeting in Amsterdam are requested to contact André Buijsman, our host from Flynth, for a letter of invitation to support their Schengen visa as soon as possible.

Continue to check here for more details.

Worldwide Dues Update

As of July 1, 2022, members in the Asia-Pacific and EMEA Regions will no longer receive a separate worldwide dues invoice from BKR's Executive Office in New York. Worldwide dues invoices will be sent out by the Asia-Pacific and EMEA Executive Directors, along with their regional dues, in a manner similar to the invoices currently sent to members in the Americas Region. There will be no change in the way dues are collected from Americas members.

BKR Future Strategy Survey: Your Input Is Requested!

BKR has developed a brief survey to obtain your insights to assist us with the development of BKR's future strategy. As a valued member, we ask that you participate and submit your responses if you have not done so already. All surveys will be reviewed and considered as we develop BKR's future strategy.

You can access the survey here.

Two Successful Acquisitions by Flynth Adviseurs & Accountants B.V. (Arnhem)

In February 2022, Flynth Adviseurs & Accountants B.V. announced the intended acquisition of Accon avm, an accounting firm in the Netherlands with a turnover of 80 million euros and 800 employees.

On April 6, 2022, the transaction was finalized and approved by the Dutch competition authorities. Another acquisition was also completed by Flynth in March 2022. The partners of Astrium Accountants, with 70 employees, decided to join Flynth to realize a further expansion in their niche sector. Astrium Accountants specializes in auditing annual statements of municipalities, schools, and other non-profit organizations. The acquisitions will make the combined revenue of Flynth grow to up to 230 million euros, and the number of employees will increase to up to 2,500. Flynth will remain number six in the Netherlands (after the Big 4 and BDO).

The announced acquisition is in accordance with Flynth’s strategy and ambitions. Flynth intends to further expand its current services in accountancy, audit & assurance, tax, and advisory in order to remain the market leader and trusted advisor for small and medium-sized companies. The increased scale supports its strategy to invest and gain market share in specific sectors and to invest in data driven technologies, digitalization, and robotization.

Marcel Blöte, member of the general board, is enthusiastic about the year 2022. However, he is also realistic about the amount of work that needs to be done in order to have a successful implementation. Therefore, a special Management Integration Office has been installed, and a new member of the general board has been appointed, Mrs. E. Lammens. This results in a total of four board members.

BKR Team Visits Harris & Trotter LLP (London)

The BKR team recently paid a visit to its London member firm, Harris & Trotter LLP.

Left to Right: EMEA Regional Executive Director Alistair Bryant, Serge Moussalli (London), Daniel Walters (London), CEO Tim Morris, EMEA Regional Chair André Buijsman (Amersfoort), and Worldwide Chair Graeme Boake (Johannesburg).

MLA - Mejia Lora & Asociados (Santo Domingo) Partners Visit Offices of GLSC & COMPANY, PLLC (Miami)

MLA - Mejia Lora & Asociados Partners Jose Mejia Lora and Firelli Mejia visited the GLSC & COMPANY, PLLC office in Miami, where they had a meeting with GLSC Partner Eduard Baltar. Afterwards, MLA partners, including Raymi Mejia, enjoyed lunch with Manuel Garcia (retired partner at GLSC).

Ravi Arumugam (Singapore) Reappointed to Investigation and Disciplinary Panel of ISCA

RT ASEAN Singapore is proud to announce that founder, CEO, and managing partner, Ravi Arumugam, FCA, has been reappointed to the Investigation and Disciplinary panel of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) in 2022.

With his reappointment, he will serve another term with the Investigation and Disciplinary panel up to the Annual General Meeting in 2024.

As a member of the Investigation and Disciplinary panel, Ravi can be called upon to serve on Investigation, Disciplinary, and Appeal Committees to investigate complaints made against the members of ISCA.

Inside Public Accounting Profiles Jeremy Vokt of Bland & Associates, P.C. (Omaha)

Inside Public Accounting (IPA) has published a profile of Bland & Associates, P.C. (Omaha) managing partner and BKR Americas Regional Chair, Jeremy Vokt.

Read the piece in full here.

Watch a Day in the Life of Bill Pirolli (Warwick)

Congratulations to DiSanto, Priest & Co. (Warwick) Partner William (Bill) Pirolli, CPA, CFF, PFS, CGMA, for all of his hard work over the past year as the AICPA Chair. Learn more about Bill and what brought him to where he is today here.

Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates, P.A. (Baltimore) Elects Two New Partners

Lisa Johnson, CPA, and Steven Purdy, CPA, ABV, CVA, have been elected partners at Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates, P.A. (Baltimore).

“It’s a great privilege to get to call Lisa and Steven my partners,” said Len Rus, the firm’s managing partner.

Lisa has over 20 years of experience helping nonprofits and businesses grow through audit, accounting, and consulting services. She joined the firm in 2012.

Steven joined the firm in 2021. With nearly 20 years of experience, he provides forensic and litigation support services to attorneys in the areas of commercial litigation, marital dissolution, and shareholder disputes.

Indian Income-Tax Authorities Withdraw Petition Before Supreme Court of India (Sanofi Case)

In the long-awaited case of Sanofi Pasteur Holding SA, France (the assessee, or Sanofi), the Income Tax Department withdrew its SLP in the Supreme Court over taxability of indirect transfer of shares of Shantha Biotechnics Ltd. Further, the Revenue’s order under section 201 holding Sanofi as an "assessee in-default," was held to be not sustainable.

BKR Member Firm Ashok Maheshwary & Associates LLP (New Delhi) has produced a synopsis of the case, available here.

UK Accounting Firms Must Prepare for Crypto “Tidal Wave”

An understanding of cryptocurrency and digital assets is no longer optional for advisory firms, according to market participants.

Accounting firms in the UK must take heed of the direction of travel towards cryptocurrencies and digital assets to remain competitive, according to Joe David, founder and managing director at Nephos Group.

"Whilst professional service firms are investing in understanding Blockchain technology, there is a significant gap between assurance service offerings and the needs of the crypto community," comments Nicholas Newman of BKR Member Firm Harris & Trotter LLP (London). "We are leaders within the crypto space and bridge the gap by providing assurance and taxation services to the crypto community, with the ability to audit on chain activity. Harris & Trotter LLP are the communities’ trusted partner and provide such services to leaders in the crypto community across the world."