BKR Worldwide Bulletin
March 2023 Edition
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Letter from the Worldwide Chair
It is amazing how quickly the time goes by. The tax season is here for a lot of members, the New Year seems like a long time ago, and, hopefully, for most of us, COVID seems like a distant memory. Wider issues continue to affect us. Our Turkish member, ISIK YEMINLI MALI MUSAVIRLIK VE BAGIMSIZ DENETIM A.S. (Istanbul) and, in New Zealand, Walker Wayland Auckland Limited (Auckland), have both been hit by natural disasters. I'm glad to share that our members and their staff are okay.
Strategic Planning
The Worldwide Board held a "standalone" meeting in Miami at the end of January. We had a very fruitful extra day to discuss the development of our future. Our strategy consultant, James Hickey, from Business Vision Consulting, facilitated an intensive workshop that enabled the board to develop several ideas that will now be taken forward. The regional boards have all been involved in the process of formulating our future strategy. We are giving all members the opportunity to get further involved in this work with remote strategy briefings for all three regions at the end of March (see below), and there will also be the chance to discuss this at our regional meetings. I look forward to seeing most of you at these events. The results of this strategy work will be presented and decided on at the Worldwide Meeting in Washington, DC, in October. This work is central to how we should move forward.
Rebranding
Furthermore, we have agreed to rebrand and develop a new website. For several decades, we always had the same branding. The Worldwide Board believes that it is time to modernize both our logo and the design of our branding. We will be doing this in tandem with the development of a new website to modernize it, and make it more attractive and useful for members, potential members, and your clients. The aim is to launch both at our Worldwide Meeting in Washington, DC. Please put our Annual Worldwide Meeting dates in your diary now. It will be held in the Fairmont Georgetown Hotel, Washington, DC, October 28-31.
Regional Meetings
This year, our theme is "What Will Your Legacy Be?" with regional meetings as follows:
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EMEA – The Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa – April 22-24
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Asia-Pacific – Shangri-La Far Eastern, Taipei, Taiwan – May 6-8
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Americas – InterContinental Presidente Hotel, Mexico City, Mexico – May 20-23
I am looking forward to seeing most of you at this year’s meetings.
New Members
I am pleased to welcome two new members to the EMEA Region in Cyprus and Belgium. Growing quality members is a key area for our future, so I am delighted our recruiting efforts are producing quality members. I hope to have further good news in this area shortly. Our new members are as follows:
CYAUSE Audit Services Limited are based in Nicosia, Cyprus, and have more than 20 years of experience. They provide a full spectrum of services, and have international clients spread across Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.
Our new Belgium member is Decupere & Partners. With 15 partners and a total of 120 staff, they have significant expertise in the construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and service sectors. The firm was originally formed in 1985 and now has some 10 offices in the Flemish area of the country.
I know you will make them both feel welcome.
Congratulations
I am delighted to congratulate Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP (New York) on celebrating their 100th Anniversary. Russell B. Shinsky, Anchin's managing partner, said, "We are thrilled to be celebrating our 100th Anniversary of stability and growth, while much of the accounting industry is experiencing consolidation." To further celebrate, they were able to announce that they have won the Best of Accounting Award for providing superior service to their clients. ClearlyRated's Best of Accounting® Award winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients.
Remote Strategy Briefings
As I am keen that members of the association are kept up to date on the strategy work currently on-going, there will be an opportunity to discuss this work at the regional meetings. However, we are taking the opportunity to update members with Zoom briefings for each region. I, Tim Morris, and James Hickey, our strategy partner, will brief you on the process and where we have got to with it. We will then take any questions you have.
The meetings will take place as follows:
- Asia-Pacific – on March 21 at 14:30 (Manila Time).
- Amercas – on March 21 at 09:30 (ET/DST).
- EMEA – on March 23 at 11:00 (Western Europe Time).
Details will be sent out by the executive directors.
As always, if you have any questions on this or anything else, do not hesitate to contact me or our CEO, Tim Morris.
Regards,
Marycris Oplas
Alas, Oplas & Co., CPAs
Manila, Philippines
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Register Now for BKR's 2023 Regional Meetings! |
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April 22-24, 2023
The Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa
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May 6-8, 2023
Shangri-La Far Eastern, Taipei, Taiwan
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May 20-23, 2023
InterContinental Presidente, Mexico City, Mexico
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Register Now for BKR's March Events
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Check out all of BKR's upcoming events here.
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Catch up with the Latest from the Americas Region
Read the recent E-Update from BKR's Americas Region here.
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Please Complete BKR's Branding Survey
BKR is currently developing its strategy as it looks to build on its legacy and remain a relevant resource for its members.
Key to BKR’s long-term success is how we look, feel, and communicate with our members and those firms that might be considering becoming a member, or a client looking to work with one of our members. Part of this process is to review how we look and do things today, so we can understand what works and what we need to do better. We have appointed an agency to help us evaluate our current working practices and help us to better tell our story moving forward.
In terms of the evaluation phase of this project, we would like to ask you to complete this survey by March 10.
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Take Advantage of BKR's Travel Grant
Several firms have recently inquired about BKR's Worldwide Travel Grant. With regional conferences coming up soon, we hope that the description below will help clarify who is eligible and how it is claimed.
The US$750 travel subsidy is a grant that the Worldwide Board offers to those firms in developing countries with GDPs of less than US$10K and who also have annual firm revenues of less than US$1M. The subsidy can be applied to either the worldwide or your regional conferences. Firms must be current on all payments to BKR in order to qualify. Eligible firms need to apply to the BKR Worldwide Executive Office by email after the conference has ended, copying your regional Executive Director.
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BKR's 2023 Americas Member Firm Analysis Is Available for Input
Log-in information and instructions for BKR's Americas 2023 Member Firm Analysis have been sent to the main contacts of all Americas Region firms.
All information must be completed and submitted by Monday, May 1. The final report will be distributed at BKR's 2023 Americas Regional Meeting in Mexico City, where detailed discussion and analysis will take place.
If you need the information resent, please contact the Executive Office at bkr@bkr.com.
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BKR Leadership Meets in Miami
BKR's CEO, Worldwide Board members, and regional executive directors met in Miami on January 29-30 to focus on BKR business, and Strategist James Hickey provided his insights for the future.
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BKR Indian Members Meet in New Delhi
BKR's India Subregional Meeting was held in New Delhi on February 18.
The event was attended by K C Mehta & Co LLP (Ahmedabad), M/s T R Chadha & Co LLP (Mumbai), PRATAPKARAN PAUL & CO. (Chennai), Acupro Consulting Private Limited (Gurugram), and RAO & EMMAR, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS (Bangalore).
One of the highlights is the formulation of a work plan for the subregion. They all agreed on further strengthening the collaboration among India firms towards one BKR in the region.
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BKR CEO Tim Morris Featured in IAB CEO Predictions 2023
BKR International CEO Tim Morris was featured in International Accounting Bulletin's (IAB) CEO Predictions 2023 article.
Read the piece in full here.
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BKR Americas Executive Director Aiysha (AJ) Johnson Article Published in Accounting Today
Accounting Today published an article by Americas Regional Executive Director Aiysha (AJ) Johnson, entitled, "Recruiting: Develop leadership tracks for non-CPAs."
Read the piece in its entirety here.
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BKR Welcomes New Member Firm in Belgium
BKR International is delighted to announce an increase in its European presence with a new member firm in Belgium, Decupere & Partners.
With 15 partners and a total of 120 staff, Decupere & Partners has significant expertise in the construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and service sectors. The firm was originally formed in 1985 and now has some 10 offices in the Flemish area of the country. Their head office is in Ypres, and they offer a full range of accountancy, advisory, and tax services.
Chief Operations Officer Dieter Bonte said, "Membership in BKR International will give us a better understanding of how accountancy is evolving outside Belgium, and we can provide a service for fellow members and their customers in the Flanders area of Belgium, and it will be of benefit to my clients and staff."
BKR International CEO Tim Morris said, "Decupere are a great fit for us in Belgium. They are a well-established firm with an appetite for growth, and will really add to the range of service we can provide in Flanders in particular and Belgium as a whole. We are excited by their membership and look forward to working with them."
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Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP (New York) Wins ClearlyRated’s 2023 Best of Accounting Award for Service Excellence as It Celebrates 100 Years in Business
Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP has announced that they have won the Best of Accounting Award for providing superior service to their clients. ClearlyRated's Best of Accounting® Award winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients. On average, clients of 2023 Best of Accounting winners are more than 70% more likely to be satisfied than those who work with non-winning firms.
A recent client survey resulted in Anchin receiving satisfaction scores much higher than the industry average. In addition, Anchin received a Net Promoter® Score of 80.3%, significantly higher than the industry's average of 39% in 2022.
"For a century, Anchin has prioritized exceptional service, and we are proud and honored to be recognized for our efforts in this way," Russell B. Shinsky, Anchin's managing partner, said. "We attribute this achievement to both the home-grown and lateral talent we've steadily cultivated year after year. This fuels our independent, partner-owned best place to work culture, and enables us to invest in our clients and treat them as the VIPs that they are. In fact, VIP is also short for our forward-looking tagline, which is Vision – Insight – Possibilities (VIP), and we strive to bring each of these to our client relationships as well."
"We are thrilled to be celebrating our 100th Anniversary of stability and growth, while much of the accounting industry is experiencing consolidation. We will continue to provide the reliability that many businesses, funds, and high-net-worth individuals and families are seeking during these times to achieve optimal results for our clients. Our coordinated, industry-focused teams are able to find opportunities in the current business and tax environment and provide clients the timely attention they need to succeed."
"I am pleased to introduce the 2023 Best of Accounting winners alongside their validated service ratings on ClearlyRated.com," said ClearlyRated's CEO, Eric Gregg. "These firms have demonstrated a remarkable commitment to delivering amazing experiences, despite another year of upheaval and macroeconomic uncertainty."
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Cornwell Jackson (Dallas) Unveils New Brand Identity to Celebrate 40th Anniversary and Growth Milestones
Cornwell Jackson announced it is changing its name and visual identity to showcase the service differentiators valued most by its SMB and middle-market clients. The company will now be known as The CJ Group, CPAs and Advisors. The name and brand change coincide with the organization’s 40th Anniversary and relocation to its new offices in Frisco.
“In a sea of accounting firm choices,” says Scott Bates, managing partner, “We felt the need to separate our organization from the herd and to highlight the services our clients tell us are most important to them. At the top of this list is our highly-responsive and relationship-focused approach that delivers tailored solutions to each and every client.
"Whether a business is a small entrepreneur or middle-market corporation – every client wants to know they are receiving expertise and guidance specifically for their unique situation and strategic goals, not canned solutions that make them feel like just another number in a large pool of clients. The signature style CJ in our new brand signifies this personal, customized approach that has been the cornerstone to our success over the last 40 years.”
The CJ Group unveiled its new brand along with the descriptor statement of “Insightful Expertise | Exceptional Talent | Tailored Approach” to better articulate the organization’s three distinctive pillars of differentiation.
Insightful Expertise
The CJ Group’s deep bench of industry experts and specialists provides guidance that helps clients optimize their structure, capitalize on opportunities, and minimize roadblocks. Clients feel like they have a true partner looking out for them, responsive to their needs, enabling them to achieve their short and long-term goals.
Exceptional Talent
We believe great people achieve great things for our clients. This starts by finding and cultivating exceptional talent from diverse backgrounds to provide deep and meaningful perspectives and holistic solutions. Our thriving culture of continued development, personal growth, positive environment, and entrepreneurial spirit ensures solutions that keep our client’s businesses moving forward.
Tailored Approach
In this fast-paced and rapidly evolving landscape, clients need timely solutions designed for their unique situations. The CJ Group combines a highly responsive, customized approach with dedicated teams and technology-driven processes to deliver value and results – every client, every time. The CJ Group’s signature approach to client solutions is truly a differentiator that clients highly value.
The CJ Group will continue its brand transformation with a refreshed website design in the coming months, as well as a "Grand Opening" event for their new offices at 6801 Gaylord Parkway, Suite 302, Frisco, Texas 75034.
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MLA - Mejia Lora & Asociados (Santo Domingo) Celebrates 40th Anniversary
"40 Years Validating Your Company" – Under this slogan, the prestigious and respected auditing firm, MLA-Mejia Lora & Asociados, celebrated its 40th Anniversary in the Dominican market on February 1 in a majestic event that took place in the Churchill room of the Real Intercontinental Hotel, where important companies of the different sectors that energize the economy, as well as personalities and representatives of regulatory agencies of the Dominican government, were present.
The communicator, Marianne Cruz, acted as master of ceremony and said, "For us, it is a great pleasure to share with each of you this special occasion for MLA, a firm founded under the foundations of very strong values instilled in the family that make it possible today to celebrate these 40 years of trajectory, development, and professional success. MLA is a benchmark of good business practices, and this is demonstrated by its extensive portfolio of clients, who attended to participate in this important occasion."
She then invited Firelli Mejía, partner, who formally welcomed those present, thanked them for the trust placed in the company and said, "At MLA, we validate the processes and minimize the risks of our clients, guaranteeing their stability and growth." She took the opportunity to announce the corporate social responsibility project, Fundación Colabora RD, through which they help children, young people, and the elderly.
A solemn and emotionally charged moment was experienced by those present when a tribute was paid to the founding partners of the firm, José Mejía Lora and Adelaida Ortega de Mejía, who have been responsible for building this legacy and their ability to transmit it from generation to generation.
Following the activity, Partner Raymi Mejia highlighted that one of the main characteristics of MLA is to keep updated, constantly changing, and being innovative. He highlighted the exclusive representation that the firm has had for more than 20 years with BKR International, which is ranked among the 10 largest accounting associations in the world, which represents a support of more than 160 firms, with more than 500 offices in the world. He ended his participation by thanking Manu Chadha (Mumbai), member of the World Board of BKR International and its representative in India, for his visit.
Finally, Sayka Mejía took the floor with very important local current issues, in order to validate the security issue, from her position as president of the Committee for the Prevention of Money Laundering of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPARD), as well as the country-by-country report, and the automatic annual delivery of its transfer pricing studies, a provision that came into force last year.
As certified public accountants, they act with ethics and transparency, offering a wide variety of services: auditing, tax consulting, accounting, financial and strategic advice in business operations, asset advisory, organizational development, and assurance in money laundering, among others.
Commitment, responsibility, and integrity represent the day-to-day work of MLA, values that are essential in serving its broad portfolio of more than 300 clients in different sectors: fuel, commerce and production, NGOs, logistics, education, free zones, tourism and hospitality, energy, vehicle dealers, transportation, health, construction, real estate, advertising, newspapers, and banks, among others.
The firm has more than 70 collaborators. All together in an efficient way, 40 years validating the growth, welfare, tranquility, and security of its clients. Today MLA thanks and celebrates the trust and loyalty received.
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UNW LLP's (Newcastle upon Tyne) Focus on People Worth Its Weight in Gold
This is the fourth consecutive occasion the Newcastle-based independent chartered accountancy and business advisory firm, UNW LLP, has achieved the "Gold" standard since its initial accreditation more than 10 years ago.
Investors in People is a national organization that encourages businesses across the UK to invest in their people. To achieve the accreditation, companies must take part in a rigorous assessment process, which involves a detailed review by the assessor, an all-employee survey, and focused interviews with a large sample of employees.
UNW, which employs almost 160 people at its Newcastle city centre offices, was first awarded the "Gold" standard in 2012 and has retained the status following three subsequent reviews, despite the framework evolving and accreditation becoming significantly harder to achieve.
Reflecting UNW’s unrelenting commitment to investing in its people to ensure its clients continue to benefit from both technical and service excellence, the reaccreditation comes in the wake of sustained success across all areas of the business.
The firm’s independent status, together with its quality, size, and ethos, make it unique within the North East, and this attracted a number of senior appointments in 2022, including Chris Wilson who joined UNW as partner and head of corporate finance following 18 years at KPMG, Martin Cross who arrived as audit and assurance partner after almost two decades at PwC, and Nick Broadhead who joined as corporate finance partner from KPMG.
At the other end of the career spectrum, UNW also continued its highly successful graduate and apprenticeship programmes by taking on 20 new trainees in the last year.
Steve Lant, tax partner at UNW, said, “An Investors in People accreditation is sought by many businesses, and the "Gold" status is awarded to only a small proportion of those organisations, so it is something we can all be very proud of. To have held "Gold" status for over 10 years now is testament to our determination to making UNW a great place to work and developing our colleagues. Creating a fulfilling, enjoyable, and rewarding working environment is incredibly important to us.
“We have never viewed the Investors in People accreditation as an end in itself. Quite the opposite; we have always sought to invest in our people in a variety of ways and taken the view that if we are doing the right things, the accreditation will follow.”
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Louis Plung & Company (Pittsburgh) Adds New Partner from CLA
Louis Plung & Company (LPC) is pleased to announce that Tom Schneider, CPA, joined the firm as partner on February 1, bringing the partner total at Louis Plung to nine. Tom joins Louis Plung from CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), where he spent five and a half years in the tax department, most recently as tax principal and office tax leader.
He leverages more than 15 years of public accounting experience and is looking forward to working with the Louis Plung team and their clients. “Louis Plung’s 102-year legacy is incredible for an accounting firm,” he said, “and I’m excited to contribute to the firm’s growth.”
LPC Managing Partner Louis Plung states, “As a firm, we’re dedicated to remaining independent while providing excellent service to our clients well into the future. The addition of Tom as a partner will help us do both. His experience, knowledge, and reputation for great client service is a wonderful addition to our team.”
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Argus Audit SRL (Bucharest) Produces New Guides for 2023
BKR Member Firm Argus Audit SRL has released its 2023 Guide for Employment & Payroll. Download the guide here.
The firm has also released its Doing Business in Romania 2023 publication, which is available to download here.
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Doshi Chatterjee Bagri & Co LLP (Kolkata) Issues Analysis of Indian Union Budget 2023
The Union Budget of India for FY 2023-24 was tabled in parliament on February 1 by the honourable finance minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman.
Doshi Chatterjee Bagri & Co LLP has produced an analysis of the budget, available here.
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Check out BKR's Member Firm Newsletters
See what's happening with our members. Read the latest news from our firms around the world.
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The world faces a set of risks that feel both wholly new and eerily familiar. The Global Risks Report 2023 explores some of the most severe risks we may face over the next decade. As we stand on the edge of a low-growth and low-cooperation era, tougher trade-offs risk eroding climate action, human development, and future resilience.
Download the report here.
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Accountancy Europe's Latest Updates Now Available
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Free Whitepapers on BKR's Member Forum
BKR has recently posted a number of free whitepapers and other resources on BKR's Member Forum. See what's available here.
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Make the Most of Your BKR Membership
Don't miss updates on BKR's many membership benefits. Direct your staff to register here for access to the Members' Area of BKR's website, where they can also sign up to receive email updates, download resources, participate in committees, and post to our Member Forums.
If you would like to learn more, please contact bkr@bkr.com.
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Promote Your Firm and BKR on Social Media
In an effort to promote BKR and our members, we request that member firms share their social media handles with BKR's Executive Office, so we may easily tag your firm in our posts. Send your LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook handles to bkr@bkr.com. We also encourage you to tag BKR in your posts, and be sure to use #BKRelationships when promoting your BKR membership.
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