Andersen Tax & Legal Launching in France

By Hervé-Antoine Couderc, Managing Partner at Andersen Tax & Legal in France; Arthur Andersen, LLP Alumnus (1991-2002)

Paris-based STC Partners, a member firm of Andersen Global, has officially launched the Andersen brand in France and will adopt the name Andersen Tax & Legal in early June. STC Partners was one of the very first member firms of the global organization that helped drive the initial expansion into Europe in late 2013.

It was during a trip to STC’s Paris office that Mark Vorsatz, Global Chairman and Andersen Tax LLC CEO, raised the idea of re-capturing the best of Andersen to build a best-in-class organization. The initial reactions of his audience were divided between bewilderment, astonishment and real enthusiasm. In early stages of the discussion, all of us shared the adventure of the Arthur Andersen saga, but the idea of recreating such a firm was a challenge that far surpassed our imagination.

Everyone around the table immediately understood that we were at the eve of a tremendous project. Pursuing our discussion, the challenge soon became evident.

We realized that the Andersen brand was still strong, but it was more than that. We were more than just partners in business: we were friends and members of a true family. We saw that Andersen had not disappeared. It continued to grow in population worldwide, passing down the same values, vision, and culture.

Clearly, one of our key challenges ahead is to embrace the younger generations, take advantage of the novelty and the freshness of their contributions to build the firm, and to aggregate our values with their contributions. One word summarizes all: stewardship, one of our core values.

The launch of Andersen Tax & Legal in France is a historic step and is very important to our professionals. Additionally, our clients will greatly benefit from the Andersen brand and our ability to provide even more seamless services globally.

Founded in 2005 by Xavier de Sarrau, our former Andersen EMEIA global leader, the Paris firm will keep on providing tax and legal advice to wealthy families and entrepreneurs in France, in Europe and globally. Andersen Tax & Legal also advises private groups, their shareholders and executives as well as the management teams of major companies both listed and private, with diverse shareholding structures.

Key sectors that the Paris office serve include pharmaceutical, consumer products distribution, financial services, the agricultural industry sector including vineyards, communication, telecoms, real estate and transportation.

The launch of Andersen Tax & Legal in France will occur officially on June 5th and an event for clients will happen soon after.