Andersen Global’s Expansion in Europe

EU Partner Meeting Held in Lisbon in September

By Andrea De Vecchi (Co-Managing Partner for the European Region and Managing Partner for Andersen Tax & Legal in Italy)

Paolo Mondia (Co-Managing Partner for the European Region and Managing Partner for Andersen Tax in Lugano)

In September of this year, we held a European Partner meeting in Lisbon. This is the second meeting of its kind, after the one held in Barcelona last year, and the energy level was high.

While virtual meetings may be more convenient than organizing face-to-face gatherings, they make it harder to focus on topics and involve all attendees. As is commonly known, personal interactions are the best way to build relationships, especially in business.

140 Partners from 19 countries attended the 2018 EU Partner Meeting in Lisbon with the aim of shaping our region. Everyone was encouraged to be transparent in expressing opinions, and in doing so, made for productive and quality conversations.

14-member firms and 13 collaborating firms split into 15 groups that represented the services we offer in Europe. The European meeting was a full weekend where hard work and meaningful discussions co-existed with enjoyable moments and a gala dinner held in a spectacular venue in the center of Lisbon.

At the first European Meeting in Barcelona, in June of 2017, “only” 90 Partners were present. At the end of June of this year, we numbered a total of 161 Partners in the region. This demonstrates terrific growth! We – as European co-Managing Partners – strongly believe that our culture defines who we are as an organization and helps us to grow quickly while always maintaining the proper focus. We adhere to what it stands for and believe wholeheartedly in its philosophy. The Andersen culture should be naturally inherent in each one of us. These “Andersen cultural touchstones” were the main aspect of discussion and are what we look for in new Partners/Partnerships.

Our talks during the working weekend in Lisbon focused on how we can maintain our best-in-class status and offer seamless support to clients. We should consider ourselves like a family and the concept of family should arise both when we work together and with clients. Our behavior should always be fair, transparent, cooperative, tolerant and understanding. And, as a family, all the voices are and will be considered: the opinions expressed at the 2018 EU Partner Meeting are taken seriously at every level, considered important and are being addressed. The presence, support, and input from all the Partners are greatly valued and appreciated.

We are working on increasing Andersen Global’s comprehensive geographic coverage, continuing the expansion in Europe – as well as Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East – and providing our Member Firms’ seamless, integrated tax and legal services. Our message to all our Partners is to be innovative and continue to explore and develop existing or new practices and/or resources. A key point of differentiation with our competitors across firms and markets is in adding value combined with providing an integrative approach.

The 2018 EU Partner Meeting was a meaningful opportunity for our firm. It offered, once again, the chance to network and become part of a real community that values empathy, shares ideas and builds a positive, productive work culture of highly engaged professionals. What we emphasize is strong and trusting relationships among all of us. Honest conduct creates a solid, credible reputation of our global firm in the marketplace. In becoming part of Andersen Global, all the Partners and professionals form the backbone and represent the vital organs of the entire organization.

If you would like additional information about Andersen Global, please contact me directly or connect with us on our LinkedIn page or at www.Andersen.com.