Andersen Global adds Middle East associates in Bahrain, Oman and Qatar

04 June 2019 Consultancy-me.com

Worldwide professional services firm Andersen Global has hit the Gulf with three new alliance firms added in Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.

International tax and legal association Andersen Global has added yet another pair of dots to its world-map over the past week, entering into collaboration agreements with Omani full-service law firm Al Alawi and Co. and Bahrain’s Awael Al Bahrain Management Consultancy. The latest deals continue a string of new additions so far this year, including the recent signing of Al-Khalifa Law in Qatar.

Described as one of the largest and oldest independent law firms in Oman, Al Alawi and Co. was founded by Ali Khamis Al Alawi in 1982, and today provides a range of tax and legal services to multinational and national corporations, private businesses, government agencies and individuals from its offices in Salalah and Muscat – with a broad suite of services ranging from finance to  international trade to intellectual property and much more.

“Collaborating with Andersen Global will not only allow us to further expand our services to a greater breadth of clients, but we view it as growing our family,” said Al Alawi, who has served on numerous arbitration boards in the region. “My son and daughter are also highly-experienced members of our firm, and we see our shared values of best-in-class, efficiency, and seamlessness echoed in the Andersen family.”

Andersen Global Chairman and Andersen Tax CEO Mark Vorsatz, who co-founded the firm under its initial WTAS guise in 2002 and had been with predecessor Arthur Andersen since 1979, responded, “I was most impressed, when we first met, that their firm operates with openness, transparency, coupled with best-in-class service. These are values that we share. Because of this, they are going to fit in very well with our extended team.”Anderson Global officeMeanwhile, Andersen Global earlier in the week announced another new collaborating firm in the Gulf: Awael Al Bahrain Management Consultancy. Founded by former BDO Bahrain partner and deputy chairman Abbas Radh in 2014 – around the time of the Andersen name’s relaunch itself – Awael likewise offers a wide range of services, including accounting, tax, litigation support and risk and management consulting.

“The environment in Bahrain is changing, especially with the implementation of VAT earlier this year. We were highly selective about who we would bring on in that market, and we believe we found a great match in Awael,” said Vorsatz, with Radhi adding; “Providing service of the highest level of quality and integrity is top priority for us… “Collaborating with Andersen Global strengthens our ability to deliver the most efficient, seamless, and successful solutions to our clients.”

The two new additions come just one month after Andersen Global entered yet another Gulf state (with Alrikaz Tax Consultants of Saudi Arabia and Dubai’s GN Global Consulting both joining last year) by signing a collaboration agreement in Qatar with Al-Khalifa Law, a twenty-year-old leading local law firm with a diversified portfolio of services across numerous business sectors.

"A collaboration with Andersen Global, which brings with it a culture of stewardship, transparency, and providing best-in-class services, was an obvious decision for us,” said Hamzeh Abdelhady, Office Managing Director of Al-Khalifa Law. “We will be able to continue providing quality services in the market and bring a premier, seamless association of experts throughout the world directly to our clients."

Having also added Beirut-based Lebanese member Alem & Associates at the start of last year, the latest moves confirm Andersen Global’s concerted local push in the region – yet are only one part of a remarkable recent growth story, with Andersen Global’s footprint of 51 locations at the end of 2016 having since expanded to more than 144 worldwide with a combined association headcount in excess of 4,500 professionals.