Accuracy expands into Middle East with new office in Dubai
Weeks after expanding into the Chinese market, international advisory firm Accuracy has opened a new office in Dubai, its first in the Middle East and fourteenth globally.
Founded in 2004, Accuracy is a privately-held financial advisory firm that specialises in valuation services, transaction support, litigation, and arbitration services. Since its inception, the financial consulting firm has seen sustained growth, expanding its base from the first office in Paris* to its current presence in ten countries.
Accuracy’s sweet spot lies in Europe (presence in seven countries), however, in line with its international growth agenda, the consultancy has in recent years been pushing into new regions. In 2011 Accuracy first set foot beyond the continent with an office in Canada, and roughly a year later the firm entered the Asian market through an office in India. In the summer of last year Singapore followed suit, with the newly unveiled Dubai the firm’s fifth venture outside of Europe.
Dubai is not a new market for Accuracy – the firm has been doing business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a number of years, particularly active in the financial valuation, litigation and arbitration space for international companies. The team is headed by Zane Hedge, a 47 year old former director and head of construction disputes at Deloitte in the Middle East. Hedge is a specialist in construction and infrastructure projects. During his twenty-six years in the construction industry, the last ten of which have been in Dubai, he has been involved in a wide variety of projects, including building, civil engineering, bridges, utilities, residential, retail, commercial, health care, airports, power stations, desalination and process plants.
Besides serving as a consultant to clients, mostly in the fields of forensics, planning, project management, claims and risk analysis, Hedge also acts as an expert witness in matters of delay and disruption to project management. Under his direction, the team of Accuracy in Dubai has grown to five consultants, providing the outfit the critical mass to establish an on the ground operation.
“A presence in Dubai complements our current presence perfectly, by enabling us to participate in large regional projects and the inevitable disputes that require our skills. We already work locally with numerous law firms, and we are able to provide complementary services to clients with them,” said Frédéric Duponchel, CEO of Accuracy.
To be able to mirror the firm’s international services portfolio, the Dubai office will work closely with international teams on both business development as well as engagement delivery, broadening the local offerings mix to provide full service offerings in acquisitions, divestments, transaction support, decision-making and business turnarounds. Globally, Accuracy has around 360 consultants, of which 43 are partners.
“Accuracy combines deep expertise and knowledge of local players with an international, fully integrated company with no silos. The possibilities are endless!” said Hedge. Looking ahead, the Dubai managing partner said the firm has a clear growth ambition for the coming period; “We intend to increase the headcount of the Dubai office rapidly to a dozen members of staff.”
Attractive hub for consultants
Dubai has seen a string of consulting firms enter the market in recent years as international firms try to tap into one of the faster growing consulting markets of the globe. In February this year, for instance, Miebach Consulting, an international supply chain consulting firm, opened a hub in Dubai, while last year goetzpartners, another German-origin consultancy, also opened an office in the emirate.
According to analyst data, the UAE consulting market is worth $788 million, of which Dubai takes the largest share. Firms with a strong stake in the emirate include the American players (McKinsey, The Boston Consulting Group, Bain, Strategy&, A.T. Kearney and Oliver Wyman), the Big Four, large global technology players (Accenture, Capgemini, Synechron), along with several smaller, more specialised firms.
For Accuracy, the expansion into Dubai comes just a few weeks after it entered the Chinese market with the acquisition of GTE, a consultancy based in Beijing.
* Accuracy was founded in 2004 by a team of seven former Arthur Andersen partners, including the firm’s CEO Frederic Duponchel.