Newsletter for members of the Russell Bedford International Network March 2017 El Maguiri & Associés becomes first full member firm in Casablanca Network boosts EMEA coverage, appointing new firm in Morocco Welcome to El Maguiri & Associés who join the network as its first full member firm in Casablanca, Morocco. The firm was established in 2004 (as Darly & Co.) by Dr. Issam El Maguiri, who is currently president of the Ordre des Experts Comptables, the national CPA institute. Based in the centre of Casablanca, the largest city and economic capital of Morocco, El Maguiri & Associés now has some 30 personnel, including three principals. The management team of El Maguiri &Associés (clockwise): Dr. Issam El Maguiri, Hind El Alami and Adamou Labo Noma The firm offers a full range of accounting, auditing, tax, legal, due diligence, management consulting and financial consulting services to a client base comprising companies in the manufacturing, mining, real estate, construction, telecommunications and aerospace sectors, together with public institutions and non-profit organisations. Clients include local subsidiaries of corporations headquartered overseas. Commenting on his firm's appointment, Dr. Issam El Maguiri said: "We are delighted to have been accepted as a member of the Russell Bedford network. We are looking forward to building strong relationships with the other member firms, enabling us to pool our skills and resources and offer high quality services to both domestic and international clients."
Russell Bedford a sélectionné le cabinet El Maguiri & Associés comme cabinet membre Le réseau mondial renforce sa couverture en Europe, Moyen-Orient et Afrique en nommant un cabinet membre au Maroc Russell Bedford, réseau mondial de conseil en comptabilité, audit et fiscalité, a annoncé la sélection du cabinet El Maguiri & Associés en tant que cabinet membre au Maroc. Le cabinet a été créé en 2004 (Darly & Co. auparavant) par Dr Issam El Maguiri, qui est actuellement Président de l'ordre des Experts Comptables du Maroc. Situé au centre de Casablanca, la plus grande ville et capitale économique du Maroc, El Maguiri & Associés compte aujourd'hui une trentaine de collaborateurs, dont trois managers. El Maguiri & Associés offre une gamme complète de services de comptabilité, d audit, de conseil juridique et fiscal, de conseil en gestion et de conseil financier à une clientèle composée d'entreprises de divers secteurs : industries, mines, immobilier et construction, distribution, télécommunications, aérospatiale, établissements publics et associations/ong. Les clients du cabinet comprennent également des filiales locales de multinationales. A l issue de cette sélection, Issam El Maguiri a déclaré : «Nous sommes ravis d intégrer le réseau Russell Bedford en tant que cabinet membre. Nous sommes impatients de nouer des contacts solides avec les autres cabinets membres, ce qui nous permettra de mutualiser nos compétences et ressources en vue d offrir des services de haute qualité à nos clients nationaux et internationaux». Russell Bedford Internal Communications Survey Report on Results Once again, thank you to all of those who participated in the Russell Bedford Internal Communications Survey at the beginning of the year. Having evaluated the results we are pleased to announce that the majority of respondents (>80%) are satisfied with internal communications and >85% of respondents consider regular communications to be important or very important. One of the most prominent findings of the survey was that 'new regulations affecting the profession' was identified as the topic of most importance to members. In response to the findings, we have added a new section to Network News called 'Global Accounting Update' (as you will see below). Thank you again for your contribution towards improving Russell Bedford internal communications.
World Bank Doing Business Project It's that time of year again where members are given the opportunity to participate in the annual World Bank Doing Business project. By now, members in specific locations will have received communication with regard to participating in the survey. The project provides both the network and individual members with an excellent opportunity to gain exposure through their contribution, by being listed on the Doing Business website and printed global report. Please remember that the deadline for completing the survey is Wednesday, 29 March 2017 (unless you have arranged a preagreed extension on the deadline). If you are struggling with meeting your deadline please do get in touch to arrange an extension. Russell Bedford firm Cooney Carey appoints new audit partner Cooney Carey, member firm of the Russell Bedford global accounting and audit group in Dublin, Ireland, has expanded its senior management team with the appointment of Will Townsend as an audit partner. Since joining the firm as an audit trainee in 2003, Will has accumulated 14 years of experience in auditing, ranging from SMEs across a variety of business sectors to larger groups, mainly in the hospitality and property fields. He has also worked with regulated entities such as insurance brokers and MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) regulated clients. An associate of Chartered Accountants Ireland and a Certified Management Consultant, Will also contributes to internal staff training at Cooney Carey. Tony Carey, managing partner of Cooney Carey commented: The firm is continuing its long held policy of promoting from within. We believe that we have a fantastic team in Cooney Carey and those who have worked with us for many years have built an ethos and culture that our clients value. Will s appointment is in recognition of this. Will adds further youth to the team as part of the firm s succession planning. Cooney Carey is a full-service firm of Chartered Accountants, established in 1983. The firm joined the Russell Bedford network in 2008. In October 2016, Tony Carey was elected as an EMEA regional director on the board of management of Russell Bedford International.
Global Accounting Update You asked. We listened. Welcome to the new technical and regulatory updates section of Network News. Following the analysis of the results of the Russell Bedford Internal Communications Survey, it was evident that the majority of respondents wanted to hear more about new regulations affecting the profession. This section is dedicated to providing members with up-to-date information on new standards, regulatory issues and ethics. Please let us know if this is the type of technical information that you are interested in reading about, or if there are more specific topics that we could include in future. Exploring the Demand for Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagements Christopher Arnold, Head of SME/SMP and Research, IFAC and Jasper van den Hout, Principal, International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) discuss the demand for agreed-upon procedures (AUP) engagements and the results of an IAASB formed Working Group, in November 2016, which you can download here. Representing Small Practices Key Priorities for the SMP Committee Monica Foerster, the new Chair of the IFAC Small and Medium Practices Committee, discusses the key activities and projects for the committee in 2017. Auditing in the Era of Integrated Thinking Dr. Sean Stein Smith, Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Rutgers University discusses how CPAs can leverage emerging trends in support of better management decision making and integrated thinking. IAASB Data Analytics Project Update Bob Dohrer, IAASB Member and Chair of the IAASB Data Analytics Working Group, provides an update of the IAASB s data analytics project, including the activities performed to date and the vision for the way forward. The What, Why, and How of Cloud Computing for SMPs Paul Gisby, Manager Accountancy & Tax, Accountancy Europe discusses Accountancy Europe's paper on 'Moving to the Cloud' which addresses the importance of Cloud Computing to SMPs. Members who are interested in the impact of technology on the accountancy profession may also be interested in Accountancy Europe's Digital Day, in Brussels, on Wednesday, 29 March 2017. Forum of Firms Guides The Forum of Firms has issued a number of papers over the last few years offering assistance relating to Inter-Firm Reporting in a Group Audit. Some of the founder firm group audit expert colleagues have revisited the protocols originally shared in 2012 in light of the IAASB's new reporting standards. The result of that was development of an addendum to the original documents. This addendum addresses additional matters that the component auditor may need to report to the group auditor in communications outside the auditors report. Discussion on the following topics is included:
- Key audit matters - ISA 720 Other Information None of the protocols are mandatory but offered in the hope that they might be assistance all in the broader context of the FoF s audit quality objective. The following four documents are dated at various times between 2010 and January 2017 and are available in the Technical Resources section of the Global Intranet here: - Inter-firm reporting KAMS and Other Information - Inter-firm audit reporting - Inter-firm review reporting - ISA 600 Communication Digital Marketing Series: Social Media for CPA firms Join our series of webinars by digital marketing expert Simon Turnbull, CEO of TURN International The final of our three digital marketing webinars will be held on Tuesday 21 March 2017 at 10am (EST) / 3pm (GMT) / 4pm (CET). The theme of this webinar is Blogging/Digital Copywriting. In this session, Simon Turnbull will discuss how to write for digital, including SEO research, topic research, title selection, content structure and photography. Members may log into the session here. Recordings of the previous two sessions are available to all members on the intranet under Marketing Best Practice here, along with supporting documents. Please ensure that you have logged into the intranet before clicking on the link. More news: Referrals Reminder In accordance with Russell Bedford's Rules and By-Laws, members are required to declare, at the end of each quarter, any fees received from referrals via the network, together with details of any out-going referrals. To ensure that our records are complete, ALL member firms should respond, whether or not they have received/made any referrals. Members should be aware that the Board of RBI are considering the introduction of a financial penalty for those firms who fail to submit their returns in a timely manner. Please refer to the Referrals Recommended Procedures and Code of Conduct document here for further information
Forthcoming conferences: International Tax & European Conference, Athens, 19-20 May 2017. Registration is now open. Registrations received before 31 March will benefit from a discounted rate. Please see the conference/events pages (links below) for further details. Asia-Pacific Meeting 2017, Bangkok, 3-4 August 2017 34th Annual Conference, Rome, 18-22 October 2017 Managers & Young Partners Meeting, Budapest, 1-2 December 2017 Further details and registration instructions will be available in due course. All conference information will be accessible, as usual, via the Conference page or the Events section of the Global Intranet. Please ensure that you have logged into the intranet before clicking on the 'Events' link. Please contact Central Office for a reminder of your username and password if necessary. For further stories, visit our Network News webpage: www.russellbedford.com/networknews If you missed the previous edition of Network News, you can find a copy by clicking here.