A year in reviewAnnual Review 2016 - 2017

Independent legal & accounting firms

MSI Annual Review | 1 2 | MSI Strategy

I am grateful for the support of my team in London and for the support and ideas that are generated by our members. Since I joined MSI, I have been struck by the goodwill and cooperation of our member firms and their great loyalty to MSI. I have also been heartened by how innovative many members are in terms of their ideas. This has meant that delivery of our Strategy has been that much easier.

As we approach the half way point of MSI’s Strategy, we are not complacent. There is still much that we need to do to become a stronger, more competitive and supportive alliance.

This document seeks to be more than a pure review. It reports on our progress against the Strategy in 2016 and highlights what we plan to achieve in 2017. I hope you will find it informative and useful. We will continue our strategic journey in 2017 with enthusiasm and optimism.

We launched a new MSI Strategy in 2015 which set out who we are and where we are going in the next three years.

As we start 2017, I thought it appropriate to review what has been achieved against our Strategy since it was launched but also to highlight what we aim to achieve in 2017.

In developing our Strategy, we reaffirmed our principles of being an association of independent firms; which is global in approach and outlook; with multidisciplinary firms; where exclusivity is respected; and where quality is key.

The four key priorities for MSI over the period from 2015 to 2018 inclusive are Growth; Member services; Marketing and Getting deeper into firms. I am pleased to report that we have made considerable progress against these priorities.

We are operating in a competitive environment where, in to order to be market leaders, we need to understand the many and varied needs of our members and identify how we might do things differently whilst being true to our core MSI ethos.

Following a period of rapid growth, MSI Global Alliance has over the last five years consolidated into a midsize association with a strong reputation and financial position.

A word from our CEO

Timothy Wilson CEO, MSI Global Alliance

01A word from our CEO

02Our mission

03Our values

05Our principles

06 Our four key strategic priorities: Where we are now

07Growth

08Support services

09Getting deeper into firms

10Marketing

12Case studies: Helping clients succeed worldwide

14The MSI Secretariat: How we support you

Contents

Our mission Our mission is to provide an efficient and effective association framework that enables our member firms to expand their businesses.

MSI enables members to:

• Be globally competitive

• Enhance the services and support they offer to their clients

• Benefit from cross-jurisdiction referrals

• Exchange knowledge and best practices with other professionals in a non-competitive environment

• Participate in ongoing training and educational opportunities enhancing their prestige and reputation

MSI Annual Review | 3

Value 2:

Responsive MSI and our members deliver fast, efficient, accurate

and friendly responses – to maintain the effectiveness

of our association and strengthen our reputation as a

dynamic association that listens and acts on the needs

of both members and clients.

Value 4:

Ambitious Building our association to help our members build their

business drives the choices we make – we seek constant

improvement in everything we do, create and maximise

opportunities and maintain an entrepreneurial spirit to

drive innovation and growth.

2 | MSI Annual Review Value 1:

Professional Quality, efficiency and competence are key aspects

of the service we provide to our members; and our

member firms must equally live and breathe these

professional qualities for each other and their clients.

Value 3:

Collaborative A commitment to working together sits at the heart

of our association – to maximise the value and service

MSI provides to members and to enable our members

to compete in a global marketplace.

MSI Strategy | 7

Exclusivity

Avoiding competition among member firms whilst encouraging cross-jurisdiction collaboration by providing exclusivity to member firms in their respective jurisdictions.

Global focus

A strong emphasis on global reach, with members throughout the key and emerging jurisdictions of the world. Our members reflect regional differences, but maintain an international outlook, forging relationships across the globe.

Multidisciplinary

Focusing on the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach with an equal balance of law and accounting firms.

We feel happy and satisfied with our membership. Our experience with other firms has been that members are excellent professionals with a high level of knowledge.

MSI MEMBER (SPAIN)

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Quality

Robust scrutiny of prospective and current member firms, to ensure they are trustworthy, efficient and professional with strong reputations in their local markets.

Association

Allowing member firms to retain their independence without centralised control by remaining an association, while providing value-adding support services to members such as marketing and business development.

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Our principles

Our principles help us in our aim to remain a truly global

organisation, attract respected member firms and ensure the quality

of the multidisciplinary services they provide. These principles help

us, and our member firms, compete in a volatile and changing market.

13,988 Total member firm personnel

= 500 member personnel

1932 Partners

7969 Professional staff

4087 Support staff

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7 Accounting members

A A Omar & Company (Harare, Zimbabwe) www.aaomar.co.zw

BolboGroup Audit & Consulting (San José, Costa Rica) www.bolbogroup.com

Colón Cuebas & Laguna, CPA, PSC (San Juan, Puerto Rico) www.ccl-cpafirm.com

León Mora & Co (Panama City, Panama) www.leonmora.com

Mendez Rothbard Molieri & Co (Miami & Fort Lauderdale - Florida) www.mrmco-cpa.com

Planita Consulting (Accra, Ghana) www.planitaconsulting.com

Ugarte, Quiñonez & Asociados (Guayaquil, Ecuador) www.uqa.com.ec

1 Multi-disciplinary member

Fürst und Partner GmbH (Nuremberg, Erlangen, Georgensmund, Gera, Rothenburg o.d.T - Germany) www.fuerst-beratung.de

1 Specialist member

Blacklaw Advisory (Melbourne, Australia) www.blacklawadvisory.com.au

7 Law members

AP Legal (Suva, Fiji) www.aplfiji.com

Bloomfield Law Practice (Lagos, Nigeria) www.bloomfield-law.com

Miller Titerle + Company LLP (Vancouver, British Columbia) www.millertiterle.com

Pamir Law Group (Taipei, Taiwan) www.pamirlaw.com

Rahayu Partnership (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) www.rahayupartnership.com

SPCC – Simões Pellegrino Coelho, Castro Advogados (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) www.spcclaw.com.br

Visma Advokater AS (Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim and Kristiansand - Norway) www.visma.no/business-in-norway/legal-assistance/

We had a total of 16 new member firms join MSI in 2016, building on the 14 new members that joined in 2015. This is the highest number of joiners since 2011.

Reassuringly, our number of leavers over the past three years has been few (and lower than historically), which has meant that our overall number of members now stands at 253. We are particularly pleased to have strengthened our presence in Africa and Latin America in 2016 – two challenging markets to penetrate.

There are still a number of gaps that MSI has around the globe, some obvious and others which can limit our members’ ability to refer business. In 2017, our priority for growth will be North America. We have identified a target list of key cities, particularly in the Mid-West. Our members can be reassured that these will be filled by MSI member firms enabling them to refer business to like-minded firms, with confidence. We will also continue to seek out new members in other key areas of the world.

Our four key strategic priorities: Where we are nowTo achieve our vision and fulfill our mission, we have set our organisation four strategic priorities. Our four priorities are all interlinked:

• If we grow our membership, we have greater reach for our members and we increase our income

• An increase in income allows us to expand and improve our services

• It will also allow us to market our offering and capability better

• But we need to get deeper into our firms in order to identify where we grow, what services we should offer and how we should market ourselves

New member firms in 201616 = 4 members

Priority 1:

Growth

We are new members to the organisation but so far it seems like a very good fit for us. The size and specialty areas of the firms we’ve networked with globally have been good matches for us and the types of clients we aspire to serve.

MSI MEMBER (USA)

A warm welcome to our new members that joined MSI in 2016:

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JanuaryNorth America Local

Members’ Meeting

Houston, Texas

MarchAsia Pacific Regional Meeting & Australia & New Zealand Local

Members’ Meeting

Singapore

Meetings in 2016

AugustAustralia & New

Zealand Local Members’ Meeting

Perth, Australia

SeptemberAfrica Local

Members’ Meeting

Johannesburg, South Africa

MayEMEA Regional

Meeting

Prague, Czech Republic

OctoberInternational Conference

Paris, France

JuneAmericas Regional

Meeting

Baltimore, USA

Priority 2:

Support servicesIn 2016 we had three successful and very well

attended regional conferences in Singapore (Asia

Pacific), Baltimore (Americas) and Prague (EMEA).

We also had two very productive local member meetings in Johannesburg (South Africa) and Houston (USA). The highlight of the year however was our International Conference in Paris (France) where we welcomed a record number of delegates. We have an exciting, full conference programme planned for 2017 which will also include a series of smaller, more localised meetings. Additionally, we will explore meeting opportunities for the younger staff and partners in our member firms to support their business and career development.

Over the course of 2016, we also sought to develop MSI’s Specialist Interest Groups (SIGs) in North America and continued our partnership with Upstream Academy to provide a webinar series on practice management and an Emerging Leaders’ Academy programme to our members in the region. In 2017, we plan to develop our Specialist Interest Groups further which will include the addition of two M&A SIGs in the EMEA and North America regions.

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An excellent opportunity to network and learn in a really congenial environment and in a phenomenal city. Amazing speakers, nice thematic organisations; very friendly and helpful local firm members; great organisation by MSI.

MSI MEMBER (CANADA)

A perfectly organised opportunity to meet kind colleagues, establish and deepen relationships and get interesting thoughts for developing our business.

MSI MEMBER (GERMANY)

During 2016, we initiated an extensive series of visits to member firms with the aim of:

• Informing all staff in member firms about MSI a nd how they can exploit their membership to improve business.

• Determining how MSI can support and assist a member firm’s business development.

• Identifying how MSI should further develop its overall service offering.

MSI’s Chairman and CEO have visited over 50 member firms. These visits have proved extremely useful both for our member firms and MSI and we look forward to continuing our programme of visits throughout 2017.

We have recently recruited a Head of Membership Development who will be driving the programme of Getting deeper into firms and that of Growth. With this increased staff capacity, we will be able to increase engagement with existing members and accelerate our growth in 2017.

Priority 3:

Getting deeper into firms

MSI Annual Review | 11 10 | MSI Annual Review

East Asia4 firms

North America28 firms

Latin America

5 firms

Europe13 firms

Sub-Saharan Africa2 firms

52 member firms visited in 2016

22 Accountancy firms

30 Law firms

MSI Annual Review | 13 12 | MSI Annual Review

Brand RefreshIn 2016, MSI rolled out its refreshed brand introducing a more modern and distinctive design. Our refreshed brand aims to communicate our vision, mission, values and principles and continues to reflect our international connections. New Website & Mobile App

MSI launched its new website and updated mobile app in 2016, which was one of the most significant developments alongside MSI’s brand refresh.

MSI MonthSeptember 2016 saw MSI member firms worldwide engage in our global marketing campaign MSI Month. Aimed at raising more awareness of MSI within our member firms, members worldwide organised various activities to showcase their international capabilities and promote the benefits of MSI to their staff, clients and prospects.

MSI’s International Conference in Paris provided an excellent platform to showcase all MSI Month activities by our members worldwide. A special recognition went to our German member Wortmann & Partner & Co. KG which fully embraced the MSI Month idea.

Thank you to all MSI member firms that participated in MSI Month in 2016. MSI Month will next be held in September 2017.

In early 2016, we launched our new fully responsive website which focuses on explaining MSI to a wide audience.

The website has a clean, modern look and the improved navigation and functionality makes it easier to locate and contact member firms around the world. The website (and our updated mobile app Advisors2Go) has been very well received by our members. The website launch also introduced

our refreshed brand and we will be incorporating the new branding into our marketing materials in 2017. In September, we ran another successful MSI Month which enabled member firms to raise the profile of MSI internally and we had a good number of innovative approaches to this initiative. In 2017, our marketing focus will be on engaging with members to see how we might assist them further with exploiting their MSI membership for their own business development purposes.

Priority 4:

Marketing

MSI has been a valuable resource. It has enabled us to assist our clients with their global needs and has provided us with new business opportunities through us assisting other MSI member firms with their needs.

MSI MEMBER (USA)

MSI Annual Review | 15

The challengeAn employee from a large media group was looking to relocate from the Middle East to Paris or London with an equivalent salary to his current tax-free package. He approached Paris-based accounting member, Synerga for help with understanding all the necessary tax information on both locations, before negotiating with his employer.

Cross-border tax advice for private client

The challengeMocoffee AG, a worldwide developer and producer of new coffee tastes, machines and capsules, has offices based in countries around Europe. Mocoffee was looking to centralise the group’s accounts in Lisbon (Portugal), including one of their largest offices, which is based in Zurich (Switzerland).

As a longstanding client of Lisbon-based accounting member, Moneris, Mocoffee requested that Moneris advise on centralising the accounts from their Zurich office.

The solutionUsing the MSI association, Moneris turned to Zurich-based accounting member, Caminada Treuhand AG Zurich, to support and advise Mocoffee on Swiss accounting, payroll, tax and general administration. Moneris coordinated payroll, accounting and VAT related services with Caminada colleagues in Switzerland during the transition and still communicates with them on a regular basis.

OutcomeWorking together with their extensive knowledge of the local markets in Switzerland and Portugal, Moneris and Caminada were able to centralise Mocoffee’s finances quickly and successfully. This saved Mocoffee time and extra costs and has paved the way for it to pursue long-term interests in South America.

The challengeMcDonald’s franchisees in South Africa were looking for an efficient accounting system that would allow them to report on a monthly basis to the head office. They had an internally developed point of sale system, which they needed to keep, and required it to be integrated with an accounting system. Johannesburg-based accounting member RAiN stepped in and recommended Xero accounting software, successfully demonstrating its capabilities. However, they needed more expertise on how to integrate the point of sale system with the software.

The solutionXero was developed in New Zealand and has a considerable market share in Australia, so RAiN contacted MSI members in the Australia and New Zealand region for assistance. Brisbane-based accounting member MSI Taylor was able to offer guidance on the challenges in implementing Xero. MSI Taylor also referred RAiN to one of its clients, whose business had extensive experience and knowledge of integrating Xero with the McDonald’s point of sale.

OutcomeWith help from MSI Taylor, RAiN successfully implemented Xero for the client, which is still in the early stages but is proving far superior to the previous system. RAiN is planning to take this integrated accounting solution and replicate it with six other franchisors in 2017.

Accounting for worldwide coffee company

Accounting systems integration in South Africa

The challengeThe client was a family owned-business that owned a large industrial site in the Silicon Valley area of the San Francisco Bay Area. The business had entered into an arrangement to put a property on the market but at a very high brokerage commission. The client later decided not to sell and withdrew the property from the market. The real estate broker then formally demanded payment of the commission.

The business was referred to San Francisco-based law member, JRA Partners, to review the agreements and get the matter resolved urgently, due to a pending sale of some of the shares of the business.

The solutionJRA Partners was able to identify viable grounds in the agreements to dispute the claims. After negotiation, JRA Partners resolved the matter for a minor settlement payment within a very tight timeframe.

OutcomeThe client was extremely satisfied with the outcome, saying that:

“If another need should arise, I will definitely seek out a referral through the MSI Global Alliance now that I know the high standard of quality and capability that MSI represents.”

Property dispute resolution in the US

The solutionWhile Synerga analysed French options, they engaged our Northern UK accounting member, Armstrong Watson to provide analysis of UK scenarios, at a single global cost to the client. Synerga produced a detailed, joint report that compared tax and social charges for each of the possible residency scenarios, including a review of the Double Tax Treaty.

OutcomeSynerga and Armstrong Watson’s work demonstrated that the salary package options to the client were very similar in both countries. With full knowledge of all these options, the client successfully negotiated a suitable relocation package to London with his employer. The client was impressed that both firms were able to coordinate a wide range of sophisticated services in multiple locations, in a timely manner. Synerga and Armstrong Watson have secured further work through referrals to one another.

Case studies:

Helping clients succeed worldwide

14 | MSI Annual Review

Tim Wilson Chief Executive

twilson@msiglobal.org

Tim is responsible for providing the strategic direction for MSI and managing the day- to- day operations of the Secretariat.

$1.382bnTotal fee income (Dec 2016)

16 | MSI Annual Review

The MSI Secretariat: How we support youThe MSI Secretariat team provides dedicated support and coordinated resources to all our members worldwide.

Between us, we have many years of combined experience of working with MSI members and we are here to support you on a daily basis.

MSI does not accept any responsibility for the commission of any act, or omission to act by, or the liabilities of, any of its members. Membership of MSI Global Alliance does not constitute any partnership between members, and members do not accept any responsibility for the commission of any act, or omission to act by, or the liabilities of, other members. Published: January 2017.

Francesca Di Mattia Events Manager

fdimattia@msiglobal.org

Francesca is responsible for organising MSI’s varied range of conferences and meetings at the local, regional and international levels. She also looks after:

• Event registration

• Event sponsorship

• On-site event management

Pauline Rottstock Marketing & Business Development Manager prottstock@msiglobal.org

Pauline is responsible for MSI’s marketing activities and enhancing the profile of MSI within the international marketplace. In addition, she supports members with:

• Marketing & brandingadvice

• Referral coordination

• Member firm profiles &Directory queries

Matthew Gimlette Head of Membership Development mgimlette@msiglobal.org

Matthew is responsible for MSI’s member development. This includes:

• The growth of MSI throughthe recruitment of highquality firms for MSI

• Coordinating and executinga visit programme toexisting firms in order to“get deeper into firms”

Pooja Patel Marketing Assistant

ppatel@msiglobal.org

Pooja supports the Marketing and Business Development Manager in all marketing activities and assists members with:

• Website queries

• Membership questionnaire

• Newsletter article submissions

Debbie Houghton Accounts

dhoughton@msiglobal.org

Debbie Houghton looks after the accounts and payroll in the MSI Secretariat.

Georgina Laery Business Development Executive glaery@msiglobal.org

Georgina supports MSI’s business development, with the aim of growing MSI’s global footprint. She also co-ordinates the following member services:

• Specialist Interest Groups

• Member firm visits

• Annual contribution fees

Contact us

MSI Global Alliance

147-149 Temple Chambers

3-7 Temple Avenue

London EC4Y 0DA

United Kingdom

T: +44 (0)20 7583 7000

E: enquiry@msiglobal.org

W: msiglobal.org

Visit our website for updated information and tools designed to support our members.

www.msiglobal.org