BDO, the world's fifth largest accountancy network, has today announced the appointment of Semaan, Gholam & Co as the new BDO Member Firm in Lebanon.
BDO International Limited and Fiduciaire du Moyen Orient (formerly BDO SAL and BDO PCC) confirm that under an amicable agreement between the parties Fiduciaire du Moyen Orient has left the BDO network. The agreement includes arrangements for an orderly transition that will ensure that no inconvenience is caused to clients.
Jeremy Newman, the CEO of BDO International Limited, commented: “I take this opportunity to place on record my thanks, and those of the entire BDO network, to Fiduciaire du Moyen Orient and its Managing Partner, Gerard Zovighian, for their significant contribution to BDO for a long period of time”.
The new BDO Lebanon member firm was founded in 1930, with Alex Semaan and Georges Gholam joining in 1931 and 1948 respectively: both gentlemen were instrumental in founding the accounting profession in Lebanon as a whole and Georges Gholam remains the Senior Managing Partner of the firm.
In the last 3 years the firm has grown substantially, enjoying a more than 10% increase in fee income year on year and now having 90+ partners and staff working out of their office in Beirut. The services they provide are almost exclusively in the audit field, which accounts for the large majority of the firm's income.
Antoine Gholam is BDO Lebanon's international liaison partner, assisted in the management of the firm by his partners, Nicolas Barakat and Nehme Semaan. He says: “Our firm's diverse client base already knows that we are committed to long term relationships as their trusted adviser and we look forward to enhancing our service offering through collaboration with BDO firms both across the Middle East region and further afield. Joining the BDO network is also going to help us to help our people to grow and we are committed to the sustainable development of all who work for us”.
Jeremy Newman is delighted that a successor firm of such calibre has taken on BDO's representation in the country. “BDO's strength is demonstrated by our seamless service delivery, giving the best possible professional advice right across the world. The new BDO Lebanon's client approach is directly aligned to that of BDO and the firm certainly has the skills and expertise to deliver the high quality service our clients expect”.
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