— Russian listings on LSE boosts advisory fees
Â
KPMG Cyprus, the audit, tax and advisory firm, is on track to record a 30% growth in revenue next year, positioning the
Andreas Christofides, Managing Partner KPMG Cyprus, told the Financial Mirror in an exclusive interview that with 24 partners and 600 staff, the firm was among the top in the regional KPMG rankings.
“In the first nine months of 2007, we recorded a 35% growth in business, well above the industry average both in
No financial details were available since KPMG Cyprus operates as a privately held partnership, but this may change by next year, when the firm becomes a company.
The three main areas of activity for KPMG Cyprus are the traditional audit/accounting, tax and the fast growing advisory services.
Audit and accounting, representing 60% of total fee incomem is on track to double in the next five years, with most of the growth originating from overseas clients.
Tax services such as personal, corporate and international taxation, in addition to VAT representing 25% of total revenue is forecast to grow 130% in the next five years, with 60% of that growth originating from tax advice offered for overseas activities. A resident group of 45 professionals, including ten in-house lawyers, comprise the backbone of the tax services department to help KPMG clients plan and make best use of multinational tax advantages, including in
The advisory department, making up 15% of total revenue is the fastest growing sector and is forecast to register a growth of 200% in the next five years with 20% of that growth originating from overseas, and the rest from
Christofides said he is excited regarding the advisory services offered by KPMG, claiming the number one position in Information Risk Management including security for IT, and also number one in Financial Risk Management including
“More than 80% of local and recently-entered banks use our financial advisory services, irrespective of whether or not they are our audit accounts,†he said.
The third main component of the advisory activities is the human resources expertise as well as consultancy on telecoms and utilities, both for local clients as well as international clients based in
Â
—
Â
A hot growth area for KPMG Cyprus is the keen interest by a number of its Cyprus registered Russian-owned clients to seek a listing on the London Stock Exchange, which has been instrumental in driving up the firm’s advisory business.
In May, AFID Development, a Cypriot registered company active in property development in the
“We were the auditors of the group and did the due diligence on behalf of the underwriters of AFID,†Christofides said.
KPMG Cyprus is also the auditor of Dolphin Capital, the Cypriot-owned property development group listed on the LSE that successfully acquired the CSE listed Aristo Developers Co. (ARD).
In early December, another KPMG Cyprus client of Russian interests, valued at $1.4-1.8 bln and active in property development in the
“Here as well, KMPG Cyprus are the group auditors and are responsible for the preparation of the due diligence reports.â€
Â
—
Â
While there is keen interest to grab new business from overseas, KPMG Cyprus insists not to ignore the
The firm caters to the needs of the very small firms to the major multinationals, offering the same top quality service they warrant. In fact, Christofides said the range of fees is very competitive, mostly because of KPMG’s correct cost structure and high productivity.
With KPMG Cyprus non-labour overheads at a fraction of those in the
“Our partner to staff ratio is 1:25, far above the KPMG regional average of 15, which is why we are keen to bring in new partners,†said Christofides, adding that extensive in-house training is also provided to help managers get promoted to higher levels.
