ANNUAL REPORT BKR International 2019 Contents Message from the Worldwide Chair 2 Message from the Americas Regional Chair 2 Message from the Asia-Pacific Regional Chair 3 Message from the EMEA Regional Chair 3 2018 IAB World Survey Results 4 2019 Meeting Schedule 4 Member Firm Countries 5
MESSAGE FROM THE WORLDWIDE CHAIR On behalf of BKR International s Worldwide Board, I would like to wish you a happy New Year and all the best in 2019! This year marks a momentous occasion for BKR our 30 th anniversary and an organization-wide commitment to insure all of our members are prepared to be The Firm of the Future in their market area. This past year was an exciting one for BKR International. We maintained our position as the number six association in the world in the International Accounting Bulletin, with total revenue of $1.4 billion, and we accepted four new firms into membership. Our Annual Worldwide Meeting was held in Shanghai, where we were joined by 130 members from 35 countries across the globe. We presented our Scholarship Award to two deserving accounting students during the event, as well as to students at our three regional meetings held earlier in the year. Our profession is in the midst of transformational change, and BKR is as well. Our leadership has almost completely changed in the last 12 months. I just began my term as Worldwide Chairman on November 1, and our long-time Worldwide Executive Director, Maureen Schwartz (New York) retired on December 31. Maureen s international responsibilities, among others, have been assumed by Howard Rosen (New York), who was hired in early 2018 as BKR s first CEO. In July, Aiysha (AJ) Johnson (New York) came on board as executive director for the Americas Region, followed by Salvio Valenzuela (Manila) as our new Asia-Pacific executive director in October. Our collective goal for 2019 is to stay on the cutting edge of developments and explore new opportunities for our members. We must anticipate the future needs of our clients, and be ready to adapt to meet those needs. BKR s new leaders, together with our boards and committees, will be collaborating on ways to continually evolve and prepare for the changes ahead. I am confident that 2019 will be an outstanding year for BKR! We are in the process of planning our upcoming regional meetings, all of which reflect our core theme of The Firm of the Future. Also, be sure to save the date for our worldwide meeting in Los Angeles, California, October 25-29, where we will celebrate BKR s 30 th anniversary. Rest assured that BKR is committed to providing the resources that our members need to lead their firms, develop their people, and provide superior service to their clients anywhere in the world. So, as I begin my new role as your Worldwide Chairman for the next two years, I welcome your thoughts on how we can make BKR even better for you, your partners, and your team in 2019 and beyond as we boldly embrace The Firm of the Future. Manuel Rangel, Jr., Worldwide Chair MESSAGE FROM THE AMERICAS REGIONAL CHAIR On behalf of BKR s Americas Region, I d like to wish everyone a prosperous and happy New Year. The 2019 busy season will be upon us before we know it; may yours be successful. One of our strengths as an organization is that we consistently come together to explore opportunities for the betterment of our members and the profession. I have great admiration for my fellow board members and want to thank them for their service. This report provides a lens into the future, which wouldn t be possible without a strong past. We have been busy the last six months transferring many years of knowledge from Maureen Schwartz to Aiysha (AJ) Johnson. We are the strong organization today with the leadership of Maureen. I speak for all in wishing her the very best in retirement. AJ has taken the reigns of the organization and wants your feedback. Please do not hesitate to reach out to her. BKR s 2019 theme is The Firm of the Future, and it s our theme for the Americas Regional Meeting from May 18-21 in Vancouver. A special thanks in advance to our host firm, Lohn Caulder LLP. In our push for innovation, we will, for the first time in our history, consider live streaming important sections of the meeting to further engage staff who would otherwise not attend each year. Our organization offers enhanced member benefits through our valued Strategic Alliance Partners. We are glad to announce two additions in 2019: B&V Risk Advisory Services and HRD Initiatives. We are thankful for all of the strategic partners continued support of BKR. In December, many of us attended a very successful Managing Partner Roundtable. The Americas Board met and examined the future state of BKR, and identified key opportunities to further support members. We will also continue to support One Vision, One Voice through communication channels with our global organization. BKR continues to promote networking and information-sharing through our 21 practice groups. Look for enhancements to the practice groups to address our changing environment. BKR s Leadership Institute first began in 2003. I encourage you to pass the torch and invest in your key staff as part of the 2019 class. We will poll members in January to plan the next session, and to develop a tax and/or audit staff training program. I look forward to the future while building on our successful history. I can t wait to see you in May and at the Annual Worldwide Meeting from October 25-29 in Los Angeles, California, where we will celebrate our 30-year anniversary! Karen Brenneman, Americas Regional Chair
MESSAGE FROM THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL CHAIR My chairmanship came a few months after the successful hosting of the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference in Manila in April 2018. Initially, I thought that chairing the Asia-Pacific Region was a bit of a challenge, as we went through changes for two important positions in our region: the executive director (ED) and the chair. I truly appreciate the strong support of the Worldwide and EMEA Regional Boards through the transition. Nevertheless, we are lucky to have a dynamic team on the board, represented by India, Malaysia, China, and Australia. As an addition to our team, we have acquired the services of our new executive director, Salvio Valenzuela, who joined us in October 2018. The upcoming Year of the Pig, 2019, will be even more exciting for our region, starting off with the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference from February 22-25 in New Delhi, India. The event promises an exciting agenda and speakers who will provide valuable insights to our member firms. We included an optional tour of Agra during our social activities, including a visit to the amazing architectural structure of the Taj Mahal. Asia-Pacific s direction is to establish a strong presence online, as we attempt to ride the waves of the fourth industrial revolution. Hence, we expect significant changes in the way that we reach out and provide services to member firms, since everything will be digitized faster and better. Reaching out to our members and getting them involved is key to developing and implementing more successful programs in the coming years. We believe that the more engaged and active they are, the more effective our programs will be. Part of the plan is to intensify our recruiting campaign within the emerging countries in our region where BKR has not yet established a presence. Expanding our network with commercial trade and investment offices in different countries will further enable us to reach out to potential firms. Last, we believe that the success of the Asia-Pacific Region in the coming years will not be possible without the support of the EMEA, Americas, and Worldwide Boards. We therefore wish for continued collaboration among the BKR regions in the implementation of our future programs. On this note, and on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Regional Board, I would like to wish you all success and prosperity in the new year. Marycris Oplas, Asia-Pacific Regional Chair MESSAGE FROM THE EMEA REGIONAL CHAIR As my predecessor said in this report last year, 2018 was going to be a dynamic year, and this has proved to be true! Meetings, the use of social media, and webinars all continue at a fast pace. Certainly, my first six months as chair of BKR s EMEA Region have proved exhilarating, with the Annual Worldwide Meeting in Shanghai, our Tax Meeting in Amsterdam, and the further development of our Future Leaders program. I must also thank my predecessor, Arcangelo Agogliati (Milan), for passing over the EMEA Region in such good shape. We have recruited a new member, Senior Auditors, in Tunis, Tunisia, and, in 2019, are concentrating our efforts on looking for new members in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. As always, recommendations of good firms that BKR members have business with are greatly appreciated by our Regional Executive Director, Tim Morris (London). Our administrative team in London has been enhanced by the arrival of Sunny Rowley as the regional assistant. If you are passing through London, Tim and Sunny are always delighted to see you. Our fourth Future Leaders Meeting took place in Amsterdam in November. This was an alumni meeting with 13 young leaders attending an inspiring day with a musical theme. I enjoyed engaging with them and wish them all the best in the future. I look forward to greeting a new group next year, who will meet alongside our alumni. Our Tax Meeting, under Petra Owen s (Hamburg) guidance, grows every year, and, this year, 40 members gathered in Amsterdam. The meeting provides a great forum for exchanging ideas. Our 2018 EMEA Regional Meeting was hosted by Eurofast Ltd (Lefkosia) in the glorious Mediterranean sun. The agenda was stimulating, and topics like Brexit were aired. In 2019, the EMEA Regional Meeting will be held at the Ipanema Park Hotel in Porto, Portugal, from June 1-3. The theme for the meeting is The Firm of the Future: How Do We Get There? We are presenting an exciting agenda in an amazing city I look forward to seeing you there. As always, the year ahead will be full of challenges, many of which are outside of our control. The profession must grasp the opportunities offered, and the EMEA Region will assist our members in achieving their goals in any way possible. Last, I would like to wish you, your firms, and your families a prosperous and positive 2019. Ulrich Viefers, EMEA Regional Chair
2018 IAB WORLD SURVEY RESULTS 2019 MEETING SCHEDULE
MEMBER FIRM COUNTRIES Albania Andorra Angola Argentina Australia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium Bermuda Brazil Cameroon Canada Channel Islands Chile China Colombia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt France Germany Greece Guatemala Honduras Hungary India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Kenya Korea Kuwait Lebanon Liechtenstein Luxembourg Macedonia Malaysia Malta Mauritius Mexico Montenegro Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Norway Pakistan Palestine Panama Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Romania Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Slovakia South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Togo Tunisia Turkey United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela