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Nuremberg, 16 May 2017: In the financial year for 2016 the professional services firm Rödl & Partner continued to pursue its growth strategy. Total turnover increased by 8.1% to reach 386.2 million euros, whereby all service lines grew considerably. Turnover in Germany amounted to 201.9 million euros (+10.3%) and business outside Germany increased to 184.3 million euros (+5.74%). New offices were opened in Curitiba and Copenhagen. Rödl & Partner is now represented by more than 4,500 (prev. year: 4,200) people at 108 locations in 50 countries.
New Partners will be appointed in the course of the International Convention summit, where the international professionals of Rödl & Partner will meet in Nuremberg on June 29. Rödl & Partner will then have a total of 240 Partners.
Rödl & Partner successfully operates on the side of Mittelstand shaped world market leaders that are expanding and investing around the globe. They appreciate 'Made in Germany' services wherever they are currently located. Growth in the financial year for 2016 was primarily due to increased demand for interdisciplinary professional services frequently based on transactions. In addition, Rödl & Partner was able to attract a number of large clients. Rödl & Partner currently supports half of the DAX30 group companies with legal consulting, tax consulting and audit services or in the area of business process outsourcing.
“As an agile caring partner, we offer our clients tailor-made solutions all around the world. We classify our turnover growth as an indication that our clients trust us and wish to pursue their strategy hand in hand with us”, says Prof. Dr. Christian Rödl, Chairman of the Executive Board at Rödl & Partner.
In the service line legal, the increase in 2016 turnover was mainly made in the provision of advisory services for cross-border transactions for German companies. In recent years Rödl & Partner has expanded its interdisciplinary transaction expertise to establish a considerable competitive advantage. In 2016 Rödl & Partner advised 192 M&A transactions worldwide and was in most cases mandated by the German parent company.
“We also forecast a very lively transaction business for 2017”, says Rödl. According to a current survey from Rödl & Partner, international banks and financial institutions assume there will be further strategic acquisitions made by German companies. 35% of the institutions forecast a further growing number of transactions and just as many predict a stabilisation at a high level.
According to the opinions of the survey participants, the most important region for acquisitions of German companies is the EU, whereby Germany and Central and Eastern Europe are very attractive. The USA is in second position, while the interest in investments in Asia remains at a high level. The continuing low interest rate level has a major influence on M&A activities. 53% of the banks and financial institutions believe this development significantly facilitates company acquisitions.
Rödl & Partner is one of the leading tax law firms in Germany and was recognised as “Law Firm of the Year” for tax law at the JUVE Awards in 2016. Alongside the business areas transfer pricing and value added tax, the discussion in Germany on the reform of inheritance tax, which was adopted in the autumn of 2016, also provided momentum.
The new regulations for preferential treatment for business assets involve a higher tax burden and even more bureaucracy, which in view of the company succession generates a considerable requirement for advisory services for family-owned companies. In addition, succession arrangements are becoming increasingly international and require an interdisciplinary approach, especially due to the interaction of tax law, inheritance law and corporate law.
In the area of audit services Rödl & Partner also continues to see a large potential for growth. The EU audit reform of 2017 is set to create further momentum. This reform stipulates that public interest entities have to change their auditor by 2020. Rödl & Partner is a matching fit for many of these companies. In the past financial year a number of important mandates were already acquired. The EU audit reform introduces a reorganisation of the tax consulting and audit market and increases the requirements for financial advisory services, audit‑related services and tax compliance.
Digitisation offers substantial opportunities for all service lines of Rödl & Partner. Digitisation will lead to divided responsibilities and sub-processes such as invoicing in different formats or receivables management will be outsourced. This will stimulate demand for business process outsourcing services of Rödl & Partner.
Rödl & Partner anticipated this development early on and has in recent years made substaintial investments in modernising its auditing techniques and providing its clients with appropriate interfaces and processes, as well as offering new auditing and consulting products in the area of cloud computing. In addition, the IT and data protection team was expanded.
Rödl & Partner can look to the future with confidence. However, it is clear that the political environment in a number of regions has become less predictable. Nevertheless, Germany – as the home of numerous global market leaders – remains a pillar of strength. “We build upon this solid foundation together with our clients and support them at an international level with interdisciplinary services. This also increases the attractiveness of our organisation for young, internationally oriented talent”, explains Rödl.
Petar Grujicic-Hauck
Deputy Head of Marketing, Communications and Business Development
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