GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

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© 2014 - GGI Global Alliance

News andInformationfor Membersand Friendsof GGI

Issue No. 74 | Nov. 2014

GGIAsia-PacificRegionalConferencein Bangkok

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EditorialDear GGI Members, Dear Friends,

Time flies and once again another issue of our newsletter is ready for you to enjoy – the last of this year. A great deal has happened since the previous issue in September.

The GGI World Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, just over a month ago was a resounding success. We hope that everyone enjoyed their stay, during which many new fruitful busi-ness relationships were forged and plenty of networking took place.

We are pleased to report on and give an overview of the events that have tak-en place recently, such as the first MEA and the World Conferences in Cape Town and the EasyMeet in Budapest, Hungary.

The Asia-Pacific Regional Confer-ence is coming up and promises to fas-cinate those taking part with its varied programme and charismatic keynote

speakers. Do not miss the opportunity to stay at the forefront of your business and join the Practice Group meetings.

As well as internal GGI news and general interest articles, we also want to whet your appetite for the GGI ITPG Meeting in Marbella, Spain, which will be held from 19 to 22 February 2015.

Many thanks for your fascinating contributions and strong support in making every issue of INSIDER an ab-solute must read.

We wish you a happy festive period and a peaceful end to the year.

Our head office in Zurich will be closed over the holidays from 24 De-cember 2014 and will reopen on 5 Jan-uary 2015. We are looking forward to seeing you all very soon.

Kind regards, Your GGI Team

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The information provided in this INSIDER came from reliable sources and was prepared from data assumed to be correct; how-ever, we neither accept liability for nor are we able to guarantee the content. This newsletter is pro-duced solely for the internal use of GGI member firms.

If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, send an email to info@ggi.com. Let us know what you think about INSIDER. We wel-come your feedback.

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GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

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Contents➜ 11-14 December 2014 GGI Asia-Pacific Regional Conference Bangkok – Thailand➜ 06-08 February 2015 GGI Practice Group Chairperson Meeting Zurich – Switzerland➜ 19-22 February 2015 GGI ITPG Winter Meeting Marbella – Spain➜ 06-08 March 2015 (TBC) GGI EasyMeet Bratislava – Slovakia➜ 16-19 April 2015 (TBC) GGI Latin American Regional Conference San Jose – Costa Rica➜ 23-26 April 2015 (TBC) GGI European Conference Lausanne – Switzerland➜ 14-16 May 2015 GGI Developing Leaders Conference Las Vegas, NV – USA➜ 14-16 May 2015 GGI Best Practices Conference Las Vegas, NV – USA➜ 29-31 May 2015 (TBC) GGI Italian Business Summit Florence – Italy ➜ 11-14 June 2015 GGI Leadership Forum Eisenberg – Austria ➜ 10-12 September 2015 (TBC) GGI Nordic-Baltic Meeting Helsinki – Finland ➜ 18-20 September 2015 GGI German Speaking Chapter Salzburg – Austria ➜ 22-25 October 2015 GGI World Conference Boston, MA – USA

Please refer to our website for actualised information and additional events: www.ggi.com, entry “Events”

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EDITORIAL, CONTACT, DISCLAIMER ................................................................02

CONTENTS, DIARY ..............................................................................................03

UPCOMING GGI EVENTS ➜GGI Asia-Pacific Regional Conference in Bangkok, Thailand ........................04

REVIEW GGI EVENTS ➜GGI Middle-East African (MEA) Regional and World Conferences, Cape Town, South Africa .......................................... 06 ➜GGI EasyMeet, Budapest, Hungary ................................................................... 10 ➜GGI Italian Business Summit, Rome, Vatican City, Italy .................................. 12

GGI NEW MEMBER FIRMS .................................................................................. 14

GGI INTERNAL NEWS ➜ Impressive content, valuable experience exchange and intensive networking – two members report on the GGI Conference in Cape Town, South Africa ...............................................................................17 ➜GGI Member Firms of the Year 2014 ...............................................................18 ➜GGI’s Global CEO appointed to LSM’s Advisory Board ................................ 19 ➜GGI Global Village on the Move, Russia 2014 ................................................20 ➜Significant experience working with GGI ........................................................ 23 ➜GGI International Staff Exchange – a wonderful experience in Italy .............24 ➜GGI member firm KC Chia & Noor has been named “Best for Audit & Assurance – Malaysia” ........................................... 25 ➜ACG DELOVOY PROFIL awarded “The leading valuation company 2014” title ................................................... 25

COMMON INTEREST ➜Thailand at the crossroads ......................................................................................26 ➜End of life decisions in Canada ............................................................................... 27 ➜The New UK CFC Rules – A Brief Overview ..........................................................29 ➜Taking up residence in Switzerland .........................................................................31

GGI PRACTICE GROUP PAGES

ITPG ➜GGI International Taxation Practice Group Weekend 2015 Marbella (Spain), 19-22 February................................................................ 34 PRIVATE EQUITY AND INTERNATIONAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT ➜Individual savings, personal pension plan – what’s new in the UK? ........35 TRUST & ESTATE PLANNING ➜UK Private Company Ownership going public – threat or opportunity? .... 36

BOOK REVIEW ....................................................................................................... 38

FURTHER CONFERENCES / EVENTS .................................................................. 39

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This year’s Asia-Pacific Regional Conference will be kindly hosted by GGI member firm Dherakupt Interna-tional Law Office Ltd. The Conference will be held from 11 to 14 December 2014 at the Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok, Thailand. Delegates can prepare them-selves for the event by reading an ar-ticle on Thailand on pages 26 f of this month’s edition of INSIDER.

On Thursday, early arrivals can enjoy a game of golf before the conference starts with an International Taxation Practice Group (ITPG) meeting in the afternoon, led by Ashish Bairagra. R.A. Jayaweera, from the GGI member firm in Sri Lanka, will present on how international trans-actions are taxed in Sri Lanka. This will be followed by Lisa Greig, GGI member firm Cummings Flavel McCormack, dis-cussing the idiosyncrasies of Australian tax and the current focus of the Aus-

tralian Tax Office. Vijesh Zinzuwadia from India will then highlight the latest international tax controversy that has hit Vodafone in India. After the coffee break, William Wong and Gilbert Mak will give the delegates an update on VAT in China, after which a debate on some international tax case studies will take place, led by Ashish Bairagra. The meet-ing will end with a speed networking session giving ITPG members a chance to discover more about other members and how synergies can be built amongst ITPG members.

In the September INSIDER issue we already introduced our two keynote speakers Juerg Kiener and Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi. In his keynote speech, Mr Kiener will discuss how the global macroeconomic environment is driv-ing the Asian integration model.

Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi will give

information on the global economy and how it impacts Asian countries. What are the trends, new opportunities and threats for GGI members? Will China’s economy stagnate? How do situations such as the one that currently exists in Ukraine impact the Asian economy and how is this reflected in our busi-ness environment?

Some Practice Group meetings will be held on Friday afternoon. Do not miss this opportunity to stay connect-ed and informed on the latest develop-ments in the international markets.

Around the world, GGI members are active in the various GGI Practice Groups. Each GGI Practice Group con-sists of experts in the relevant field from many different countries. They are all well-trained specialists who have many years of expertise in the specific area. In addition to regular training, they frequently interact in order to ex-change their knowledge and develop international strategies.

Being involved in the Practice Groups allows GGI members to remain at the forefront of their professions by provid-ing their clients with a global network of professionals with similar practice fo-cuses through which they can:

Exchange information to find better approaches and solutions to clients’ issues

Stay connected to international in-formation and issues relevant to ar-eas of their practice

Develop international structures Quickly assemble teams to find so-

lutions for international demanding business requirementsJuerg Kiener Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi

Fascinating Practice Group meetings in Bangkok – do not miss this opportunity!

UPCOMING GGI EVENTS

Asia-Pacific Regional Conference from 11-14 December 2014

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Ricky Wong from Hong Kong will discuss quality control requirements during the Auditing, Reporting & Com-pliance Practice Group meeting. Fur-ther he will look into the code of ethics as well as issues relating to the going concern principle.

Vijesh Zinzuwadia will lead the Pri-vate Equity & International Wealth Man-agement Practice Group. The case study “a lucky life” has been developed by the group. Click here to read the case study. Participants will discuss highly inter-esting topics arising from this case. In which countries are there obligations to report to the authorities? How can as-sets and the entire family be protected? What action and advice should be taken and given?

The first Immigration & Expatri-ate Services Practice Group (IESPG) meeting held during an Asia-Pacific Re-gional Conference, it will be launched by Ashish Bairagra, and will comprise of country updates from the delegates who are present, followed by discus-sions on certain case studies.

During the meeting delegates will also discuss how the IESPG can play a more significant role amongst Asia Pacific members.

The M&A Practice Group meeting will be presided over by William Wong from Beijing, China. Wall Street Journal (WSJ) writes: “Deal activity hit a record high in APAC during the first half of this year.” In particular, M&A activity re-mains strong in China.

Tax is one of the key considerations in an M&A deal. William Wong will pro-vide a quick update on Chinese tax rules

and explain how they could affect the acquirers’ decisions from the cash re-patriation, divestment and reorganisa-tion perspectives. He will also share his views on a tax-effective holding struc-ture for Chinese outbound investments.

Apart from tax, closing account mechanisms are also important in M&A transactions. Robert Thompson will share his experience in this regard, which would be very useful for provid-ing M&A services in APAC.

During his Practice Group meeting Global Political Economy and Interna-tional Relations – Understanding the International Economic Order, Claudio G. Cocca will discuss if the world is fac-ing a new political order. He will have a look at Russia – it feels the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisa-

tion (NATO) and the planned Europe-an Union (EU) Association Agreement with Ukraine is an infringement of its sphere of influence, which triggered the Ukraine conflict. Are we on the verge of a new Cold War?

Japan is battling through a perma-nent state of crisis with an historic glut of money. However, none of this has been able to make a difference and the Japanese economy is once again sliding into recession. Is this a taste of what is to come for Europe?

While banks in Europe are forced to provide ever more capital to hedge their risks, China’s banks are ballooning. Econ-omists fear a credit crisis. Has a lending bubble emerged in China and will it soon burst, causing the global economy to be thrown into a state of crisis?

A further topic of Mr. Cocca’s meet-ing is the gloomy economic situation in the eurozone, especially in France and Italy. The recent intervention by the Eu-ropean Central Bank (ECB) shows that the situation is much more serious than is perceived by the public. Great chal-lenges still lie ahead for the eurozone.

As usual, amazing fringe events will be rounding off the event.

It is not too late for GGI members who have not yet registered to do so. Those who have already registered for the Conference, but would like to regis-ter for a second Practice Group meet-ing, should contact GGI head office at herbert@ggi.com. Please use the on-line registration tool at www.ggi.com (member login > Events). The Confer-ence programme is also available on the website.

Bangkok – Nanjing Road

Bangkok – Amphawa, Floating Market

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230 Delegates join GGIMEA and World Conferences

The 2014 GGI World Conference took place in Cape Town, South Africa, be-tween 16 and 19 October at the Westin Cape Town Hotel, hosted by the two local member firms Nolands SA and Heyns and Partners Inc and attended by some 190 delegates from GGI member firms from around the world. The event was preceded by the first Middle-East Af-rican (MEA) Regional Conference, held from 15 to 16 October and attended by some 40 delegates, who took this op-portunity to meet other GGI members from the same region. The event started on Wednesday evening with a welcome cocktail on the top floor of the hotel, which offered a stunning view of the city skyline and the natural landscape, including Table Mountain and Lion’s Head.

On Thursday morning, the General Consul of Switzerland, Bernadette Hun-keler Brown, officially opened the Con-ference, illustrating economic figures that revealed the commercial relation between Switzerland and South Africa as well as the differences between the two countries. Following this first high quality contribution, GGI’s President

and host firm representatives warmly welcomed all participants, before a speed networking session got under-way led by the GGI Regional CEO, Peter Kaeser. All attendees had the valuable opportunity to get to know each other better and exchange important informa-tion about their firms, key competences and industrial sectors in which they are working. After a coffee break, the key-note speaker His Excellency Ambassa-dor Chirau Ali Mwakwere captivated the audience as he explained the dynamics in the oil trade occasioned by recent oil discoveries in Africa.

Ambassador Mwakwere’s experience and knowledge of the African market is very well known. As discussed dur-ing his contribution, there has been a rapid increase in discoveries of oil in Africa over the past decade and all indi-cations point to Africa having a wealth of oil reserves with there being a high likelihood that further discoveries will be made. Several factors will determine the impact of these discoveries on the inter-national oil trade and on the geopoliti-cal and economic landscape, including the development of African production

capacity over the next two decades, oil discoveries and production elsewhere in the world, the growing importance of carbon emissions, new energy gen-eration technologies and governance in African oil-producing countries. Given the right governance environment, he stated that discoveries have the poten-tial to create a sizeable middle class in Africa, which will drive economic growth and stimulate investment in various sectors of the African economy. New oil discoveries and increased oil production in Africa are likely to position the con-tinent as a stronger player, both geopo-litically and economically, and they also have the potential to have an impact on aggregate supply and the price of oil in-ternationally, which could affect OPEC’s influence on the international oil trade.

Ambassador Mwakwere’s contribu-tion left the audience with valuable in-sights on the African market and was followed by the MEA Regional report delivered by Peter Kaeser, GGI Regional CEO Middle-East Africa/Asia-Pacific. Mr Kaeser illustrated the development of the MEA region over the last year, list-ing the new members who joined GGI

15 to 19 October 2014 – Cape Town, South Africa

Left to right: Michael Reiss von Filski, H.E. Chirau Ali Mwak-were, Peter Kaeser

Networking

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

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Seal Island Boat Trip

as well as potential countries into which it will expand in the immediate future. His presentation also included a contri-bution delivered by Adebimpe A. Balo-gun from GGI member firm Saffron Pro-fessional Services (Ikoyi, Lagos), who explained the details of a success story regarding a withholding tax credit claim which resulted in an extremely profit-able outcome for both the client and the firm. Peter Kaeser’s presentation ended with an overview of the regional upcom-ing conferences and the advice of keep-ing collaborating and networking with other GGI members. As closure of the morning session, Graham Busch from Lawrence Grant Chartered Accountants (London, UK) introduced the Interna-tional Taxation Practice Group.

The afternoon session continued with

two workshops: the first led by Walter Geach (University of the Western Cape) addressed the topic of the relevance of trusts; the second, held by Peter Surtees,

focused on doing business in South Af-rica. The International Taxation Practice Group led by the Global Chairperson, ...next page

Keynote speaker Dr Clem Sunter

Clive Noland presents GGI’s CEO Mi-chael Reiss von Filski with a typical South African shirt

Hosts Cornelia van Heerden, Heyns and Partners Inc, and Clive Nolands, No-lands SA

Audience

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Oliver Biernat, held its meeting in a dif-ferent room of the hotel at the same time. The successful Conference pro-gramme ended with a closing speech delivered by Peter Kaeser, preparing the delegates for the start of the 2014 World Conference later the same day.

The GGI World Conference began in the evening with a welcome cocktail, fol-lowed by a welcome dinner during which the new members and candidates of the alliance who were attending the event were officially introduced by Michael Reiss von Filski, GGI Global CEO. The dinner was also the occasion for an im-portant award ceremony: Urban B. Eb-erle, CEO of Bank Alpinum, received the XLNC Award for his continuous support over the last ten years of sponsorship.

The Conference commenced on Fri-day morning with some words of wel-come from His Excellency Christian Meuwly, Swiss Ambassador to South Af-rica. The morning session featured the contribution of two keynote speakers: Dr Clem Sunter and Ambassador Chirau Ali Mwakwere. Both had already been intro-duced in detail in the previous INSIDER issue.

As an expert in scenario planning, Dr Sunter addressed the audience with the following question: why should you think like a fox when you are planning your strategy? The answer is that foxes are constantly looking out at the environ-ment around them for signs of change. When they spot a new opportunity or threat, it is the speed and quality of their response which allows them to survive and prosper. Likewise, a company may have a sound vision and mission state-ment, but it must have a radar system that picks up changes in the business environment. When warning signs be-gin to show that the game is changing, a successful company will be ahead of its competitors in adapting its strategies and tactics to win the new game. For example, in the field of marketing and sales, constant monitoring of custom-ers’ expectations and needs is required so that the product and service offering can be adjusted to maximise customer satisfaction. Dr Sunter explained that in the world at large there are six game-changing flags waving in the wind: re-

ligious rivalry, a return to a Cold War between America and Russia, climate change, ageing populations in devel-oped economies, increasing inequality between the super-rich and the rest and the possibility of a global epidemic like Ebola. In South Africa, there are three signs to watch out for: the style of lead-ership, the treatment of the country’s pockets of excellence and the climate for a new generation of entrepreneurs. The points to take away from the lecture are: look out before you look in, adapt your sales strategy as the market changes and have the keen eyes and quick reac-tions of a bushy-tailed fox.

The second keynote speaker of the day was His Excellency Ambassador Chirau Ali Mwakwere, who talked about “Investment Challenges in Sub-Saha-ran Africa”. He explained that govern-ments in Sub-Saharan Africa are play-ing ever greater roles in shaping their

economies by giving focused invest-ment policy directions. Potentially rich with natural resources, Sub-Saharan Africa draws foreign direct investment (FDI) not only to its natural resources but also to its emerging and vibrant consumer markets. Mobilising invest-ments and ensuring that it contributes to sustainable development is a prior-ity for all countries of the world. While the projection of FDI outlook remains positive, Sub-Saharan Africa must ad-dress individual country and regional challenges which could lose the attrac-tion for investors. Ambassador Mwak-were pointed out that governments in sub-Saharan Africa have programmes which variously and individually ad-dress challenges such as functional infrastructure, job creation, corrup-tion, transparency and accountability, security of investment and more. He also explained that after seeing their countries still languish in poverty de-spite decades of natural resource flows out of the continent, governments are now actively making concerted efforts to ensure that local companies are gainfully involved in FDI ventures and that the notion of value addition to raw materials is being advanced to ensure more jobs are created for the potential upsurge in the young graduate popula-tion. A new generation of investment policies is therefore emerging as gov-ernments pursue a broader and more intricate development agenda while building or maintaining a generally

Left to right: Michael Reiss von Filski, Dr Clem Sunter, H.E. Chirau Ali Mwakwere, Ambassador Christian Meuwly, Claudio G. Cocca

H.E. Chirau Ali Mwakwere

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

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favourable investment climate. Most governments in Sub-Saharan Africa are known to be encouraging the de-velopment of networks between small and medium enterprises capable of be-coming part of a global supply chain, including participation in value addi-tion. The promotion of responsible investment requires both the investor and the government to act in a re-sponsible, transparent and objective manner. This is a sure way of solving investment challenges, some of which are known while others will emerge as policies change and evolve.

The last contribution for the Confer-ence session was delivered by Michael Reiss von Filski, who described the de-velopments that have occurred within the GGI alliance since the last World Conference in Cancun (2013), Mexico. This management report included an overview of the different GGI regions as well as a short speech delivered by Graeme Saggers (Nolands SA). As one of the five delegates selected to partici-pate in the 2014 edition of the Global Village on the Move programme, which took place in Kazan (Russia), Graeme re-ported his experiences. He also invited GGI members to send applications for the 2015 edition, which will take place in Mumbai, India. As the Conference morn-ing session came to an end, all the del-egates enjoyed a lunch break before the two rounds of Practice Group meetings scheduled for the afternoon. The day’s programme ended with a casual dinner at the Shimmy Beach Club, where all the delegates delighted in the local food, the casual atmosphere and an entertaining show of local acrobatic dancers.

The Saturday programme featured four workshop meetings: Frank E.R. Diem held a workshop on the process of internationalising a practice – mea-sures and activities that promise suc-cess; Ricky Wong discussed codes of ethics and professional judgement; Dr Laszlo Tunyogi focused his attention on the European scene and how it is cur-rently possible to influence the Euro-pean Union’s decision making process; and lastly, Michael Reiss von Filski led the “understanding GGI” workshop, compulsory for all candidates and new

members. The afternoon session was dedicated to the optional tours of Seal Island and the city of Cape Town, includ-ing the magnificent Table Mountain.

As the perfect end to the event, the delegates attended a gala dinner at the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel, a luxury venue in the vibrant heart of Cape Town. During the dinner, three member firms were presented with the GGI XLNC award as member firm of the year: GT Fiduciaires (Luxembourg), VBIR (Israel) and McCabes (Australia). Find more information on the awards winners on pages 18 f. The event came to a suc-cessful end as all the delegates enjoyed themselves, also looking forward to the optional Sunday tour at the magnificent Cape Winelands of South Africa.

Turn to page 17 to read two personal Conference reports from our Lebanese GGI members.

Exchanging ideas, experiences and views

Cornelia van Heerden

Haruki Yoshida, Moheb Nasry Fadel Khouzam

Clive Noland, Adebimpe A. Balogun, Jill Noland

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The 2014 GGI Autumn EasyMeet was held in Budapest from 7 to 9 November and was characterised by a diversity of professional, cultural and recreational events. Some of the delegates arrived early in Budapest to enjoy the unseason-ably warm weather and were therefore able to participate in even more fascinat-ing activities, such as visiting the famous New York Café and the Gerbeaud Con-fectionary, along with many historical monuments, and at night, the unique ‘ruin pubs’ and popular local bars. The host companies were Audit Service Kft. and Kovács Réti Szegheő Attorneys-at-Law.

The official Conference began on Fri-day evening with a welcome reception at the hotel bar, when old friends had a chance to catch up and new acquaintanc-es were made. The group then moved on to Spoon, a boat restaurant on the Dan-ube with a truly breathtaking view of the Castle District and the Chain Bridge.

Saturday revolved around the Confer-ence session, which was opened by Clau-dio G. Cocca, President and Founder of GGI, who drew on Hungarian history to emphasise the importance and possi-

bilities presented by the EasyMeet gen-eration. Dr Attila Kovács of KRS also wel-comed the delegates and shared some of his fondest memories of being a GGI member. The first half of the conference dealt with European issues from the im-pact of the European Parliamentary elec-tions, through the economic recovery after the crisis, to the possibilities that such an in-depth knowledge can provide to all GGI members. The second half fo-cused more on Hungary, its corporate tax system and auditing practices.

The organisers were fortunate enough to be able to secure not one, but two keynote speakers. The first was Professor Attila Ágh, who was the Head of Political Science Department at the Budapest University of Econom-ics between 1990 and 2002 and is now the Director of the Hungarian Centre for Democracy Studies. In 2007, he be-came the project leader for the prepa-ration of the Belgian, Hungarian and Spanish team presidency in the project of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Of-fice. His expertise in international po-litical sciences allowed the participants to understand the changes taking place

in Europe due to the EP elections this year. His speech about the different op-portunities and challenges that the new administration is facing provided the groundwork for the next presentations. Professor Ágh, who is the author of many articles and publications, kindly provided the participants with one of his books. Professor Ágh was followed by another illustrious speaker: Zoltán Kazatsay who also served as Deputy State Secretary at the Hungarian Minis-try of Economy and Transport and Alter-nate Governor of Hungary at the EBRD from 2002-2004, before he joined the European Institutions. Additionally, he was also the Chairman of a Working Group at the OECD. He is currently the Deputy Director-General of the Direc-torate-General of Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the EU. Using his knowledge of the inner workings of EU institutions, he spoke about the dif-ficulties that young people, in particu-lar, are facing in the current economic climate, the obstacles of entering the labour market as well as the grants and funds that his DG provides in order to help them. To conclude the first half of

Budapest – where historicelegance meets modern trends

7-9 November 2014 – EasyMeet in Budapest, Hungary

Prof. Attila Ágh Claudio G. Cocca Zoltán Kazatsay

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

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the Conference, Dr Laszlo Tunyogi, H.E. Klára Akóts, ex-ambassador of Hungary in the United Nations, and Bernadett Csúsz talked about how knowledge of current European issues can help GGI members further improve their profes-sional success. Their European Monitor bulletin, published on GGI’s intranet every two weeks, informs of all the new topics that are relevant within the EU institutions, organised around the GGI Practice Groups so that members may find titles relevant to their interests more easily. The Monitor also includes a list of upcoming events, the progress of the Transatlantic Trade and Invest-ment Partnership negotiations as well as a detailed chart of the “Your Voice in

Europe” topic that is open for discus-sion. The bulletin is an electronic publi-cation and therefore includes hyperlinks to further reading material.

The second half of the Conference be-longed to the host firms: it was opened by Dr Anita Ihász Kovácsné of KRS, who gave an interesting presentation on the Hungarian corporate tax system and the tax planning possibilities it provides. She was followed by Dr Iván Serényi of Audit-Service Kft. who, along with several of his colleagues, gave a comprehensive intro-duction into the world of auditing, which was also clear and fascinating to those operating in an entirely different field of expertise. The Conference was conclud-ed by Timon Witschi, who shared his

experiences of the GGI Staff Exchange Programme.

In the evening, the delegates were transported to the Castle District where, after a short walk, they had wine tast-ing followed by dinner at the elegant St. George’s Residence, after which they had a chance to delve into the Budapest night life and its popular spots such as Divino, Hello Baby Bar and Szimpla.

The last chance to see a bit more of Budapest was during the Sunday morn-ing optional sightseeing tour around the city centre and the Castle District. Del-egates left Budapest having made new friends, many memories and the knowl-edge that this was not “Goodbye, Buda-pest”, but see you again soon!

EasyMeet participants

Dr Iván Serényi Audience

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GGI Italian Business SummitBy Stefania Turco

The 2014 edition of the Italian Busi-ness Summit was held in Rome and The Vatican City, 14 to 16 November 2014. It was hosted by GGI’s Rome-based mem-ber Solutions 4 Business (S4B) with Lucio Fumagalli, organised and led by GGI and S4B by Patricia Giannini, Stefania Turco and Ugo Girardi, CEO of S4B, from the GGI member firm with the same name.

On Friday 14 November, the pro-gramme commenced with a visit to the Vatican Secret Archives, an exclusive tour exclusively for guests of the Italian Busi-ness Summit, where the prefect of the Vatican allowed us to cross the threshold into the part of the Vatican which is gen-

erally private and not accessible to the public. Together with the other guests, Claudio Cocca, President of GGI, was therefore given the chance to wander through the archives, which cover a total length of 85 km and contain documents covering about 1,000 years of world his-tory.

After the archive bunker that had cap-tured the curiosity of the more than 60 guests, they turned their attention to the many frescoes that had been lying hidden away for hundreds of years on walls up to 5 meters high. These included those in the Room of the Winds. They then sa-voured the breathtaking view of Rome basking in the last rays of a spectacular golden sunset.

The practice groups once again lived up to expectations.

The IDR PG, opened by Johan Lange-laar, took place at the Vatican School of Palaeography, where every member had his own personal HD computer worksta-tion. This enabled them to follow the slide presentation of the history lesson on the “Roman Rota” by Dr Enrico Flaiani and the “Roman Rota Today” seminar given by Arlene Rochlin, American attorney, and Patrizia Giannini, S4B partner. The presentations impressed through their vitality and humour.

The ITPG was opened by Alan Ra-jah at the same secret archives. Then a young and energetic Marta Testi from the Italian Stock Exchange captivated the room for over 40 minutes. This was followed by Antonio Boccia of Baldi and Partners, a new member of GGI, with two interesting presentations on the ELITE project and the AIM segment of the Italian Stock Exchange, part of the London Stock Exchange. Emanuele Riz-zardi ended the ITPG with a presenta-tion on “Web Reputation” accompanied by a closing speech from the unequalled orator, Lucius Fumagalli, from S4B. To view the official reports, please visit www.IBSummit.it.

The evening ended with a simple but delicious Neapolitan meal of Caprese, during which new relationships were es-tablished, in keeping with the true forte of GGI members and events.

The Italian Business Summit 2014, held at Palazzo Baldassini on Saturday 15 November, started with the opening speech from GGI President Claudio Coc-ca. The many speakers were of consider-able importance for the Italian Piazza. The Assocamerestero, the association of the Italian Chambers of Commerce outside the country, is calling on invest-ments in not just the mainstream Italian markets, but also in niche sectors, that are less prominent but nonetheless pro-ductive and successful. These markets

14-16 November 2014 – Rome, Italy

Practice Group meeting in the Vatican School of Palaeography

Patrizia Giannini, Claudio G. Cocca

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

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supply unsurpassed products, operating in line with the philosophy of “machinery made in Italy means design efficiency and quality”.

Following this was the presentation by Indra, the Spanish corporation and inter-national giant in communications that told its own story of how it has strength-ened investment in Italy for the next few years.

After a light lunch at the Zafferino res-taurant, the afternoon session opened with presentations by new recruits, SaveTheCut and young Italian entre-preneurs who, despite the possibility of working abroad, decided instead to es-tablish their headquarters in Italy. The theme was the changing communica-tions market, with some hilarious exam-ples. The whole audience was absorbed by the new information.

The Italian Business Summit ended with a talk by Valerio Capello, of Back-Rome, and Luigi Caracciolo, of Iventure Group, explaining the new dynamics of investment research, a different angle on business in Italy. The beautiful building from 1300 in which the dinner was held is worthy of mention, but so too is the fun had by approximately 50 professionals in a nightclub in the heart of Rome, where they danced to house remix music.

At 9:30 am on Sunday, 25 guests attend-ed the teambuilding exercise, which was as unexpected as it was fun. In spring-like weather, the three teams went in search

of the Holy Grail, enthusias-tically getting involved in the picturesque setting of Castel Sant’Angelo. Ultimately, the team of Clan Templar sol-diers, comprising a Swiss/Mongol/Danish/Italian army, scored an unforget-table victory, beating their competitors to devour all the treats in the baskets, overcoming fountains and bridges, beating assassins and secret agents, trusting in mute Templars and even weird pizzas.

To conclude, Italian Busi-ness Summit 2014 was ev-erything GGI expected.

A warm greeting also from Federico Grossi, who looks forward to welcoming many of you at the IBS 2015 in Florence.

One of two sightseeing groups, GGI Italian Business Summit

The Vatican Secret Archives exclusively opened for GGI members

Audience

14

JC KlingFischerstraße 1167655 Kaiserslautern Germany

T: +49 631 36239 0F: +49 631 36239 10E: info@jckling.deW: www.jckling.de

Company languages: English, French, German, RussianContact person: Jan-Christopher Kling, kling@jckling.deServices: Auditing & Accounting, Tax, Law Firm, Advisory, Corporate Finance, Fiduciary & Estate Plan-ning

Germany

WE WISH TO EXTEND A VERY WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS.

Austria

Prof. Dr. Romuald Bertl

Dr. Peter Pilz

BFP Wirtschaftsprüfungs GmbHBFP Steuerberatungs GmbHSchubertstraße 628010 GrazAustria

T: +43 316 3637 0E: office@austin-bfp.atW: www.bfp-graz.at

Company languages: English, French, German, ItalianContact persons: Prof. Dr. Romuald Bertl, rbertl@bfp-graz.at; Dr. Peter Pilz, ppilz@bfp-graz.at Services: Auditing & Accounting, Tax, Advisory, Corporate Finance

SylvainBeaumont

Jan-ChristopherKling

Jean-YvesLarangot

LMBE Avocats39, boulevard Malesherbes75008 ParisFrance

T: +33 1 43 12 80 80F: +33 1 43 12 80 90E: sbeaumont@lmbeavocats.comW: www.lmbeavocats.com

Company languages: French, Eng-lish, German, Spanish, PortugueseContact persons: Sylvain Beaumont, sbeaumont@lmbeavocats.com; Jean-Yves Larangot, jylarangot@ lmbeavocats.comServices: Law Firm

France

NEW MEMBER FIRMS

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

15

Mirza Al Marzooq

Tatsuki Hiroaki

Antonio VillaBerkemeyer

M. YolandaPereira Z.

Alatheer Audit & AlatheerEconomic Financial and Administrative ConsultingOffice no 31, Building 28Al Alam Street, Al Khuwair Block 235Muscat, Oman

T: +968 24 486 385F: +968 24 486 204E: info@alatheer.comW: www.alatheer.com

Company languages: Arabic, Eng-lishContact person: Mirza Al Marzooq, m.almarzooq@alatheer.comServices: Auditing & Accounting, Tax, Advisory

Tokyo Consulting Firm Co. Ltd.#406, 4th Floor, Excel Treasure Tower No.520 Kaba Aye Pagoda Road Bahan TownshipYangon, Myanmar

T: +95 1 559377E: f-info@kuno-cpa.co.jpW: www.kuno-cpa.co.jp

Company languages: Burmese, English, JapaneseContact person: Tatsuki Hiroaki, tatsuki.hiroaki@tokyoconsulting-group.comServices: Auditing & Accounting, Tax, Advisory, Corporate Finance

Berkemeyer Attorneys& CounselorsJacaranda Building, 4th Floor, Benjamín Constant 835Asunción, Paraguay

T: +595 21 446706F: +595 21 497085E: law@berke.com.pyW: www.berke.com.py

Company languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Hungar-ian, Japanese, Portuguese, Span-ishContact persons: Antonio Villa Berkemeyer, antonio.villa@berke.com.py; M. Yolanda Pereira Z., yolanda.pereira@berke.com.pyServices: Law Firm

OmanMyanmar

WE WISH TO EXTEND A VERY WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS.

Paraguay

16 NEW MEMBER FIRMS

FrankieMarion

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.ONE North Main, 2nd FloorSC 29601-2772, GreenvilleUnited States of America

T: +1 864 240 3200F: +1 864 240 3300E: fmarion@hsblawfirm.comW: www.hsblawfirm.com

Further offices: Columbia (SC), Florence (SC), Myrtle Beach (SC), Charleston (SC), Greenville (SC), Charlotte (NC)Company languages: English, French, German, SpanishContact person: Frankie Marion, fmarion@hsblawfirm.com Services: Auditing & Accounting, Tax, Law Firm, Advisory, Corporate Finance

Dressman Benzinger LaVelle psc Atrium Two, Suite 2500, 221 East 4th StreetOH 45202-4100, CincinnatiUnited States of America

T: +1 859 341 1881F: +1 859 341 1469E: attorney@dbllaw.comW: www.dbllaw.com

Further offices: Crestview Hills (KY), Louisville (KY)Company language: EnglishContact person: James A. Dress-man III, jdressman@dbllaw.comServices: Law firm

WE WISH TO EXTEND A VERY WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS.

United States United States

James A. Dressman III

Searching for GGI member firms all over

the world?

Visit ggi.com!

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

17GGI INTERNAL NEWS

By Tracy Bassil and Rana Zmeter

Our offices have always been across the street from each other; but we never had the chance to meet before.

It was only when we had flown more than 7,750 kilometres away from our mother country, Lebanon, to attend the GGI MEA Regional and World Conferences in Cape Town that our paths finally crossed.

From the beginning of the journey, our aim was to expand the profes-sional network of our respective firms, but also to gain from intercultural ex-change opportunities offered at the conferences.

Looking back, we are delighted to say that this year’s GGI MEA and World Conferences exceeded our ex-pectations. As a matter of fact, our journeys were pleasant and rewarding on many different levels.

We were warmly received by the GGI team, amazed at the beauty of the host country and inspired by the interventions of the key note speak-ers, H.E. Chirau Ali Mwakwere and Dr Clem Sunter. Sharing views and expe-riences with the other GGI members was highly rewarding.

The inaugural ceremony of the GGI MEA Regional Conference was a great success and we appreciate having been among the first attendees.

The MEA Conference was particu-larly interesting. We enjoyed the speed networking sessions, which fostered the business and personal exchanges between the attendees.

In addition, we greatly valued the

intervention of His Excellency Chirau Ali Mwakwere, in his presentation about the “Dynamics in the oil trade occasioned by recent oil discoveries in Africa: a projected view”.

H.E shared his advanced knowl-edge of the oil field. This proved to be very beneficial to us, as Lebanese members, knowing that Lebanon was recently added to the global oil and gas map because of the large oil and gas reserves recently discovered on its coast.

In addition to the informative part of the presentation, the life lesson that H.E shared with us touched a chord. Like Kenyan football players, sometimes in life we lose and fail to score, not because we aren’t good players, but simply because we run faster than the ball. We learned that in

order to win, we shouldn’t run faster than the ball.

Moreover, having had the opportu-nity to attend both the GGI MEA Re-gional Conference and the GGI World Conference, which was held directly thereafter, we were able to meet pro-fessional individuals from all corners of the Earth.

We not only exchanged business cards, but also views, ideas, profes-sional knowledge, personal experienc-es and best practices with regards to the different disciplines represented at GGI. These exchanges with the oth-er GGI members introduced us to the business opportunities present all over the world from a professional perspec-tive, as well as to the rich culture of all the countries represented at the Confer-ences. ...next page

Rana ZmeterTracy Bassil

Impressive content, valuable experience exchange andintensive networking

Two members report on the GGI Conference in Cape Town

18 GGI INTERNAL NEWS

GGI Member Firmsof the Year 2014

We were also very proud to present our country to the GGI members who yet did not know much about Leba-non.

In our view, the beautiful scenery of Cape Town, the warm welcome of the GGI hosts and the evening social events all strongly contributed to the success of both Conferences.

We have now shared a memorable experience with the big GGI family, establishing new acquaintances and friendships.

Finally, as the GGI team would say, “A fake modest is worse than an arro-

gant”. We felt that within the GGI fam-ily, there is no room for fake modesty nor for arrogance, but only for hones-

ty and high integrity, bringing together trustworthy professional individuals from all over the world.

For the first time, the GGI Member of the Year Awards were held for GGI members at the GGI World Confer-ence in Cape Town, South Africa. GGI members nominate other GGI firms for the awards. They acknowledge in-novations, achievements and strate-gies, as well as the progressive and inspirational changes taking place within the industry. The judging panel, which is comprised of GGI’s Executive Committee and GGI’s Executive Man-agement, scrutinised all nominations to ensure that they met the specific criteria for the GGI Member of the Year Award. These include reliability, professionalism, response behaviour, reputation and client services.

The firms were put forward by fel-low GGI member firms through the online voting system available on the internal area of GGI’s website.

We are very proud to present the first three winners of the GGI Member of the Year Awards:

GT Fiduciaires, Luxembourg – The GT Fiduciaires (GTF) group was founded in 2006. Through its differ-

ent entities located in Luxembourg City and Echternach, GT Fiduciaires is able to offer advisory and assistance services relating to the setup of com-pany structures right through to their liquidation, including all the various stages involved in the support and management of a company in Luxem-bourg. GTF has a workforce of around

forty employees, all highly qualified in their various fields and conversant in at least English, French, German and Luxembourgish. GTF has undergone considerable growth, thanks to its ca-pacity to speedily adapt to constantly evolving market demands. The com-pany is managed by Thierry Hellers and Gernot Kos. Thierry Hellers com-

GGI member firm Abou Jaoude and AssociatesLaw Firm, Tax, Advisory, Corporate Finance, Fiduciary& Estate PlanningBeirut, LebanonTracy Bassil E: t.bassil@ajalawfirm.comW: www.ajalawfirm.com

GGI member firm Sarkis Sakr & PartnersAuditing & Accounting, TaxBeirut, LebanonRana ZmeterE: rana.zmeter@sarkissakr.com W: www.sarkissakr.com

Award ceremony with GGI Founder Claudio G. Cocca and Global CEO Michael Reiss von Filski

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

19

ments: “On be-half of the man-agement and all our personnel, GTF is very hon-oured to receive the 2014 GGI Member of the Year Award. We look forward to many more years of dynamic net-working within the GGI Family.”

McCabes, Aus-tralia – McCabes is thrilled to be a winner of the GGI XLNC award for 2014, and Andrew Lacey and Steven Humphries were equally thrilled to have been there in Cape Town to re-ceive it.

“Thank you to GGI for the honour, to Heyns and Nolands for hosting a memorable and enjoyable conference and to all the member firm represen-tatives in attendance at Cape Town for your wonderful company.

Having been a GGI member for 2 years now, the award certainly gives us the confidence of knowing that our work with fellow member firms has been well received. We hope this will generate further opportunities to deepen our involvement and develop relationships within the network”.

Briefly by way of background for GGI members McCabes experts haven’t yet had the opportunity to work with, McCabes is an Australian law firm with over 60 lawyers in our Sydney and Newcastle offices. They service clientele in all areas of busi-ness and across many industries. Mc-Cabes’ clients include multi-national corporations, manufacturers, service providers, government departments, SMEs, family-owned enterprises and entrepreneurs.

They are well connected in Austra-lian private and public sectors, and are very happy to explore with GGI member firms and their clients how their local legal expertise and broad-er network of contacts might assist

them. McCabes specialises in the fol-lowing practice areas of legal practice: Corporate, Employment, Government & Administrative Law, Insolvency, In-surance, Intellectual Property, Litiga-tion & Dispute Resolution, Private Cli-ents (Estates & Succession Planning), Property.

VBIR (Vardi Brukner Ingber Rozen-zveig, CPA), Israel – The account-ing firm is located in the vicinity of Tel-Aviv with 35 employees and five partners. VBIR specialises in provid-ing accounting, audit, taxation and wealth management services. The

firm’s attributes include excellent pro-fessional ability and offering an effi-cient, focused and personal service to its clients. Dov Ingber, a Partner with VBIR: “I am honoured and proud to receive the GGI XLNC award on be-half of the entire VBIR team. Thanks to all our GGI fellows with whom we have worked very well over the past few years.”

“I tried to think about what we have done so well to make us eligible for this honour. So, we have certainly in-vested a lot of effort and worked hard to always remain professional, but the truly unique achievement of VBIR has been to introduce a new Palestinian member to GGI. This activity indi-cates that GGI is not just a place to unite professionals and friends but also a way in which a bridge to peace can be built.”

If you believe that one GGI member firm has gone that extra mile and de-serves to win this prestigious award, then you can make it happen. To nominate a fellow GGI member firm, please login to GGI’s internal website and follow these steps (it will only take two minutes):

Go to GGI Awards – GGI Mem-ber Firm of the Year – Submit your nomination

Fill in the required information and click “Send”. Nominations must be submitted

before 27 February 2015.

Steven Humphries and Andrew Lacey from GGI member firm McCabes, Australia

Dov Ingber from GGI member firm VBIR (Vardi Brukner Ingber Rozenzveig, CPA ), Israel

Thierry Hellers from GGI member firm GT Fiduciaires, Luxembourg

20 GGI INTERNAL NEWS

GGI’s Global CEOappointed to LSM’sAdvisory Board

GGI Global CEO Michael Reiss von Filski was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Louvain School of Man-agement (LSM) in Belgium.

Located very close to the heart of Europe, LSM offers multilingual world-class courses and highly spe-cialised opportunities based on ad-vanced research. LSM is part of one of the oldest universities in Europe, the Université Catholique de Louvain (www.uclouvain.be), which dates back to 1425 and provides interdisciplinary and multicultural experiences. The LSM is ranked the number 1 Business School in Belgium, Master in Busi-ness Engineering (Financial Times 2011 and 2013.) The EQUIS accredita-tion is an international acknowledge-ment of the school’s constant efforts to improve and achieve even higher quality. LSM has an extended inter-national network with 150 exchange agreements and is the only Belgian partner of the CEMS (www.cems.org) and Partnership in International Man-agement (PIM; www.pimnetwork.org) networks. By tradition and choice,

LSM’s mission is to put human values at the heart of decisions.

LSM maintains strong corporate connections as both a prerequisite and a consequence of its strategy. Ac-cordingly, LSM strives to develop vari-ous privileged collaborations with the

key players of both public and private society, enabling students and faculty alike to benefit from their knowledge and expertise, while providing them with access to the School’s knowledge and expertise in return.

The Dean of LSM is Prof. Michel de Wolf, Managing Partner of GGI member firm DGST (www.dgst.be) in Brussels. LSM counts a core faculty of 230 professors, guest professors and speakers, 1,600 students and 20,000 alumni.

The Advisory Board of LSM consists of a panel of 30 executives from mul-tinational corporations and business education specialists and is chaired by Baron Pierre Olivier Beckers-Vieu-jant, Director of Delhaize Group, President of the Olympic Committee of Belgium and member of the Inter-national Olympic Committee.

Left to right: Baron P.-O. Beckers; M.Reiss von Filski; Prof. M. de Wolf

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

21

The 2014 edition of the highly ac-claimed leadership programme Global Village on the Move (GVotM) took place in Kazan, Russia, between 8 and 16 Sep-tember.

It was organised by the Lehigh Univer-sity, Pennsylvania, USA, and hosted by the Kazan National Research Technology Institute. GVotM programmes are held in unique centres of business around the world and aim to provide a professional educational experience to participants, in a greatly customised way and offering a taste of the local and regional business culture and landscape.

The theme of GVotM Russia 2014 was “Developing new international business opportunities in Russia: a review of entrepreneurship, policy and culture”. The programme included courses, executive visitors, panel dis-cussions, team business project case studies and site visits to global busi-nesses. Participants also had the op-portunity to visit beautiful historical sites in Kazan and experience Russian tradition, culture and heritage.

GGI sponsored the participation of five candidates in the programme, one from each of its geographical regions. The GGI delegates spent the nine-day programme together with other pro-fessionals from 11 different countries, working to strengthen their leadership, networking and team player skills, whilst expanding their personal international network.

The GVotM 2015 will take place in Mumbai, India, and we deeply encour-age all GGI Members to apply for the next year scholarship. For further infor-mation, please contact Dr Marco Izzo in GGI’s head office by emailing izzo@ggi.com.

Read on to discover what the GGI Scholarship recipients 2014 say about their participation.

North AmericaLaurian Tollett – GGI member firm DRDA PLLC, Houston, USA

“Global Village on the Move Russia was an inspiring experience. I had the opportunity to learn about the Russian business environ-ment, specifically the progressive economic envi-ronment in Ka-zan, Tatarstan, as well as global business, busi-ness collabora-tion, and entre-preneurship.

I met some ex-traordinary people from Russia and around the world. Kazan National Research Technology Institute was a gracious host and it was delightful to learn about Russian culture and be able to visit some historic sites in and around Kazan. My personal favourite was Sviiyazhst Island in the Volga River. During the course of the pro-gramme, I developed some great re-lationships with other GGI delegates and programme participants, with whom I intend to stay in touch.”

Latin AmericaRogério Schuster Junior – GGI mem-ber firm PMS, Curitiba, Brazil

“The GVotM 2014 programme that took place in Kazan, Russia’s “third city” was an extraordinary profession-al and interpersonal experience.

In the week I spent in Kazan, I had the opportunity to meet amazing peo-

ple from all over the world, all with the common purpose of wishing to learn about cultural diversity, especially in the business environment, as well as to develop and even display a spirit of leadership and entrepreneurship. These purposes were stimulated in an enjoyable way through excellent lectures, group work and discussion among participants. It was a great op-portunity to make friends and devel-op a network worldwide, with people from five continents who have a global vision that can help and support their countries in the development of new projects.

The programme also had specific points about Russia and the Republic of Tatarstan, with lectures on Russian and Tatar history as well as their cul-tures. However, the important point for me was to get a general idea of how to do busi-ness in Russia. I also improved my u n d e r s t a n d i n g of how two such different and dis-tant countries as Russia and Brazil can have conver-gent points, in a positive way, with high growth potential, abundant natu-ral resources, among others, but also in a negative way, with bureaucracy and state interference in the economy. I am very thankful to GGI for giving me the chance to attend the Global Village on the Move!”

...next page

GGI Global Villageon the Move, Russia 2014

Laurian Tollett

Rogério Schuster Junior

22

EuropeTatiana Tapaila – GGI member firm Rantalainen Accounting Services Ltd, Vantaa, Finland

“During a beautiful autumn week, people from 11 countries were together in this wonderful Russian city of Kazan, studying and de-veloping profes-sional skills and projects and hav-ing fun. Being part of an international group was a great experience for me. In the begin-ning we did not know anything about each other. Through team work and being together for one whole week, we became good friends.

Accountants, economists, lawyers and managers from all over the world communicated with each other. Global Village on the Move gave us a chance to learn more, not just about business but also about different cultures. At the lectures we gained a lot of infor-mation about Russia today and about conducting business in the country.

We discussed global problems and tried to find ways to solve them. We have also learned that everyone has the possibility of becoming a leader and entrepreneur if they want to, sim-ply by following their own goals and continuing with the development of their professional and individual at-tainments.

Project tasks showed us the effec-tiveness of the team work. During that short period of time, we had to agree on our business strategy and find the way to make our product more attrac-tive for the client. Even though we hardly had any time to prepare the pre-sentation, everybody did a great job.

Economic globalisation forces us to interact with the rest of the world for survival. Communication between people from different nations is very important today. Thanks to Global Vil-

lage, I have been given the opportunity to get to know many interesting people from all over the world and increase my personal focus to apply to my career.”

Middle East/AfricaGraeme Saggers – GGI member firm Nolands SA, Cape Town, South Africa

“I was honoured to be selected to represent the GGI Middle East and Af-rica region at the 2014 Global Village on the Move programme in Kazan, Russia. I approached the programme determined to make the most of the opportunity and from the start, I was certain that it would expand my ho-rizons and I would leave a more in-spired and motivated person.

Our hosts were the Kazan Research Technical University, who inspired me not only through their incredible hos-pitality, but also through their dedica-tion to education, an integral aspect of a developing economy similar to my home, South Africa.

The course content focused largely on entrepreneurial studies which I found beneficial as we, as GGI affili-ates, are all entrepreneurs in our own right. The op-portunity to hear first-hand cases from various ex-perienced global business leaders was invaluable.

The experi-ence was com-pleted by my co-participants on the course, who hailed from all over the globe. It is a rare opportunity to share and learn about so many different cultures and find commonality in our daily triumphs and challenges. It really amplified, for me, the importance of networking in a global business environment and em-phasised the value of the GGI global alliance.

Thank you to GGI and my firm, No-lands, for affording me this opportu-nity. I have no doubt that the skills

developed by all the GGI participants will be used to greatly benefit both GGI and our own firms back home.”

Asia-PacificChiara Wade Rawlins – GGI member firm McCabes, Sydney, Australia

“I was fortunate to be selected to take part in the Global Village on the Move programme in Kazan in 2014. This pro-gramme offered me the opportunity and experience of travelling to Russia to take part in a programme focused on knowledge of business and industry, leadership and entrepreneurship skills as well as presenting me with the won-derful opportunity, as a young profes-sional, to develop a global network with other like-minded young professionals.

The course work was diverse and in-teresting. It included attending classes to enable partici-pants to gain an understanding of the culture and history of Russia, and more specifi-cally of Kazan as the host city and the state of Tar-tarstan. We also looked into the po-sition of industry within Tatarstan. It was wonderful visiting the beautiful his-torical sites in Kazan and experiencing Russian tradition and culture.

For me, the highlight was the op-portunity to spend a week with inter-esting people from around the world, including other GGI participants, and to take part in case studies and oth-er team building exercises. It was an opportunity to create relationships with fantastic people from around the globe and set up a network of young professionals with common interests. It was both personally and profession-ally a satisfying experience.

The programme was well planned and an enormous effort was made by all the organisers to ensure that it was such a great success.”

GGI INTERNAL NEWS

Tatiana Tapaila

Graeme Saggers

Chiara Wade Rawlins

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

23

Significant experienceworking with GGI

By Sarinthip Srisasiwilai

Since the successful grand opening ceremony as part of the Asia-Pacific Re-gional Conference in 2012, GGI’s Region-al Office in Bangkok has been serving all GGI member firms from across the Asia-Pacific region for the past two years. This has also been my first experience as part of the GGI Team based in Bangkok.

It is often said that it is difficult to ad-just to a new environment. Learning the strategy is always one of the great enjoy-ments of working in such a position, while at the same time gaining profitable expe-rience. I have learned the importance of providing the best services to our mem-ber firms and seen first-hand how open-ing this GGI Regional Office has helped us to grow rapidly in the Asia-Pacific re-gion. Bangkok has been specifically cho-sen as a great hub for foreign investors seeking opportunities in Laos and other nearby countries, such as Myanmar and Cambodia. Most importantly, it enhances our services and the assistance we can provide to our existing member firms.

All things considered, I found that every working procedure does require benefi-cial advice and support from the Regional CEO, Peter Kaeser.

We are again looking forward to wel-coming you all soon to our upcoming APRC 2014 (Asia-Pacific Regional Confer-

ence 2014) taking place at the Shangri-La Spa & Resort in Bangkok. It will certainly be another great and successful event, as in 2012. Should you require any as-sistance with regards to your stay in Bangkok, such as hotel accommodation or logistical support, please feel free to contact me and I will be more than happy to assist you. The office is located in the most modern building. One of the most famous Japanese restaurants, Kudeta, is in the same building, on the 39th floor, offering world-class service and authentic Japanese food.

GGI Asia-PacificRegional OfficeBangkok, ThailandSarinthip Srisasiwilai (Sarin)Assistant to the Regional CEO Middle East, Africa, Asia-PacificT: +66 2105 63 44M: +66 93 889 0833F: +66 2105 63 01E: sarinthip@ggi.com

Sarinthip Srisasiwilai

Entrance to the GGI Asian-Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailind

24 GGI INTERNAL NEWS

A wonderfulexperience in Italy

By Dr Sergio Finulli

We proved that GGI offers not only an efficient business platform and a wonder-ful networking occasion but also a great staff exchange opportunity too! This sum-mer will be remembered by Comma10’s staff because of the special guest that we were fortunate enough to have with us for an internship from June to July: Sam Quinan, from Christian & Barton, LLP based in Richmond, Virginia, and son of our good friend Michael J. Quinan.

Let me give a brief summary of this period. Sam landed in Italy on a sunny Friday and we were all a little worried as we awaited his arrival because of the challenge that having a young American intern would bring, but Sam’s character was such that everything immediately felt extremely natural and relaxed.

After a much-needed weekend of rest-ing from the flight and recovering from jet lag, the internship started on Mon-day. To be honest, the beginning of daily work in an accounting or law firm is not that easy because of the language barrier and different rules for a non-native Ital-

ian speaker, but for us it proved to be an opportunity to work with an outstanding, smart and active colleague.

Sam was able to contribute to solu-tions, being involved in the issues of our international clients and in the solving of problems concerning both fiscal and business home country law, despite the peculiarity and the complexity of Italian legal system.

Everybody knows that Italy is not only a country with work prospects, but also an amazing place to visit, and we had the opportunity to travel with Sam on some business trips to special destinations in-cluding Lake Como and Rome.

The summer in Milan was hot and the city was further fired up for the FIFA World Cup matches. Sam was able to see first-hand that Italians are football ad-dicts! At the end of the internship, all the staff were very sorry to see Sam leave as great friendships had been established over the two months. The farewell was in true Italian style with a good pizza.

We would like to end this short article with Sam’s own words: “By the end of my eight weeks in Milan I felt like I had

learned a great deal about the law and accounting systems within Italy, as well as gaining helpful business experience by being allowed to tag along for various meetings throughout the summer. This summer truly was a remarkable experi-ence, one that I know that I will hold dear for the remainder of my life.”

GGI member firm Comma 10 CharteredAccountants & LawyersAuditing & Accounting, Tax, Advisory, Corporate Finance Milan, ItalyDr. Sergio FinulliE: sergio.finulli@comma10.itW: www.comma10.it

GGI member firm Christian & Barton, LLPLaw FirmRichmond, VA, USASam QuinanE: squinan@colgate.edu W: www.cblaw.com

GGI International Staff Exchange

Milan, Italy

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

25

KC Chia & Noor “Best forAudit & Assurance - Malaysia”

ACG DELOVOY PROFIL awarded “The leadingvaluation company 2014” title

GGI member firm Audit and Consulting Group DELOVOY PROFIL has become the holder of the end-of-year professional award GOLDEN PHOENIX. The Group has been awarded “The leading valuation company 2014” title. This proves the high

professional competence of the Group in valuation services, the conformity of its activities with the code of business ethics and the excellent performance of the ACG DELOVOY PROFIL experts in carrying out valuation projects of varied

range and depth. The GOLDEN PHOE-NIX award is the highest professional in-signia of leading government and private organisations and the best specialists. Its objective is to identify, acknowledge and ...next page

GGI member firm KC Chia & Noor, Chartered Accountants has been named “Best for Audit & Assurance – Malaysia” in the prestigious 2014 Finance Awards by Wealth & Finance International Maga-zine. The 2014 Finance Awards were launched to recognise and reward excel-lence, best practice and innovation in all aspects of the finance industry. Winning one of these awards is a stamp of profes-

sional excellence and a badge of merit, integrity and leadership.

The dedicated and knowledgeable research team of Wealth & Finance In-ternational Magazine has more than 20 years of experience in financial reporting and rubbing shoulders with the leading players. However, it is not easy to choose winners. In addition to those that the research team puts forward, Wealth & Finance International Magazine receives literally thousands of nominations across all categories from industry experts, cli-ents and peers and spend months gath-ering votes, researching nominees and collating information so that they can fairly and accurately determine teir final list of winners.

Competition is stiff and Wealth & Fi-nance International Magazine’s vetting process is as rigorous as they come but it’s the only way they can guarantee

that every single one of their winners is 100% deserving and really has been one of their industry’s leading lights over the past 12 months.

GGI member firm KC Chia, Chartered AccountantsAuditing & Accounting, Tax, Advisory, Corporate FinanceKluang Johor Darul Takzim, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, MalaysiaKwong Chow ChiaE: kcchia@kcn.my W: www.kcn.my

Wealth & Finance International Magazine named

Kwong Chow Chia

26 GGI COMMON INTEREST

Thailand at the crossroadsBy Dr Anuphan Kitnitchiva

This time last year, millions of Thai citi-zens took to the streets demanding polit-ical and social reforms for their beloved country. The demonstrations continued for six months until the tense situation erupted on Thursday 22 May 2014 at 4.30 p.m. local time, with the Thai ap-proach to resolution involving a peaceful coup d’état by the military. The military government was formed with a strong commitment to reform the country and to bring back a genuine democratic re-gime in which Thais from all walks of life would have the opportunity to partici-pate and be involved by the year 2015.

Four months after the coup, the Thais are relatively at ease with the situation and progress is steadily continuing. The Consumer Confidence Index reached a nine-year high of 45.8 points in Septem-ber 2014 while GDP is forecasted to grow by 4.8% in 2015, following 1.5% this year. The new government has moved quickly

on a range of issues, including meeting outstanding payments to rice farmers and starting a USD 75 billion infrastruc-ture spending programme on new rail links and highways. Major policies to-wards better income distribution and so-

cial justice have been initiated by the cur-rent government, including inheritance tax and land tax, which were unpopular among the social elite groups who were part of the previously elected administra-tions.

honour the most advanced, reliable and efficient financial organisations that ben-efit the national economy, including audit and consulting groups.

The award programme was set up in 2009 on the initiative of the Association of Accountants & Auditors of the Com-monwealth, the Moscow International Business Association, the Association of Russian Banks and the Chamber of Com-

merce and Industry of Russia.The principal provisions of entering

the award programme were as follows: high financial and operating results, un-blemished reputation, superior customer service and active participation in social and charity programmes. All candidates underwent several rounds of selection tests including the accounting multiple factor analysis. Following the results of the tests, the GOLDEN PHOENIX Expert Board named the award winner.

This is not the first time that ACG DE-LOVOY PROFIL has been bestowed with different professional awards. In 2013, the Group was recognised “The leading valu-ation company” according to the Interna-tional Economic Awards supported by the Russian State Duma, the Council of Fed-eration and the MEDT of Russia.

High professional competence of the Group in valuation services is also recog-

nised by the independent rating agency Expert RA, which has placed ACG DELO-VOY PROFIL 11th among the leading Rus-sian valuation companies.

GGI member firm Delovoy Profil Audit & Consulting GroupAuditing & Accounting, Tax,Advisory, Corporate FinanceMoscow, RussiaArmen DanielyanE: danielyan@delprof.ruW: www.delprof.ru

Armen Danielyan

Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

27

Positive reforms on other aspects, such as education and human resource development, transparency, good gov-ernance and more are all underway in the country.

Despite condemnation against the coup and the suspension of aid by the U.S. government, the US-ASEAN Busi-ness Council (USABC), together with 34 executives of prominent US multina-tional corporations, such as Microsoft,

Google, Chevron, Ford, General Motor, Coca Cola, etc., met with Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha in November 2014 to discuss future endeavours. The participants enthusiastically expressed their interest in investments in infra-structure projects and other initiatives in areas such as green energy, digital economy, medical and health and many others.

Thailand and its neighbouring coun-tries are about to enter 2015, a year in which the much anticipated ASEAN Eco-nomic Community will launch, resulting in a freer flow of goods, services, invest-ment, capital and skilled labour. This upcoming scheme will literally put Thai-land, with its geographical advantage, at the crossroads of the planned ASEAN highway network (12 routes, 6,669 kilo-metres) and the Greater Mekong sub-region economic corridor will cross in

the kingdom. To capitalise on the new era, Thailand has proposed the ASEAN connectivity development with special economic zones in five major areas and the country as the geographical hub of the region. In 2015, Thailand will be on track to play a dynamic and active role in this promising community.

As this year’s Asia-Pacific Confer-ence will be held shortly before the new economic era of the New Year 2015, it will certainly be an exciting time to visit Thailand. The Dherakupt International Law Office Ltd. (DRK) team, led by Dr Anuphan Kitnitchiva, looks forward to welcoming all representatives of the GGI member firms attending the Con-ference during which attendees will have the amazing opportunity to be at a crossroads to witness the progres-sive reform of Thailand, the Land of Smiles.

End of life patient treatmentinvolves complicated medical,

legal and ethical issues

By Holly LeValliant

Withdrawalof Life Support

An area of considerable public de-bate in Canada recently is the with-drawal of life support from terminally ill patients. This topic touches deep emotions and conflicting cultural and religious values for many. The legal justice system in Canada has been the primary battleground as our society at-tempts to wrestle with this issue.

The Supreme Court of Canada dis-missed an appeal by doctors at a To-ronto hospital in 2013 who sought to withdraw medical treatment from a patient with severe brain damage who

they said had no hope of recovery. Hassan Rasouli’s doctors believed that keeping him on the ventilator was not in his best interests, and that he was likely to die from complications relat-ed to being confined permanently in a hospital bed.

Mr. Rasouli’s wife was Mr. Rasou-li’s Attorney for Personal Care. In the province of Ontario, Attorneys for Per-sonal Care are governed by the Sub-stitute Decisions Act. A Power of At-torney for Personal Care enables the grantor to appoint a person to make personal care decisions on his behalf in the event that he is found to be in-capable of being able to do so on his own. Mr. Rasouli was not capable of directing his personal care because he was unable to understand information relevant to his health care or able to appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of a decision or lack of decision related to his health care. As a result, his wife made decisions on his

behalf. Mr. Rasouli’s wife objected to the

doctors removing him from life sup-port. She and her daughters argued that as he was in a minimally con-scious state, responded to stimula-tion, and appeared able to communi-cate with them, life support should be continued. Two lower courts agreed with Mr. Rasouli’s family. They found that under the Health Care Consent Act, Mr. Rasouli’s Attorney for Per-sonal Care had to consent to withdraw life support. Rather than going to the Ontario Consent and Capacity Board, the doctors appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, arguing that consent to withdraw life support was not necessary when medical treat-ment is futile.

The Health Care Consent Act is pre-mised on the public policy rule that medical treatment cannot be adminis-tered without consent.

...next page

GGI member firm DherakuptInternational Law Office Ltd. Tax, Law FirmBangkok, ThailandDr. Anuphan KitnitchivaE: anuphan_k@drklaw.comW: www.drklaw.com

End of life decisions in Canada

28 GGI COMMON INTEREST

The primary legal issue was there-fore whether the decision to withdraw life support for a terminally ill patient would be considered “treatment.” The Court found that the withdrawal of life support would be considered treatment, because it falls within the definition of being “therapeutic” and “preventive.” Withdrawing life support from someone like Mr. Rasouli would impact his autonomy in the most fun-damental way. As a result, the Court held that a patient cannot be taken off of life support without the consent of the patient or their substitute decision-maker.

Assisted SuicideAnother area of contentious debate

in Canada is physician-assisted sui-cide. In 2014, Edward Hung, a Toronto criminal lawyer suffering from ALS, a terminal, incurable disease, argued posthumously in a letter to his friends and colleagues that Canada’s laws against physician-assisted suicide are unjust. Shortly after he composed the letter, he travelled to Switzerland for assistance in ending his life.

In his letter, which he titled Ap-proaching Death, he said, “at the time of writing, I have lost the functioning of both my hands. The disease will con-tinue to attack other parts of my body and my legs are starting to feel weak. I also have trouble breathing when I am lying down. I have lost twenty-five pounds (from 155 to 130 lbs) in just two and a half months. I have always been independent when I was healthy but now I have lost all my independence and become just an observer of life, not a participant. Given the nature of the disease, it makes sense to me to determine for myself when to leave the world to end my suffering. I be-lieve that, once I know how far death is from me, I would then know how to approach it. My goal is to approach death with a purpose. In fact, having a goal has given me the peace of mind and has diminished my suffering by distraction.”

As assisted suicide would have been

against the law in Canada, he went through an extensive and costly pro-cess to qualify for assisted suicide in Switzerland. He stated, “At the time of writing, I have finally satisfied all the requirements for suicide and it is a great relief. However, my pride as a Ca-nadian has somewhat diminished after having been on my knees begging to die in another country. This is not fair and I certainly do not wish it upon any of my fellow Canadians.”

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association filed a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the criminal-ization of physician-assisted suicide for competent, seriously ill patients in Carter v. Canada. They argued that the prohibition against physician-assisted suicide violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically section 7 (that protects the right to life, liberty, and security of the per-son) and section 15 (that protects the right to equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law) by discriminating against people with disabilities who lack the physical means to end their lives without assis-tance, and by causing those who wish to end their suffering to do so earlier than they would want, before they lose the physical capacity to end their own life. The Supreme Court of British Co-lumbia ruled that the right to die with dignity is protected by the Charter, but

suspended the effect of the declaration for one year. The Attorney General of Canada appealed the order, arguing that the Supreme Court of British Co-lumbia was bound by a previous deci-sion on the issue of physician-assisted suicide. The British Columbia Court of Appeal allowed the appeal against the section 15 order, but dismissed the ap-peal against the section 7 order. The Supreme Court heard this case on Oc-tober 15, 2014, but at the time of writ-ing this article, the decision had not yet been released.

The stories of Mr. Hung and others in his predicament have sparked pas-sionate debate in Canada. What comes next may be a legislative change. On March 27, 2014, Manitoba Member of Parliament Steven Fletcher tabled pri-vate member’s Bill C-581 that would amend the Criminal Code to allow phy-sician-assisted suicide.

“We can keep people alive,” accord-ing to Mr. Fletcher, “We can’t always allow people to live.” Mr. Fletcher is quadriplegic and offers a unique per-spective on the issue. “At the end of the day,” he said, “I want to be in power to make the best decisions for myself. I’m a disabled Canadian, I don’t want someone telling me what I can or cannot do. Actually, it doesn’t even matter if I’m disabled. If I was an able-bodied Canadian, I wouldn’t want people to tell me what I can or cannot do. Life can be very tough. And when you can’t breathe, can’t speak and you can’t move, fully conscious – I’ve gone through that, for months. I knew I was going to get better, but if it was going to go the other way – yeah, I would ask for [physician-assisted suicide]”.

GGI member firm Basman Smith LLPTax, Law Firm, Advisory, Corporate Finance, Fiduciary& Estate Planning Toronto, Ontario, CanadaHolly LeValliant E: hlevalliant@basmansmith.comW: www.basmansmith.com

Holly LeValliant

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

29

By David J Kidd

BackgroundAfter a long period of consultation,

the UK controlled foreign company (CFC) rules have been substantially overhauled. The new legislation applies for accounting periods beginning after 1st January 2013. This means that im-plementation at a detailed compliance level is now beginning for the first time for many UK companies. Thus a brief overview of the essential elements of the new rules may be of interest.

GeneralAt a high policy and consultation level,

the UK government wished to target the CFC legislation more closely towards its intended target, the diversion of UK prof-its abroad, and the general consensus is that in this respect the new rules are an improvement. The idea is that the new rules are supposed to pick up a nexus with the UK, and insofar as profits are not so connected, the expectation is that they should not be caught. Insofar as the UK is considered a congenial jurisdiction for a corporate group to have its head-quarters, this development reduces the hindrance the previous CFC rules may have posed. In fact for a foreign group wishing to re-domicile to the UK, its for-eign corporate profits are less likely to become a UK issue under the new rules.

Compliance withdetailed rules

So far, so good at the policy level. However, it is not possible for directors

to make a straightforward judgement “We are not diverting profits from the UK, therefore we will not report any CFC issues.” There are detailed rules to be followed. The rules prescribe five exemptions, each with their own sub-conditions, and then a so-called “gate-way” mechanism to identify diverted profits. Passing through the “gateway” is a bad thing, it means some profits may be taxed in the UK, even if they are made and held abroad. What one has to try and ensure is that one or more of the five exemptions are met, and if that fails to ensure no profits pass through the “gateway”.

In terms of detailed compliance to support the filing position there needs to be a considered position as to any of the exemptions on which one is re-lying or reliance on the “gateway” to exclude profits from charge. Even if one gets the right result hoped for, there are still specific disclosure re-quirements in the Company Tax Re-turn. Some of the exemptions still require a Company Tax Return report, whilst others do not.

ExemptionsThe new exemptions are as follows:

1. The Exempt Period Exemption – this is essentially a limited exemption for foreign companies becoming CFC’s for the first time, typically where a non-UK subsidiary or a new sub-group is acquired. The aim of the exemption is to allow a new CFC a period of time to organise or re-organise its business so that a CFC charge does not arise.

2. Excluded Territories Exemption – this applies to exempt CFCs resi-dent in certain territories, subject to conditions. Its purpose is to ex-empt those CFCs which constitute a low risk of UK profit diversion partly on account of their territory of resi-dence but also by looking at the type of income the CFC can receive and any amounts it may receive from in-tellectual property. A list of excluded territories is set out in Regulations. For example, Germany, France, and the United States are on the list, but Poland, Estonia and Lithuania are not. The fact there is no automatic exclusion for companies established in the EU points to the possibility that the CFC legislation is not fully compliant in this regard with EU law.

3. The Low Profits Exemption – this applies if the accounting profits are no more than £500,000, and non-trading income included therein is no more than £50,000. In deciding the level of profits UK accounting standards must be applied and other adjustments made – eg for transfer pricing and capital gains -, so sub-stantial re-computation of the for-eign subsidiaries profit may be nec-essary in order to determine that the exemption applies.

...next page

The New UK CFC Rules– A Brief Overview

David J Kidd

30

4. The Low Profit Margin Exemption – this applies if the CFC’s accounting profits are no more than 10% of its relevant operating expenditure. It is essentially aimed at those CFCs that perform relatively low value added functions outside the UK, such as back-office functions, local market-ing and distribution operations, or call or data processing centres, but is not limited to such operations.

5. The Tax Exemption – this applies where the local tax amount is at least 75% of the corresponding UK tax. It requires comparison of the actual tax paid in the territory of residence

with what tax would have been paid on a UK tax measure of those prof-its, applying various adjustments and assumptions. It may, of course, not always be clear without consid-erable information gathering and adjustments that the CFC’s local tax amount is 75% or more.

Exempt activitiesexemption gone

Those familiar with the old CFC rules will note that the hitherto appli-

cable exempt activities test has gone. The purpose of this now repealed rule was to exclude companies simply be-cause of the nature of activities over-seas. It covered a wide range of trad-ing activities. This exemption is now no longer in point. Re-thinking the position through is necessary in or-der, as may well be feasible, to achieve the same result under one of the new exemptions, but it cannot be taken for granted.

“Gateway charges”If no exemption can be established

to apply, a CFC charge will potentially apply. A significant change, however, from the old legislation is that the charge will apply only to the extent that particular profits are identified by the legislation as being within scope. This process of identifying the extent of chargeable profits is called applying “gateway tests”. The profits that pass these tests are considered to have been artificially diverted from the UK.

Illustration 1:Significant people functions in UK

As an illustrative example, profits would pass such a test (ie be charge-able) where they are earned by a CFC in respect of assets it owns or risks it bears, where the majority of the key management functions (“significant people function or a key entrepreneur-ial risk-taking function”) in relation to those assets or risks is undertaken by UK connected persons and where the arrangements giving rise to those prof-its would not occur if the key manage-ment function undertaken in the UK were to be undertaken by third parties.

Alternatively part of the profits may not come into charge if the CFC meets certain conditions (eg as regards local business premises, the amount of income derived from the UK, and the extent of manage-ment undertaken in the UK).

GGI COMMON INTEREST

UK controlled foreign company rules have been substantially overhauled

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

31

Taking up residencein SwitzerlandBy Claudia Mattig and Dr Willy Huber

Moving to Switzerland needs to be considered carefully and must be pre-pared, planned, organised and carried out with attention to detail. Otherwise there might be many unpleasant sur-prises, disappointments and prob-lems, and above all there might be problems with Swiss laws. Anyone in-tending to move to Switzerland should

study those requirements and regula-tions of Swiss law which are important to them and this should be done in good time, as well as during and after moving to Switzerland.

This fact sheet gives foreign nation-als moving to Switzerland information about important legal aspects and problems. Due to the limited space available, the information provided can only be of a general nature and for-

eign nationals interested in moving to Switzerland will also need to seek in-dividual advice well beforehand from specialists. For further information, please refer to the full version of this fact sheet, containing also a separate helpful check list, available at www.mattig.ch

1. Requirement for settlement andresidence permit for Switzerland

Anyone who wants to take up resi-dence in Switzerland requires a resi-dence or settlement permit from the local authority responsible for issuing such permits. The regulations are very extensive and complex. A decision to issue a permit is dependent on factors such as nationality, age, kind of employ-ment or professional activity, the finan-cial situation and previous connections to Switzerland. For pensioners and those who are not gainfully employed at ...next page

Illustration 2: Non-trading finance profits with UK connection

Another example of a test giving rise to a charge is where non-trading finance profits are earned from lending to other group members and third parties where the funding is provided from the UK or

to the extent key management functions are undertaken by UK persons.

Concepts such as “significant peo-ple functions” are new in UK tax leg-islation. Traditionally a greater legal precision was the norm in prescribing occasions of tax charge. However, it is expected that over time a settled prac-tice will emerge. The UK’s tax authori-ties have prepared published guidance, and are prepared in appropriate cases to give clearance on these matters.

Claudia Mattig Dr Willy Huber

GGI member firm Citroen WellsAuditing & Accounting, Tax,Advisory, Corporate Finance, Fiduciary & Estate Planning London, United KingdomDavid J KiddE: david.kidd@citroenwells.co.ukW: www.citroenwells.co.uk

32

all or not gainfully employed in Switzer-land, there is a simplified authorisation process.

2. Customs duty and value added tax on imported household effects and vehicles

Those moving to Switzerland to take up residence can import used and personal household effects (home fur-nishings, personal items, vehicles for personal use older than six months etc.) into Switzerland without having to pay customs duty and VAT. How-ever, it will be necessary to deal with customs formalities.

3. Registration of imported vehicles and recognition of foreign driving licences

Imported vehicles must be regis-tered with the road traffic authorities

of the canton of residence within one year of taking up residence. The for-eign driving licence is valid for the first 12 months of residence in Swit-zerland and must then be exchanged for a Swiss driving licence. The hold-er of a valid driving licence does not need to take a full driving test again in Switzerland, but has to prove fitness to drive and knowledge of the Swiss highway code in a test drive.

4. Income andwealth tax situation (direct taxes)

Switzerland levies income and wealth tax from all residents on three levels (federation, canton and com-mune). Foreign nationals wishing to move to Switzerland will have to care-fully research their tax situation and take appropriate action, both before and after their move.

Foreign nationals from a country where residents are taxed accord-ing to the nationality principle (i.e. unrelated to the place of residence) will still have to pay the taxes of their home country when they have moved to Switzerland.

This applies to U.S. citizens, for ex-ample. In such cases, it is important to avoid double taxation by the home country and the new country of resi-dence. People who keep assets abroad after moving to Switzerland (e.g. in the form of property, financial and business assets) will have to take care of tax issues both abroad or in the country they are moving from and in Switzerland to avoid undesirable tax consequences and double taxation.

5. National socialsecurity

Switzerland has a national social security system which also applies to foreign nationals moving to Switzer-land. Essentially, whether employed, self-employed or not economically active, everyone is required to pay contributions to state compulsory so-cial security (Old Age and Survivors Insurance, AHV) from the age of 18. Liability to pay contributions for those in employment persists throughout the entire duration of employment in Switzerland. Those not in employ-ment are liable to pay AHV contribu-tions based on their personal assets until they reach the normal retirement

GGI COMMON INTEREST

Moving to Switzerland must be prepared, planned, organised and carried out with attention to detail

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

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age (for men on reaching their 65th birthday, for women on reaching their 64th birthday). Just as with the tax situation, there can also be problems and conflicts with the social insurance system of Switzerland and that of the country the foreign national is moving from or the foreign country in which the new Swiss resident continues to be employed. Foreign nationals mov-ing to Switzerland are therefore also urgently advised to seek specialist advice on their individual social insur-ance situation.

6. Private insuranceAll insurance policies should be

checked thoroughly and amended in line with the new life situation. The following insurances are compulsory in Switzerland: health insurance for everybody, accident insurance for em-ployees, vehicle insurance and build-ing insurance.

7. Matrimonial property regime in the case of married couples

In most countries, married couples are subject to a legally regulated law of property for married people. In Switzerland, this is called the matri-monial property regime. This regu-lates what belongs to which spouse and how marital property settlement is handled when the marriage is dis-solved through the death of a spouse or divorce.

Individual countries have totally dif-ferent state regulations according to their legal systems and cultural back-grounds. Married foreign nationals moving to Switzerland should there-fore review and adapt their matrimo-nial property situation very carefully.

Married couples who are subject to the Swiss matrimonial property re-gime can arrange their financial assets relatively freely to suit their own needs in the form of a marriage contract.

8. Inheritance lawWhat inheritance law applies after

moving to Switzerland? Who is to in-herit from a deceased foreign national who moved to Switzerland and to what extent? How would the foreign national moving to Switzerland like to have his inheritance rights regulated? Do the statutory rights of inheritance of the foreign home country or former country of residence continue to apply despite moving to Switzerland or does Swiss inheritance law apply as Switzerland is the foreign national’s new country of residence? How are assets abroad be-queathed in inheritance cases? Should the inheritance law of the home country apply or does Swiss inheritance law ap-ply? As it is the case with matrimonial property law, we would like to remind you that the same applies to inheritance law – every country throughout the world has totally different legal provi-sions.

9. Inheritanceand gift tax

Inheritance taxes are closely linked to inheritance law (cf. point 8): high inheritance taxes are levied in many countries. The problem is current-ly becoming increasingly critical as many countries are seeking to tap new sources of income due to the inter-national debt crisis. An inheritance is sometimes subject to a tax burden of between 40% and 50 %, or even higher depending on the country concerned. There is (currently) no inheritance tax at federal level in Switzerland. Inheri-tance taxes vary widely in the 26 Swiss cantons according to their own regula-tions. However, bequests to spouses and direct descendants are free of in-heritance tax or at least enjoy generous relief in most cantons. Only the canton of Schwyz levies no inheritance tax at all.

When foreign nationals move to Switzerland, the inheritance tax situ-ation changes radically and can lead

to severe inheritance tax problems, including double taxation. Inheritance tax planning is therefore crucial for people moving to Switzerland.

10. Property rentand purchase

There is no restriction on property rental in Switzerland by foreign nation-als, in other words no state or official approval is required. Swiss rental law applies to the civil law aspect, i.e. the tenancy agreement.

The purchase of property in Switzer-land by foreign nationals who do not have Swiss citizenship can be subject to restrictions depending on the na-tionality of the foreign national. Na-tionals of EU or EFTA countries who are resident in Switzerland can acquire property in Switzerland just like Swiss citizens without any restrictions. Citi-zens of countries outside the EU and EFTA, who live in Switzerland on the basis of a temporary residence per-mit, can only acquire an apartment or house without authorisation if it is for their own use. The acquisition of other property requires authorisation in ac-cordance with “the federal law on the acquisition of real estate by non-resi-dents”.

GGI member firm Treuhand- undRevisionsgesellschaft Mattig-Suter & PartnerAuditing & Accounting, Tax, Advisory, Corporate Finance, Fiduciary & Estate Planning Altdorf, Brig, Schwyz, Zug, SwitzerlandClaudia Mattig E: Claudia.Mattig@mattig.chDr. Willy HuberE: willy.huber@mattig.chW: www.mattig.ch

34 GGI PRACTICE GROUP PAGES

We love Marbella in Winter

ITPG

By Santiago Lapausaand Oliver Biernat

Travelling to sunny places is delightful at any time, but a chance to briefly escape the cold winter weather is particularly spe-cial. Those who were lucky enough to at-tend the GGI Practice Groups Weekend in Marbella for the Winter Meeting 2012 will remember having a great experience, and everyone was in agreement that it should definitely be repeated. The wait has not been too long. Just two years later, the decision has been made to meet at the seaside for a second time from 19 to 22 February 2015.

We at JC&A Abogados, GGI member firm in Marbella, welcome the decision and are pleased to host the Winter Meet-ing again. Those who did not have the chance to come last time or who have never visited this part of Spain are cordial-ly invited to beautiful Marbella. Situated along the Costa del Sol, this chic holiday resort is a favoured get-away for the rich and famous and it is not hard to see why.

There is no such thing as a foreigner in Marbella. With all the appeal of a large city and the charm of a convenient town, Marbella is without doubt one of the best places in the world to live.

Marbella is famous for its internation-ally renowned and exceptional climate due to its unique geographical location surrounded by mountains. The annual av-erage temperature is around 18.5ºC, with 320 days of sunshine a year.

Marbella has the largest number of golf courses in continental Europe. It is home to 15 of the best courses, which have hosted many international events and where golf can be played 365 days a year without the need of a sweater. It is a veritable golfing paradise.

Sunbathing, swimming in the tranquil Mediterranean waters, having lunch in a

beachside restaurant, enjoying a drink in an exclusive beach club – these are just some of the options open to those vis-iting the 27.9km of beaches stretching along Marbella’s coastline, which is the finest on the Costa del Sol.

Thursday 19 February is the day of ar-rival with no official agenda, although some participants have arranged private leisure programmes spending a few days more prior to the Conference. We could also organise a programme of activities for Thursday, if there is enough quorum or interest. The programme will start on Friday 20 February with the customary conferences in the morning, followed by an outdoor team-building activity if the weather allows during the afternoon (still to be confirmed). The ITPG will meet again for technical presentations through-out all of Saturday 21 February, ending with a nice dinner at local restaurant. The weekend will continue on Sunday with optional outdoor activities, which could perhaps include some golf lessons again as in 2012, if wished for by attendees.

The technical agenda includes a big case study on international holding and trade companies (U.S. corporations with two shareholders as natural persons, wishing to build up a group of trading

companies in Europe). Chaired by Prof. Robert Anthony from France this will in-volve splitting those attending into small-er groups to discuss various issues that have been covered by separate PG meet-ings in previous meetings (e.g. tax struc-turing, VAT, legal, expatriates). Another key focus will be a case study chaired by Klaus Küspert from Germany on base erosion and profit shifting of a German manufacturer distributing all over Europe.

Shorter presentations will be held on various tax topics such as “Cross-border Financing Using Hybrid Instruments” (Robert Worthington from Canada), “Transfer Pricing Litigation - Case History with Italian Tax Authority” (Matteo Bedo-gna from Italy) and the “golden visa” and notes about the tax reform or the possi-bility to claim for refund on inheritance tax further to the ECJ sentence (Santiago Lapausa, our host from Spain).

Ashish Bairagra from India and Huub Kapel from the Netherlands have also agreed to give presentations and will be choosing their subject matter in due course. Arlene Rochlin and Patrizia Gi-annini from Italy, who talked about why attorneys and accountants should inter-act at the last ITPG winter meeting, have also announced their attendance and

19-22 February 2015: GGI International Taxation Weekend

Puerto Banus, marina of Marbella, Spain

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

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will be surprising visitors with a motivat-ing non-tax topic. Of course there will be plenty of time to discuss internal topics, as well as for networking and cooperation between GGI’s tax experts. If you would be interested in presenting a tax topic, please contact Oliver.

As usual we have decided to put spe-cial emphasis on working and network-ing together. We have chosen the same 4-star hotel as in 2012, located directly on the beach. This allows us to offer the meeting at a very favourable price, comparable to the costs of an EasyMeet, so that it should be possible to attend with two or even three people from your firm. Given that part of our meeting will be over the weekend, the time taken off from the office can be reduced to only one or one-and-a-half days. We will keep our fingers crossed that the weather will be as sunny as it was last time, allow-ing us to have lunch at the beach, which should act as an extra incentive to come and relax from hard work in February. Of-ficial invitations and registration forms will follow and be sent to all ITPG mem-bers. We are looking forward to seeing you in Marbella and are confident a great time will be had by all.

GGI member firm Benefitax GmbH,Steuerberatungsgesellschaft, WirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaftAuditing & Accounting, Tax, Advisory, Corporate Finance, Fiduciary & Estate PlanningFrankfurt/Main, GermanyOliver BiernatE: o.biernat@benefitax.deW: www.benefitax.de

GGI member firm JC&A, Javier Carreteroy Asociados - Abogados Tax, Law FirmMarbella, SpainSantiago LapausaE: s.lapausa@jca-abogados.comW: www.jca-abogados.com

By Bérangère Hassenforder

As a reminder, an individual sav-ings account provides a tax free envi-ronment for savings. On 1 July 2014,

all ISAs became New ISAs or NISAs. The government changed the name to reflect the increased limits and flex-ibility that are available to account holders. From 1 July, the annual allow-

ance is increased and individuals are able to save up to a maximum of GBP 15,000 in this efficient tax wrapper for the 2014/15 tax year. At the same time, ...next page

Individual savings,personal pension plan… what’s new in the UK?

PRIVATE EQUITY AND INTERNATIONAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Plaza de los Naranjos in the center of old town of Marbella, Spain

36 GGI PRACTICE GROUP PAGES

the annual contribution limit to a JISA (Junior ISA) increases to GBP 4,000. Cash can now be mixed with stocks and shares in a NISA. In addition, those aged 16 and 17 will be able to subscribe up to GBP 15,000 into a cash NISA from 1 July 2014. However, they cannot hold a stocks and shares NISA. This will create some planning opportunities for those who need to fund higher education.

More positive changes: to thepension legislation

On 29 September 2014, the Chancel-lor announced a major positive change in relation to pension death benefits, which means the funds left in one’s de-fined contribution plan, such as a per-sonal pension plan upon death. In the current system, a 55% tax charge would apply to anyone who has started tak-ing their pension and anyone age 75 or

over. Only those who die before 75 can pass on their retirement fund tax free if they have not accessed it.

Under the new system, the 55% tax rate will no longer exist. Anyone who dies before reaching the age of 75, re-gardless of whether they have or have not started their pension, will be able to give their remaining retirement funds to anyone as a lump sum or as flexi-access drawdown completely tax-free.

Those aged 75 or over, again irre-spective of whether they are drawing their pension, will be able to pass on their remaining retirement fund to any beneficiary who will then be able to take it as a drawdown pension at their marginal rate of income tax, or as a lump sum. This measure will apply to all payment made after 5 April 2015.

Following the flexibility on access to retirement funds introduced earlier this year, the removal of this 55% tax charge on death benefits will now al-low pensions savings to become a real transmission vehicle.

By Mark Pattimore

Britain is pressing ahead with plans to have a publicly-accessible, central regis-ter of the individuals who ultimately own, and control, UK companies. Will this move to transparency increase trust in UK business as the government hopes or have investors running for cover?

In 2013, while holding presidency of the G8, the UK government pressed for a publicly-accessible register of people with significant control of companies (PSC Register) to be adopted by all G8 mem-bers. While other G8 members would not, at the time, go as far as this they did to agree to publish plans to ensure compa-nies know who owns them. Meanwhile

the UK was undeterred in not getting agreement and has pressed ahead with its plans to construct its own public PSC Register. It is their stated belief that trans-parency and accountability are essential for trust and that businesses, investors and society will have greater confidence in the UK, and in doing business in the UK, if the company register and, in particular,

UK Private CompanyOwnership going public – threat or opportunity?

TRUST & ESTATE PLANNING

GGI member firm Anthony & Co UK Ltd, your family office (UK)Fiduciary & Estate PlanningLondon, UKBérangère HassenforderE: hassenforder@antcouk.comW: www.antcouk.com

Bérangère Hassenforder

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

37

the details of the ultimate beneficial own-ers of companies, are accessible to the public.

UK position and other European initiatives

Having initially consulted on this the UK is now working the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill 2014-15 through parliament including fundamen-tal changes to the manner in which com-pany data is maintained and accessible to the public. As the Bill presently stands all companies will have to identify and disclose details of the ultimate beneficial ownership of any shareholder who holds, or exercises control of, more than 25% of the shares in issue of a company or any-one who exercises undue influence on the board to the Company Registry. A consul-tation document is currently in existence outlining the proposals for the secondary legislation that sets out how it will oper-ate (and crucially exemptions to the rule) which runs until 9 December. That con-sultation document can be found by click-ing here!

The stated aims are to minimise illicit activities whether they be money launder-ing, tax evasion, corruption or terrorist fi-nancing. All are, of course, highly laudable proposals, aims and concepts. However the question remains that, with the UK running well ahead of other countries, will the UK public register achieve those aims and to what extent will it create a burden or hindrance to business? The European Parliament passed a motion in March to implement public registers for trusts as well as companies and discussions on this motion are currently under way. What the outcome of this will be and whether it ever makes it to European law is as yet unclear. The UK has not currently been successful in applying its plans to Europe or its Crown Dependencies. Guernsey, for example, has stated it already has an effective system in place and has done so for over a decade. Guernsey insists companies know who owns them. This information is readily available albeit not in a central registry. The information will be disclosed should there be a valid en-

quiry relating to either criminal/terrorist/tax evasion or aggressive tax avoidance matters. As a consequence the Crown Dependencies are, as are a number of other jurisdictions, resisting the plan to have an open registry; they do not see that it brings any great benefit and potentially produces commercial risks and, in many ways, believe its current system is more effective than the proposed UK model.

Other countries, such as the Czech Re-public, list the shareholders but not the ultimate beneficial owners. Tellingly the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a guidance paper on Transparency and Beneficial Ownership in October which states that, in order to prevent the misuse of corporate vehicles, information on both the legal owner and the beneficial owner is able to be made available to “compe-tent authorities”. Crucially for the UK, the FATF guidance stops some way short of its publicly-available register of PSCs.

The current position If the Bill was enacted as currently

drafted all companies would be required to know the name, address, date of birth and nationality of beneficial owners and it will become an obligation of companies to maintain that record. Indeed failure to disclose to the register will be a criminal offence. This would encompass UK bod-ies corporate and limited liability partner-ships and it will also take in certain forms of trust particularly those where individu-

als exercise control over the activities of a trust. Some had pressed for the level to be lowered to 10% but on balance the UK government has accepted that 25% is the level at which influence can be brought to bear - particularly to block resolutions.

Certain protections are likely to be put in place by means of the secondary leg-islation. A PSC’s date of birth will not be publicly-available and nor will their usual residential address. Other disclosure exemptions may be granted especially if disclosure would put a person in serious risk of harm.

The future The UK would like the legislation to be

in place by the middle of 2015. Although there is acknowledgement that such a register could negatively affect business-es, which for entirely legitimate commer-cial reasons may wish to maintain own-ership hidden from the public and/or its competitors, this fear has been forgone in the name of transparency. Guernsey’s position is that they will only entertain the UK’s proposal if the playing field is level and all competing jurisdictions were to sign up.

It is not clear why only making this information available to the UK tax au-thorities, and certain government depart-ments, is not sufficient but it is clear that there is a risk that, while implementing this process may discourage some un-wanted business, perfectly legitimate and desirable business will also be lost. It is understandable that the UK is trying all it can to encourage other jurisdictions to follow its lead because if the UK stands alone on this it will severely limit the effec-tiveness of the register and certain legiti-mate businesses may think twice about setting up or staying in the UK.

GGI member firm Heritage Corporate Services LimitedFiduciary & Estate PlanningSt Peter Port, GuernseyMark PattimoreE: mark.pattimore@heritage.co.ggW: www.heritage.co.gg

Mark Pattimore

38 BOOL REVIEW

Finding Allies, Building Alliances: 8 Elements That Bring and Keep People Together

From Governor and White House cabinet member Mike Leavitt: how to find collaborative solutions to the greatest challenges Your business challenges extend far beyond you and your firm, to the competitors within your industry and the regulators out-side it.

Finding solutions to larger issues requires cooperation between di-verse stakeholders, and in this rap-idly changing world, only those able to adapt and network successfully will produce fast, competitive solutions.

How can leaders successfully bridge divides and turn competitors into collaborators? Leavitt and McKe-own explain how a well-chosen net-work can become a powerful alliance. Whether you’re launching a new part-nership, or rehabilitating one already in progress, Finding Allies, Building Alliances will help you find workable solutions to the most complex prob-lems.

Written by Mike Leavitt, former Governor of Utah who brought the 2002 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City, former US Secretary of Health and human services, and former head of the EPA; with his former Chief of Staff and business partner Rich McKe-own, co-founder of Leavitt Partners Includes a framework of 8 elements that will help any leader foster and maintain an effective, productive col-laborative venture Shows how better collaboration can not only solve prob-lem, but boost the competitiveness and resilience in all sectors Finding Allies, Building Alliances is essential reading for any business leader look-ing for transformative solutions and a

sustainable future.

About the AuthorsMike Leavitt is the founder and chair-

man of Leavitt Partners, where he has advised clients since 2009 in the prac-tice areas of health care, environment and trade. He served as the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Cabinet of President George W. Bush (2005-2009); led the Environmental Protection Agency (2003-2005); and served three terms as governor of Utah (1993-2003). His managerial accom-plishments include leading the implemen-tation of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, which serves 43 million se-niors; collaborating with other governors to found Western Governor’s University, a non-profit online university system; and spearheading an in-novative design-build system to revamp the Utah highway network ahead of schedule and under budget.

Rich McKeown is president, CEO and co-founder of Leavitt Partners, where he leads teams that help clients enter new mar-kets, enhance product

value, and navigate regulatory systems. During his tenure as Chief of Staff at Health and Human Services, he man-aged the day-to-day activities of 67,000 employees with a budget of $750 billion and led landmark food safety negotia-tions between the FDA and the Chinese government.

Finding Allies, Building Alliances: 8 Elements ThatBring and Keep People TogetherHardcover: 240 pagesISBN-10: 1118247922

GGI INSIDER | No. 74 | November 2014

39FURTHER CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Further Conferences & EventsWhat: CFO Strategy & Leadership Programme Where: London, UKWhen: 15-19 December 2014

Brief Description: The CFO Strategy and Leadership Programme is de-signed to develop the leadership and financial expertise required of todays and tomorrows high-performing CFOs. The role of the CFO has evolved dra-matically in recent years and in the current economy they are required to

participate in the business at a much broader and strategic level. Success-ful organizations’ demand their CFOs to have strategic vision and the abil-ity to look beyond the core functions of finance. They also require CFOs to be able to use their financial acumen and insights to drive value and higher levels of business transformation and performance. A range of strategic mod-els are introduced, using a number of cases and supported by a leading inter-national textbook and then supported

by debate using the real life experience of those on the course. You will learn how to design strategy and then com-municate it internally and externally as well as guiding your organisation in a transformation program that creates value through the alignment of finance capabilities with corporate strategy.

MORE INFORMATION

What: The Internal Auditor’s Role in Preventing Fraud Understanding the key techniques to preventing and uncovering fraud in your organisationWhere: Dubai, United Arab Emirates When: 7-9 December 2014

Brief Description: Introducing Michael Dalton, a fraudster who created one of the most complex webs of fraud and money-laundering with ownership of over 70 dif-ferent bank accounts worldwide. Would you have been able to catch him if he was a member of your organisation?

The Internal Auditor’s Role in Prevent-ing Fraud is your opportunity to learn the skills you need to prevent and investigate fraud within your organisation. Following this famous case throughout the intensive 3 day course, attendees will participate in a number of case study exercises specifi-cally designed to improve investigative skills and interview performance. Discov-er how to conduct a fraud investigation from start to finish including research, gathering evidence and interviews. Highly interactive and engaging, this course is the definitive guide to internal audit’s role in detecting and preventing fraud.

Attend this course to: Understand why fraud occurs and what

makes fraudsters ‘tick’ Investigate social engineering and oth-

er common fraud strategies Develop your own investigation and in-

terviewing skills Discover the latest strategies in uncov-

ering fraud for auditors Participate in interactive case study ex-

ercises testing your new skills

MORE INFORMATION

What: Staying Out of Trouble: What Every Attorney Must Know About Ethics 2014Where: New York, New York, USAWhen: 15 December, 2014

Brief Description: What you will learn – Understanding the new New York eth-ics rules, including conflicts of interest,

confidentiality, advertising and the no-contact rule. How to protect yourself and your law firm if a partner suddenly leaves, becomes disabled or passes away.We will examine:

How to identify transactional and oth-er difficult-to-spot conflicts

The difference between “advertising” and “solicitation”

Contacting opposing counsel’s em-ployees

Succession planning for law firms Retaining and charging liens

MORE INFORMATION

40 FURTHER CONFERENCES & EVENTS

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