How time flies!! On Wednesday, 5 July 2017, it was widely reported in local and international media outlets that Andersen Global (the successor firm to Arthur Andersen) had established a presence in Nigeria with the transition of the legal and tax firm, WTS Adebiyi & Associates into Andersen Tax.

Right from inception, size was never our focus. Just like Arthur Andersen, our goal was to be the best and the most prestigious firm in Nigeria. Are we there yet? No, but we are definitely on the right path! To this end, I need to first of all thank our clients who gave us the opportunity to prove our mettle in this challenging environment filled with excellent advisory firms.

For some of the clients, at the beginning, and even some of our staff, it was a leap of faith anchored more on the pedigree of the Arthur Andersen brand. Before its implosion in 2002, Arthur Andersen (simply Andersen in the final few years) was Number 1 in the market by a wide margin. However, people have since been joining us more for the culture than the brand and clients have been engaging us more for the quality of our service than historical memories. We have six major core values - Best in Class; Stewardship; Seamless Service; Independence and Integrity; Transparency; and Borderless.

To live the Andersen dream, we needed to hire the best people, who, in the first instance, hate to lose. In 2017, as much as we placed our entire focus on clients and targets, we concluded that to get close to the Big 4, we needed to run much faster than they were running. As Bo Eason wrote in his book of a similar title, we couldn't have a plan B in our A Game. The Partners and staff were determined to give it all through thick and thin and I give them all the credit. 

As I told the Management Team in our first strategy session on 27 July 2017, “it is not going to be easy, but it is going to be worth it”. Of course, there have been many challenges. Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator once said that “….the odds of getting from launch to liquidity without some kind of disaster happening are one in a thousand…” We were lucky to be one in a thousand. The key to addressing each challenge is not to get demoralized, but to pick yourself up each time you fall.

We started out as Andersen Tax in 2017 but rebranded as Andersen in February 2021 to align our name with our expanded scope of services. We now do much more than tax compliance and advisory. Our Business Advisory solutions include Accounting Advisory, Risk Advisory, Strategy and Operations Advisory, Financial Advisory and Technology Advisory.

We decided from the beginning to:

  • make no attempt at fencing the cemetery or trying to drain the ocean - both unproductive steps - all our actions must be tailored towards achieving our goals;
  • build a world class firm that gives creative solutions, including hiring the best people who are forward looking and trustworthy to build the right platform;
  • focus on our clients and how to improve their businesses - Exceeding their Expectations Everyday;
  • take pride in the professional quality of our work; and,
  • be recognized as subject matter experts in our area of practice. On this, we collaborated with BusinessDay for the weekly publication of the Andersen Digest.

Andersen is a work in progress, perpetually in growth mode. The journey over the last 5 years has been incredibly exciting. We have been engaged by a long list of top rated foreign and Nigerian headquartered multinationals and other domestic companies. We also have a roster of top business executives being served by our Private Clients and Family Wealth team. We have solved multiple complex and knotty tax issues and have assisted our clients with creative solutions working with relevant stakeholders.

On this our 5th Year Anniversary, once again, I'm seizing the opportunity to thank our existing clients who have given us this incredible growth, and our potential clients who give us the hope for tomorrow. I also thank our partners and staff who have all shown more commitment to our dreams to ascend quickly on the ladder than remain in their comfort zones. Our partners and staff are simply the best in this market.

We are not saying we are better; what we are saying is that we are different. Some of the ways we are different include:

  • putting our clients and employees at the centrepiece of whatever we do;
  • operating as One Global Firm with global profit sharing;
  • operating a decentralized management system - we think global, but act local;
  • combining the synergies between Tax and Legal in most of the 162 markets where we are a present; and
  • being relationship driven, not just transactional.

Andersen Nigeria was the first location in Africa for Andersen Global in 2017. As at today, Andersen is present in 47 countries in Africa through Member Firms and Collaborating Firms from Morocco to Mauritius, Namibia to Nigeria and Egypt to Eswatini. Andersen Global is represented in three locations in Nigeria (2 in Lagos and 1 in Abuja) by Andersen and TNP. TNP is a fast growing, new generation law firm and adviser to top fintech companies.

On this our 5th Year Anniversary, once again, I'm seizing the opportunity to thank our existing clients who have given us this incredible growth, and our potential clients who give us the hope for tomorrow. I also thank our partners and staff who have all shown more commitment to our dreams to ascend quickly on the ladder than remain in their comfort zones. Our partners and staff are simply the best in this market.

I cannot end this write-up without appreciating the roles played in the rapid growth of Andersen by two of my mentors who passed in the last one year - Dick Kramer and Seyi Bickersteth. Dick rang the opening bell to herald our entry into Nigeria by chairing our official launch in February 2018 with words of wisdom that still ring in our ears every day. Seyi Bickersteth was the first Africa Regional Managing Partner who set the stage for the rapid growth of Andersen in Africa. May their souls continue to rest in perfect peace, Amen! I also need to thank a long list of Arthur Andersen Alumni who have supported us in one way or the other in the last 5 years. Without your support we won't be where we are today.

To those who are hearing about us for the first time, we are here for good. We look forward to the next 5 years and beyond. Thank you all!!

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