Success story: An ability to deal with interstate and national issues gets real value to our clients
01 July 2019
Greater reach
"We now have access to 160 firms in 65 countries and in a growing number of locations in the United States, so we can deal with interstate, national and international issues. It gets value to our clients and that was the most important thing for us."
New York CPA member firm Farkouh Furman & Faccio (FF&F) has been a member of international association of CPA and law firms Alliott Group since January 2012. Initially the firm joined because they felt membership would make the firm more competitive in dealing with larger companies as they have a lot of international clients who could switch their allegiance to other choices including the Big Four and other national firms that have offices outside of the United States.
Partner Bruce Militzok explains the benefits of membership to his firm: "We can give immediate answers to our clients and given the reach they need outside the U.S., we now have access to members in over 70 countries and some 40 member firms in the United States so we can deal with interstate and national issues. It gets value to our clients and that was the most important thing for us."
Unexpected benefits
The firm has also realized benefits that they weren’t expecting: "In dealing with other members and attending meetings inside and outside the U.S., we get to swap war stories and to understand what people have gone through so that we are not always recreating the wheel. What you do learn is that we all have the same issues no matter how large or small or where you are located – this is one of the great benefits that we have realized as a member of Alliott Group."
Video: Bruce Militzok talks about his experiences of membership
A win-win situation - our clients get looked after outside the U.S. and recommend our services
In the last five years, the firm has enjoyed a lot of success in terms of having business referred to them, but Militzok explains that it's not just about inward referrals: "Most importantly, we have been able to reach out to various members throughout the world. We have one success story in Puerto Rico for example where there was a drastic change in the law which meant we couldn’t advise our clients how best to react. The member firm in San Juan, LLM&D, wrote a four page memo free of charge for our client – our colleagues in Puerto Rico wound up with an audit client going forward and we have a very satisfied client who is willing to recommend our services. So, all in all, it’s been a win-win!"
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