BUSINESS

Nexia Has Been Named ‘Network of the Year’ 2021 Globally

NEXIA TA IS THE FASTEST GROWING COMPANY ON THE GEORGIAN AUDIT MARKET.

Brands with international experience operating on the local market is of utmost importance for the Georgian business sector. The prestige, knowledge and experience that their activities bring is the foundation for strengthening business and the economy.

In this regard, one of the most outstanding companies in the country can be named as "Nexia TA", which was able to position itself on the local market in a very short time as a brand providing high quality audit, accounting and tax services.

Nexia TA constantly supports business development and offers individually tailored services to each client. The company is maximally focused on the development of the business sector through the implementation of various projects and activities. The company further boasts a particularly high corporate social responsibility, which is expressed and proven in various directions.

Nexia TA has been the offi cial representative of the independent international network, Nexia International, in Georgia since 2014, offering auditing, accounting and consulting services to industries. In this regard, it occupies an honorable place in the top ten companies worldwide. Nexia International was founded in 1971 by two fi rms - Oppenheim Appel Dixon & Associates (USA) and Spicer & Pegler (UK). Currently, Nexia's network unites 752 offi ces in more than 100 countries.

Today, more than 500 leading companies across the country entrust their accounting, auditing, tax or legal services to Nexia TA, and up to 250 highly qualifi ed employees provide professional services to the client companies.

Like the last few consecutive years, 2021 has been remarkably successful and fruitful for the company, and Nexia has again become the holder of signifi cant international awards.

In particular, at the Digital Accountancy Awards 2021, which has been held annually for 10 years by the # 1 accounting publication, IAB, in London, Nexia won two major awards: Nexia International was named “Network of the Year” among the accounting and consulting companies, and Nexia CEO Kevin Arnold received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The annual event held in London evaluates fi rms for using the best and most innovative approaches in modern accounting.

In 2020, the Nexia network advanced by another position to rank 8th among the world's largest global accounting networks. Its revenue was $4.5 billion, up 5% from a year earlier.

GEORGIA TODAY talked to Davit Lomidze, the managing partner of Nexia TA, about these and other achievements and successes and future projects planned in the Georgian business space.

“Nexia TA entered the Georgian market in 2014. We are the offi cial representative of Nexia International in Georgia, which is among the top ten global brands, occupying 8th position,” he tells us. “Since then, we have achieved many successes both internationally and locally. Over the years we have been one of the fastest growing companies in the entire Nexia network. In addition, Nexia grew at a fairly rapid pace upon entering the Georgian market.”

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE MOST OUTSTANDING SUCCESS OF YOUR TEAM?

Among the important successes, I would like to single out the following:

In 2017, at the annual Nexia International Summit, we were named the best company of the year in the entire Nexia network, which is represented in 120 countries and has more than 700 offi ces. In the United States, the network awarded us the valuable title, "Company of the Year", which the company was able to obtain just three years after its inception.

In 2018, in London, the #1 accounting publication worldwide, the International Accounting Bulletin, recognized Nexia TA as the only company in the fi eld of auditing from Georgia to be named Accounting Capacity Building Champion 2018. The award was received for special contributions in development of the fi eld of accounting.

The company was nominated in two nominations and in the following years we are constantly on the list of nominees in different directions.

Then, in 2019, we won the "Responsible Employer of the Year” award. Almost every year is marked by success and recognition, which fi lls us with pride and at the same time increases our motivation.

TELL US ABOUT THE MAIN DIRECTIONS AND SERVICES OF THE COMPANY.

We offer customers a wide variety of services. One of the main areas is accounting outsourcing, where we are represented by about 120 employees and serve more than 200 clients. In total, we are represented on the Georgian audit market with 250 employees and we are the third largest employer in the fi eld of auditing. We serve more than 500 clients, mostly large and medium-sized businesses, however, it has been about a year since we introduced the "Accounting Simply" service to make our high quality international standards service available to beginners, even relatively small companies, where we have optimized pricing.

This was an important innovation that we implemented for our customers.

The slogan of our international brand, "Closer to You", means supporting customers, to work as closely as possible with them, and to take into account their interests, which we honestly do.

Nexia TA is a company where the process is as important as the outcome, which ultimately contributes to our successful growth and development. It is noteworthy that Nexia TA’s campaign - "where the process is as important as the outcome" - at the 2021 Digital Accountancy Awards was nominated among the fi nalists for the "Communications Campaign of the Year."

Regarding other services, we have a very strong tax department and we are successfully cooperating with international partners, including the German and Italian sides. We have developed an audit direction and are actively cooperating with the British offi ce, where our staff gain experience which they use in Georgia. Exchange programs for employees are often held in Ukraine, their team often helps us during the busy period, which further enhances the experience of our employees. We also have a consulting direction, which includes business consulting, and, as well as property and business appraisals, we are also involved in the inventory process. One of our major inventory projects was also featured in the International Accounting Bulletin. In addition, we have a fairly strong legal direction, which includes civil disputes and legal advice. We also provide a software service that is presented under the Nexia Solution brand. We are proud of Nexia Academy, where trainings are constantly underway for both internal team members and external users.

As part of our corporate social responsibility strategy, when the pandemic started, we conducted a lot of free training at the academy as part of the Move on Georgia project, to support the community from our side given the fi nancial diffi culties.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S CSR PROJECTS.

In this regard, for instance, we had a project in terms of disputes, when a certain segment such as schools, etc., could not afford to appeal against accrued amounts. We thought that the amounts were charged unfairly, so our highly qualifi ed tax consultants helped them for symbolical price of 1 GEL.

We allocate a certain budget each year for CSR projects, which is then spent on charity or other useful activities. For us, supporting the surrounding community is of utmost importance.

IT SEEMS THAT SUCH A RESPONSIBLE ATTITUDE DETERMINES THE SUCCESS OF THE COMPANY GLOBALLY.

Obviously. It is gratifying that this year, Nexia has achieved a lot of success worldwide - being named the Network of the Year by Nexia International, and the Nexia CEO Kevin Arnold receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.

During Mr. Arnold’s tenure, the Nexia network has grown signifi cantly in the rankings and currently ranks 8th among the world's largest global accounting networks.

Kevin Arnold’s role is crucial to the success of the network. Nexia's position - a brand in the top ten of international auditing and consulting companies - is due to his leadership, strategic vision and "member fi rst" mantra. The 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award confi rms his special work, dedicated energy and commitment to the brand.

The jury included Jon Lisby, FCA FIIA Director of Global Alliance Advisory Services, Chris Biggs, Partner at Theta Global Advisors, Rob Brown, Founder of BD Academy, and Christine Nicholson, who won the UK Business Mentor 2020.

Regarding the local scale, we are even further in this respect: in the 6th place among the ten international companies represented in Georgia, and we continue to strengthen our position every year.

HOW HAS THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC AFFECTED THE COMPANY?

The pandemic affected almost every business, but Nexia supported its customers as much as possible during this diffi cult time. Mutual loyalty has led to the fact that we continued to grow even during the pandemic. The company strengthens existing directions and plans innovations, we care about customers and society in general, and we strive to bring maximum benefi ts to employees, customers and the country.

Our campaign - "The process is as important as the outcome," means establishing partnerships with clients, as well as maximum care for the comfort of employees and creating a pleasant work environment.

We started offering remote services even before the pandemic, so we continued this practice and gave employees the opportunity to work remotely. We have implemented enhanced security measures in the offi ce, which means constant control of the temperature of the entrants in the offi ce, and stopping unvaccinated employees from working in the offi ce, having them work remotely instead. We call on everyone to get vaccinated as much as possible.

AND YOUR FUTURE PLANS?

We constantly strive to introduce exciting innovations and products. Before the pandemic we had an important international plan to host business partners from Europe-Middle East-Africa, which was to be attended by up to 300 delegates and was to be a fairly large-scale event, including in terms of MICE tourism. Unfortunately, the pandemic hindered the process, however, as soon as the situation improves, we will host such important events in Georgia.

Also, after the epidemiological situation improves, we are thinking of opening a new offi ce. Currently, in addition to the head offi ce, we have a branch in Tbilisi which serves customers. In the regions, we have clientele, although at this stage we are limited to serving them via business trips and remote services.

In the innovations part, we are going to make every effort to make our "Accounting Simply" service available to an even wider range of customers and to reach as many customers as possible. In terms of price and quality, it is really a very interesting and competitive product for small and start-up businesses. Customers interested in this product should contact us directly at Nexia TA, and after the start of cooperation we will provide the highest quality and affordable price.