AGN International and DFK International form strategic alliance

28 maart 2018

AGN International and DFK International have formed a strategic alliance, entitled Global Connect, with the aim to formalise client referrals between member firms of both associations, but both organisations’ CEOs are open minded to what the future might hold and how the collaboration might evolve.

AGN International and DFK International have formed a strategic alliance, entitled Global Connect, with the aim to formalise client referrals between member firms of both associations, but both organisations’ CEOs are open minded to what the future might hold and how the collaboration might evolve.

Global Connect is a UK company limited by guarantee with a membership agreement, and the current two members are AGN International and DFK International.

DFK International CEO Martin Sharp said: “It’s not intended to run a bank account and overheads, and pay subscriptions. Certainly those are possibilities. We’re open-minded about how this might develop but for the time being it’s simply a vehicle to give some structure. It’s there to have some rules, procedures and guidelines that we’ve both signed up to.”

The crux of the guidelines is that both associations will not seek to poach each other’s member firms and will respect the values of each other’s organisations, he continued.

Essentially Global Connect formalises and sets a framework to a common practice within the accountancy industry whereby in certain occasions clients are referred to member firms of competitors, i.e. other associations and networks.

AGN International CEO Malcolm Ward said: “It is business as usual at the member level, but where occasionally we can’t take care of a matter within our own association, the first port of call is to one another. Global Connect really is a collaborative relationship; it’s us working together as a wider group to further each other’s interests.”

The idea of an alliance was born of the assessment that the accounting industry is facing an array of changes, most of them driven by technological innovations and market consolidation.

“Both of our associations are all about independent firms, principally firms that wish to continue to trade and operate under their own name, under their own rules and procedures, their own branding, principally,” Sharp explained. “But the marketplace is not littered with such firms of good quality and good standing, which both of us expect. So that leaves vacancies or gaps in coverage.”

Also, increasingly clients are seeking not just a geography and general service, but a specific service and experience in their sector, Sharp continued. “So by collaborating with another association we can better meet our clients’ needs.”

“This is client-service led,” Ward confirmed. “We’re both quite substantial organisations. We have good coverage, quite similar from one another, but not completely without gaps but by the time you factor in increasingly complex niche and specialty requirements it’s very, very handy to draw on both our memberships which represent something north of 400 members. That gives us more breadth of choice.”

Both Sharp and Ward see the formation of Global Connect as a first step towards something that will evolve and grow organically, and while both admit that the shape and form of the alliance in the future remains uncertain, both CEOs are adamant that in the first stages at least, this is not about merging the two associations together.

If you would like to read the full article, we refer you to https://www.dfk.com/news/agn-international-and-dfk-international-form-strategic-alliance/