Businesses Must Become More Discerning Buyers of Legal and Accounting Services, Urges CEO of Global Professional Services Network

Business leaders in Muscat were last week advised of the role that they must each play if they want to retain long-term choice in the selection of their legal and accounting advisers.

(PRWEB) April 10, 2006 -- According to MSI Legal & Accounting Network Worldwide’s (MSI) global CEO, James Mendelssohn, in Muscat for a meeting of the group’s Middle Eastern members, there is a real risk that further growth of the ‘Big 4’ accounting firms will lead to damaging polarisation within the professional services world and the overall weakening of competition. Businesses must be more selective in their choice of advisers, and on occasions this will mean considering mid-sized and smaller firms too.

“Polarisation would be in no one’s interests”, said Mendelssohn, “not even the Big 4 themselves. Smaller firms can often provide better services at much more competitive rates than the major players and therefore every stakeholder has, through their considered exercise of choice, a role to play to increase competition, raise standards and ensure the continued availability of the range of services that businesses rightly expect from their professional advisers. We ignore this situation at our peril”.

George Mathew, the Managing Partner of MSI’s accounting member firm in Muscat, George Mathew & Co, echoed these sentiments. Mr Mathew said that: “it is essential to address these issues in the long term interest of all concerned – businesses, firms and the profession itself. The time to act is now.”

The presentation was attended by Chief Guest His Excellency Sayyid Abdulla Bin Hamad Bin Saif Al Busaidy and the Indian Ambassador His Excellency Ashok Kumar Attri.

More than 90 guests attended the presentation held at the Sheraton Hotel, which was followed by a dinner hosted by MSI.

About MSI

MSI Legal & Accounting Network Worldwide Ltd is a global network of independent mid-sized law and accounting firms with some 240 countries in almost 100 countries, with combined revenues of approximately $1 billion. The network has law and accounting firm members across the Middle East region in Oman, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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