Mazars in Thailand, a member of one of the world’s leading auditing and accounting services firms, as well as a prominent provider of tax, legal, and financial advisory services, is making another bold move to strengthen its services.
The company has appointed Mr. Jonathan Stuart-Smith, a qualified chartered accountant from London with over 20 years of experience across Asia, as the company’s new head of the tax services department. The move will strengthen the company’s commitment to helping multinational groups and corporate clients, including entrepreneurs in Thailand, to seize the best business opportunities, especially when expanding their businesses in the local and international markets through mergers and acquisitions.
Mr. Stuart-Smith has a wealth of experience working in Asia, including Thailand, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, advising companies on cross-border trade and investment. His expertise will provide support to the business community in Thailand and internationally and help Mazars to provide a full range of high-quality and competitive tax services to clients in all industries and of all sizes. This will include helping clients apply the rapidly-changing international tax rules to their global businesses, as well as to determine, document and defend their transfer-pricing positions. He will also work with the financial advisory team on effective structuring and M&A transactions and to identify and manage tax exposures in the course of due diligence projects.
“Tax is a vital part of our M&A service offering that brings together advisory, valuation, due diligence, and integration consulting. Our understanding of the full transaction lifecycle helps us deliver tax advice at the speed needed to ensure that opportunities are seized, and the best prices obtained,” Mr. Stuart-Smith stated.
Companies entering M&A deals as part of business expansion strategies normally require tax consulting and advisory to help them understand tax risks and opportunities because tax is a major risk for companies. If they miscalculate their tax liabilities, it can lead to additional tax payments, penalties, and interest, as well as reputational damage. However, if taxpayers plan in advance and properly research and document the tax treatment of transactions, they are able to reduce their tax risks and improve their return on investments.
Mazars is able to provide a full range of tax services, including advisory and compliance, and support clients with tax audits, tax investigations and tax refund claims.
“We advise on all taxes at the local and international levels, including corporate income tax, transfer pricing, personal income tax, VAT and other indirect taxes. Mazars in Thailand has a strong legal team, so we are able to offer clients integrated tax and legal services.” he said.
Most of Mazars’ corporate tax clients are foreign investors in Thailand. Mr. Stuart-Smith worked in Japan for 15 years, and will work with the Mazars in Thailand Japan Desk to serve more Japanese companies who invest in Thailand. The company also serves Thai-based companies who need tax consultation services as they expand into overseas markets.
Mazars aims to be one of the top five auditing firms in Thailand by 2024. In terms of revenue, the company expects revenue from tax services to make up over 20% of its total revenues for the next several years. It plans to recruit more talented people to join its existing team of 15 tax advisors.
Mr. Rob Hurenkamp, Managing Partner of Mazars in Thailand, believes that Mr. Stuart-Smith’s experience across geographies and industries will help strengthen the company’s commitment to providing the best tax-related consulting services with a thorough understanding of the requirements and regulations in the various international markets.
The Mazars group of companies is an international tax, audit and advisory firm, operating in over 90 countries and territories. Currently, the company works with nearly 2,000 public interest entities around the world on their audits, including 30% of the listed companies in France, and almost 140 large listed companies in China. At the same time, the company serves over 50,000 privately owned and family businesses, from private clients and start-ups to mature international clients.
More information can be found at https://www.mazars.co.th
