What we offer
Range of professional services
With our distinguished track record in the field of professional services, the management and staff of Afxentiou & Partners are able to provide a complete span of assistance and advice. In order to achieve and maintain our high standards of client service, the firm is structured to streamline the processing of clients' requests and is organised into ten functional divisions:
Each of these services is described in more detail below.
1 audit
Apart from simply being auditors, we give constructive advice to our clients up and keep up a sound system of internal control and reporting.
Vassos C Theophylactou, Partner
Afxentiou & Partners strongly believes in providing clients with more than just a statutory audit. As independent advisors, the firm can deliver constructive advice on all aspects of a wide range of matters. Our broad scope of business experience in general, and knowledge of clients' own businesses in particular, are invaluable assets when future plans have to be formulated and presented.
The audit approach is sufficiently flexible to respond to each individual client's specific circumstances.
The practice fulfils its audit objective by using efficient auditing procedures supported by the latest software tools. The basis of our audit approach comprises a comprehensive evaluation of the client's business, internal accounting and other specialist control systems. As a result of this, a proficient testing of transactions is carried out, concentrating broadly on systems-based testing for larger clients, and in-depth testing of a larger number of transactions for smaller clients. In order for the firm to form an opinion on the financial statements under examination, the adequacy of clients' internal control structures are assessed in detail by the firm's competent audit staff. The audit approach is not limited to the finalisation of a formal report; evaluation and recommendations for improving operational effectiveness and control are made to management wherever appropriate.
To safeguard our pioneering status in accounting practices and customer service, we devote much time and energy to self-improvement. Research made into advanced auditing concepts is linked to the latest developments in computers and data communications, and substantial resources are invested in training audit staff to use the new technology. AII this ensures that the firm's clients reap the benefits of up-to-the-minute audit methodologies.
2 accounting services
Maintaining basic accounting records is only a small part of what we do. We play many integral roles as advisors – analysing. Interpreting and evaluating – in order to recognise the factors that determine the true condition of our clients' businesses.
Kyriacos Michael, Accounting Services Assistant Manager
Regardless of size and nature, all businesses need to be informed of developments in the accounting profession, computer accounting systems and software.
Afxentiou & Partners' accounting division undertakes not only an advisory role on these issues, through regular releases regarding accounting standards and practice, and through updating the clients on all new computerised accounting methods, but also offers these services:
Catering for small and large enterprises, local and offshore, national, international and multinational, the accounting division is skilled in assessing the impact of new measures on individual businesses. Its computer experts can provide practical advice to clients setting up, operating and controlling computer systems in a manner that is comprehensible to non-computer specialists, while its qualified systems developers can provide training in computers and computer accounting topics, and advise on all aspects of computer security.
3 taxation and VAT services
Our up-to-date advice on tax planning and compliance means we see to it that our clients avoid the pitfalls of the law, benefit any changes in the law and legally mitigate their tax liabilities.
Marios F. Hadjihannas, Tax Partner.
Although constant change has been endemic to taxation ever since income tax was first introduced, no period has witnessed so complicated and comprehensive an onslaught of new taxes as in the past twenty years. In that time, long standing imposts such as income tax and stamp duty have been joined by VAT and corporation tax, as well as capital gains tax. Cyprus has become established as an international financial centre, used by an ever-increasing number of foreign entities.
At Afxentiou & Partners, we recognise that international tax considerations must be seriously appraised. Companies need to be more innovative and pay greater attention to tax planning in order to minimise the amount of tax paid. The practice provides expert advice on activities with international tax implications such as double tax treaties.
Our tax staff members are specialists who fully understand tax law and practice and who can take account of changes to the clients' advantage. It is our duty to study clients' businesses and to seek to be kept aware of any plans for change and development. This proactive approach enables the firm to arrange clients' tax affairs so that the Inland Revenue's demands on their resources are kept to a minimum.
corporate clients
For corporate clients, the firm is able to:
mergers
take-overs
corporate reconstructions
formation of trusts
personal tax planning
As regards personal tax planning, the firm is able to:
VAT
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a recently introduced form of taxation which can be a significant burden on business transactions and carry substantial risks.
Our VAT division is in a position to handle any VAT requirements our clients may have.
These involve:
4 offshore services
We offer such an all-embracing range of financial advice and services that our clients feel confident about our ability to oversee the day-to-day administration of their businesses.
Vassos C Theophylactou, Partner
With more than 25,000 offshore entities registered in Cyprus, the island is now established as one of the world's primary financial and commercial offshore centres. The growth of offshore activity is not only the result of generous tax concessions, but also of genuine commercial considerations. Amongst the most convincing of the island's long list of advantages must be its strategic location at the hub of Europe, Asia and Africa, its excellent facilities and services, and its high European-level standard of living. A wide network of double tax treaties is another reason, and excellent telecommunications and no exchange control restrictions are still more, why so many businesses decide to base their operations in Cyprus.
offshore expertise
As dynamic and pioneering promoters of the offshore business concept in Cyprus, we have been serving the needs of the offshore world for nearly fifteen years. Our multi-lingual staff, speaking English, Greek, Russian, Bulgarian and Serbo-Croat, has thus acquired considerable expertise in anticipating the requirements of offshore clients and satisfying their varied and often complicated needs.
A broad range of financial advice is offered, and substantial help in the day-to-day administration of offshore clients' businesses is carried out by highly qualified professionals who are conversant with trade and banking practices.
On a daily basis, the firm takes over the administration of these affairs:
In addition, the firm provides assistance with:
OBUs
As part of our specialisation in offshore company matters, the firm is closely involved in providing all kinds of services to Offshore Banking Units (OBUs) and counts amongst its clientele the largest number of the most successful OBUs in Cyprus. In this respect, we have built up a wealth of experience in the field of banking and have achieved a critical mass of professionals who specialise in OBUs so as to deliver world-class service.
5 corporate services
Once clients get to know our team of experts, they realise that expanding their operations through Cyprus can help them to carry out their business successfully around the world.
Costas, A. Afxentiou, Managing Partner
Afxentiou & Partners' Corporate Services unit pools the skills of professionals from a number of different backgrounds to form a confident, creative and cohesive team able to deliver a broad range of services and to meet the needs of clients planning the future of their businesses. Our team has fluency in the following languages: Greek, English, Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbo-Croat.
The services offered include:
To ensure that clients are in full compliance with statutory matters, the firm is affiliated to a secretarial company, Axen Secretarial Limited, which undertakes to act as a company secretary. The firm also has associated trustee and nominee companies to hold shares and other property in trust for clients.
6 shipping services
We act to safeguard the interests of our clients by facilitating the smooth registration and support operations of their vessels
Costas A Afxentiou, Managing Partner
Cyprus' strategic position has played a crucial role in its development as an ideal centre for the establishment of shipowning companies and as a base for the conduct of shipping activities and for the provision of shipping services worldwide. The island serves as an important regional trans-shipment and commercial hub, and a major base for international shipmanagement companies, as well as having one of the five largest ship registries in the world. A good number of the offshore companies who choose Cyprus as a location for fully-fledged offices are engaged in shipmanagement and other maritime services. The advantages which contribute to the designation of Cyprus as an international maritime centre must of course include the competitive ship registration costs and annual tonnage taxes, but its tax concessions, extensive network of double tax treaties, excellent telecommunications and exemplary professional, banking and managerial services are not to be ignored. It is worth mentioning that Cyprus is a signatory to numerous international maritime conventions and has an international shipping arbitration court.
Afxentiou & Partners has extensive experience in:
Furthermore, our affiliated office in Piraeus, Greece deals exclusively with offshore shipping and shipping finance matters.
7 trust administration services
It's a fact that a Cyprus trust is an extremely versatile instrument for tax planning and safeguarding of wealth, but it is equally true that clients rely on our specialised service to translate this fact into tangible advantage.
Costas A Afxentiou, Managing Partner
A trust is used as a vehicle for tax planning and safeguarding of wealth passing from generation to generation. The enactment of the 1992 International Trust Law provided Cyprus with a very modern piece of legislation which stimulated the growth of international trusts in Cyprus.
Since the management of Afxentiou & Partners realised the significance of trusts at an early stage, over the last few years they have invested considerable effort in thoroughly training staff members.
Afxentiou & Partners can provide professional corporate trustees through our trustee companies in Cyprus, namely Axen Nominees Limited and Axen Trustees Limited. These companies were formed expressly for the purpose of undertaking trustee services for clients of the firm. They are owned by the firm and their directors are partners of the firm.
These companies provide the following services:
Regular reporting of the affairs of the trust is made and proper books of accounts are maintained. It should be stressed that, for the time being, the trustee companies do not provide investment advice as such. However, they can work in conjunction with formally appointed investment advisers and provide a complete overview of the service they are giving.
8 management consulting services
As markets, technologies and competitors change, companies must also change. We have built an affective approach for leading our clients through an integrated transformation of their strategies, processes and people supported by cutting-edge information technology.
Polyvios A Polyviou, Partner
Today's business reality dictates that both new and existing ventures must undergo thorough study and accept the inevitability of change to ensure a healthy bottom line. Afxentiou & Partners provides the technical knowledge and expertise that is required to maximise the client's effectiveness and profitability.
Great care is taken to focus on the key business issues and to involve clients throughout the project. One of the firm's chief objectives is to work closely with its clients to achieve successful business results. Afxentiou & Partners believes that consultancy is an invaluable aid to management decision making and each case is treated practically and individually.
general management & specialist consultancy
Drawing on the multi-faceted skills and talents of its consultants, the practice offers both general management and specialist consultancy including:
financial investigations
The firm can also carry out financial investigations for:
information technology
By exploiting the latest innovations in the fields of microcomputers and telecommunications we make sure that our clients have the ability to utilise all the information available to them to their best advantage. IT advisors can help clients keep up with the fast-changing market place in which they operate.
IT services include:
human resources
Afxentiou & Partners provides a comprehensive recruitment service coordinated across industries, functions and regional boundaries using the selection techniques most appropriate to the client's requirements. Our experience covers all business and professional sectors and, in several cases, is enhanced by experience in line management. This balance allows us to contribute constructively to a recruitment brief exactly matched to the client's strategy.
Our services include:
9 corporate finance services
This interdisciplinary group of skilled individuals not only bring their top-notch qualifications to the table, but also their excellent connections with financing and banking institutions, which open doors for our clients.
Polyvios A Polyviou, Partner
Our Corporate Finance subsidiary employs professionals from a number of different backgrounds, who are specialists in corporate advisory services, venture capital, and company flotations, and possess other types of expertise required to provide our clients with a comprehensive service on an international level.
The principal services offered are:
capital raising
We assist companies in need of finance for:
We analyse the requirements and advise on the amount of finance called for and the most appropriate financing arrangements. We then approach the potential financiers and present the necessary information.
company flotations
We act as Reporting Accountants for companies wishing to list their shares on the Cyprus Stock Exchange. This entails, as a first stage, the preparation of the company to meet the tight controls which are a prerequisite for a listed company. We can then move on to prepare the financial report which is contained in the prospectus document issued to the public. This report effectively details the financial history of the company for at least the last three years and includes a review of financial forecasts.
mergers and acquisitions
Our group offers practical assistance in cases of companies wishing to merge with or acquire other enterprises. We can advise whether the contemplated acquisition is the right route, and what the costs and the level of resources which need to be committed are. We will be fully involved in the negotiation and the execution of such transactions.
valuations
We have the expertise to value a company or a business by producing in-depth valuation reports.
corporate re-organisations
We offer practical advice when a company is vulnerable to financial difficulties. We can suggest the financial remedies that need to be instituted to strengthen the financial profile of the company.
investigations and due diligence
Our group can carry out financial investigation assignments for a variety of purposes, be it a review of an investment proposal or a suspicion of malpractice. Furthermore, we are in a position to undertake the necessary due diligence work which is an essential part of the investigation and appraisal of any investment opportunity.
10 insolvency and recovery services
Business fail for lots of reasons. Spotting the tell-tale signs to prevent it, or, in the event of difficulties, minimising any eventual loss to the parties involved, calls for the expertise we have on hand.
Marios F Hadjihannas, Tax Partner.
The volatile economic climate of recent years has had its effect on the number of companies experiencing financial difficulties. In some cases, these difficulties result in the appointment of an administrator, a receiver or liquidator. In others, the problems may be less critical, and professional advice or remedial action may be all that is required.
We advise on all aspects of corporate, individual or partnership insolvency and debt-related problems, combining our practical experience and technical knowledge to give clients constructive advice and commercially viable solutions.
The firm offers an all-inclusive range of services:
These assignments are handled with the highest degree of professional competence and integrity.