Andersen Tax rebrands; adds Kuwait’s largest law firm to its 'collaborating firms' roster

Separately, Andersen Global, an international association of legally separate tax and law firms that was established in 2013 by Andersen Tax LLC, and which Andersen remains closely affiliated with, said it had signed a "collaboration agreement" with Kuwait’s largest law firm, Al Khebra.

Al Khebra will now become the fiftieth company with a legal services practice in the global Andersen Global business, the company said in a statement. 

'Hearkening the legacy and values'

In announcing the shortening of its name to Andersen, the company formerly known as Andersen Tax said it was "hearkening the legacy and values of the Andersen name", a reference to the company's roots in the former Big Five accounting firm Arthur Andersen. As noted in a profile of Andersen Global and Andersen Tax earlier this year, Arthur Andersen was found guilty of obstructing justice in connection with auditing work it had done for Enron Corp., the Houston, Texas-based energy company which had filed for bankruptcy itself the year before.

Although the guilty verdict was subsequently overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005, it came years too late, as the collapse of the Arthur Andersen business had taken place within months of the initial guilty ruling.

When it had first began trading after the Arthur Andersen demise, the portion of the original Arthur Andersen firm from which the current business has emerged kept going initially as a business known as Wealth & Tax Advisory Services, until re-branding in 2014 as Andersen Tax, in what was thought at the time by some to be a surprising acknowledgement of its Arthur Andersen roots.

“When we adopted the name Andersen Tax in 2014, we made what many considered to be a very bold move, but we knew it was the name that best defined our culture of clients-first, stewardship, transparency and best-in-class solutions,” said Andersen chief executive Mark Vorsatz, who is also chairman of Andersen Global, and who also was a long-time employee of Arthur Andersen.

“Our move to the brand ‘Andersen’ is indicative of what we have been able to accomplish over the past five years – and we are just getting started.

"‘Andersen’ best reflects our history, our values, and our vision for the future, and more fully encompasses all that our organization represents as well as our ability to serve clients seamlessly around the globe.”

In the five years it's been trading as Andersen Tax, the company has seen the number of international outposts through which it could look after its clients grow from 26 to 148, with a presence in more than 57 countries. 

 As for its new outpost in Kuwait, Andersen Global said it brought the company's presence in the Middle East to 10 countries in totaly, in which it has more than 20 offices. 

Based in Kuwait City, Al Khebra is headed up by its founder and managing partner, Osama A Al-Abdul Jaleel, and currently employs around 50 legal and tax professionals, including five partners. The firm's legal practice areas include corporate and commercial, M&A, private equity, partnerships, tax, banking and finance, real estate, venture capital, investments, restructuring, and employment, Andersen Global said.