Starting our careers in the professional service environment, we always heard wonderful stories about the legendary Arthur Andersen firm. Our senior colleagues, who had the opportunity to work in the old firm, will regale us with tales of the extraordinary people of Andersen and the excellent culture that distinguished the firm. So, when the distinguished Andersen firm made a comeback to the market, and the opportunity came for me to experience the Andersen brand, it was not a difficult decision for me to join the firm.
The return of Andersen to the Nigerian consulting space has been such an incredible and fulfilling journey. I, along with many other colleagues, keyed into the vision to re-establish the iconic brand. Our dream was to build a firm that will become a benchmark of quality in the industry. Together, we embraced the challenge with courage and excitement. We put on our thinking caps, developed clear plans and rolled up our sleeves to do the hard work and I can confidently say that we implemented a successful strategy. Looking back to the last seven years, the Andersen brand has been a game changer in the marketplace and continues to leave an indelible print on the professional services environment. It has not been an easy journey, but we have made tremendous progress.
At Andersen Nigeria, we recognized quite early that our people are our most prized assets. Hence, we made the move to invest in people by hiring the best and the brightest. We brought together a group of dedicated and experienced professionals who are excellent at what they do and hungry for more success. Attracting the best professionals into our team and infusing them with the Andersen vision was our secret weapon. We spared no effort in developing and motivating them to perform. An example of such investment is our fully-funded master's degree programs at the University of San Francisco and numerous other international training opportunities available to our people. We created a collegial and safe environment for them to thrive and maximize their potentials. These investments have put us on the right pedestal, ensuring our readiness to face the market both in Nigeria and globally.
Armed with such a great team and a burning vision, we took our services to a competitive market which some considered saturated at the time. We are grateful to our clients for giving us the opportunity to serve them. We worked very hard to earn their trusts and distinguished ourselves in the market by providing best-in-class services and bringing smart solutions to complex business issues. We deployed the highest professional standards and expertise at cost-effective rates. Our competence in regulatory services gave us an edge as we became renowned for resolving thorny and long-standing regulatory issues.
We have continued to build capacity to deliver the full range of professional services to our clients including advisory, accounting, regulatory, and compliance services. We are able to tailor our solutions to meet our clients' specific needs. We started out with five major service lines – Tax Advisory & Regulatory Services; Oil, Gas & Power; Private Client and Family Wealth; Transfer Pricing and Commercial Practice. We have since extended the service lines to include Business and Financial Advisory Services. This allows us to provide a broader range of services to our clients.
As a dynamic firm, we are constantly evolving and adapting our processes to meet client needs. A few months ago, we formally launched our global valuation practice to assist companies, funds, high-net-worth individuals and family offices in providing valuations of businesses, tangible and intangible assets, and complex securities for tax, financial reporting, and transaction advisory purposes. Today, Andersen's global valuation practice has a presence in more than 25 countries. In addition, we are expanding our reach by establishing expertise in Investment Consulting globally. This will enable us to provide an independent voice in assisting clients with effective and informed investment choices which reflect their unique financial and investment goals.
In the past seven years, Andersen's impact has been visible in the growth and development of businesses in the Nigerian business landscape. Our firm has curated innovative solutions for businesses, providing guidance and quality advice to both private sector and public sector entities.
Andersen is a valued thought leader and has contributed to policy formulation at national and state levels through our participation in key reform committees. Our publications, including weekly newspaper articles, tax and regulatory alerts, and our regular media engagements, have contributed to deepening the tax and regulatory environment. We invest a lot of resources in educating the public and keeping them informed of issues relating to the business environment.
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