2013-Issue 19— As many companies are learning, providing leadership in challenging times is no easy task. As Alvarez & Marsal Taxand heads into its 10th anniversary year, I want to personally extend my deepest thanks for allowing us to help guide you, our valued clients, through your most complex tax challenges.

Two weeks ago, Alvarez & Marsal Taxand proudly hosted the 2013 Global Taxand Conference at New York's acclaimed Waldorf Astoria Hotel. I was delighted to interact with so many of our clients over the course of the three-day program. It was truly exciting to see our firm bring more than 600 people together to network at the annual flagship event - an event that would not have been such a success if not for you. That's why this issue of Tax Advisor Weekly is a special one; it provides me with yet another opportunity to say "thank you." It's because of you that Alvarez & Marsal Taxand is more committed than ever to providing unparalleled, excellent client service.

The Alvarez & Marsal Taxand journey officially began in May 2004, when I joined Alvarez & Marsal, a global professional services firm, as the sole tax professional in pursuit of a dream. Our goal was to build a high-quality global tax advisory organization that recognized the need for independent, objective services unencumbered by audit-based conflicts of interest. Our global tax organization would provide you, our clients, with an alternative to the Big Four, the "fifth option." Today, Taxand has more than 3,000 professionals with more than 400 partners and $500 million in revenue from tax services in 50 countries. Thanks to you, Taxand now is the "fifth option."

You may ask, how did we get here? We knew that to deliver high-quality tax advice, we needed high-quality professionals. Alvarez & Marsal Taxand has now recruited more than 50 partners with Big Four backgrounds. Why did they join us? The answer is simple. Our partners enjoy serving clients without being hampered with the conflicts of an audit practice or a large bureaucracy. Once we had the right people, the most important question became, would clients hire us? The fact that we are now the fifth largest high-quality tax firm in the world is the answer we had hoped for. Thank you!

We understand that you need high-quality tax advice AND high-quality service, and our commitment to our clients is that we will never take your support for granted. Too often, we have heard from our clients that our competitors are not providing high-quality service, including not responding promptly to their needs. We will continue to deliver the best service in the market and make the following promises to you: 

• We will respond to your call or e-mail within 24 hours.
• Our partners will not sell you a project and then disappear, leaving a less experienced team to be trained at your expense. Instead, our partners will lead a team of seasoned personnel that have done it before.
• We will offer quality tax advice and help you to implement our advice to ensure we provide value to your business.

We hope that by being the "fifth option" and by raising the bar for exceptional client service that we have also raised the bar on the service you receive from your other providers.  

Again, it is our sincere pleasure to partner with you, our valued clients, to solve some of the most pressing tax issues companies face today.

Thank you for choosing Alvarez & Marsal Taxand for your tax needs.