Alfonso Osorio

BDO was founded in 1963 through a merger of four firms from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and the US. What has the company’s trajectory and evolution in Spain been like?

The BDO story is an amazing one. We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of our global organization in 2013. Today, as an organization, BDO is powerful and well organized. Our global organization has grown to include more than 90,000 people working in 167 countries and territories from 1,685 offices around the world. At the same time, it is one of the main international professional services networks. Thanks to the process of digital transformation that BDO initiated a long time ago, our company has improved significantly. Today, we are leaders in exceptional client service; we have a top level audit process tool and Client Portal, and in 2018 we became IAB’s Network of the Year for the second time in three years. We have taken definitive steps on our path to becoming a truly digitally focused global firm that tackles the challenges presented by the fast-paced professional services environment head on. This means all audit services carried out worldwide are implemented with the same IT application and methodology, on the same platform, through the same management systems, backed up on an exclusive BDO cloud, and run with the same control of all digital audit procedures. Our closed-based platform ensures a highly secure and centralized digital client experience. These tools are gaining ground right across BDO and ensure that our clients enjoy a fully connected experience from day one to the audit engagement. We have further invested in strengthening our IT infrastructure, particularly in the areas of information security, cloud services, and digitalization.

How was BDO able to increase its business value by 7.8% during the pandemic?

Our continued and accelerating growth rate is born of a clear strategic aim to be leader in our markets, supported by relevant business-critical acquisitions as well as hiring experienced professionals and teams in each field. We have been the fastest-growing organization in our profession for the last 10 years. Centers of excellence were established within all our business lines: audit and assurance, advisory, risk advisory, tax and legal, and outsourcing. As business post pandemic—and the modern business owner—become more global, we will work together internationally to provide client-focused solutions, taking market-leading examples from each firm to deliver a best in class global solution.

Can you elaborate on your new model called Rethink?

Rethink was launched by BDO as a response to the problems brought about by the pandemic. Businesses are operating in a new reality. Supply chains, the workforce, sales, and financial health could have been impacted by it. Businesses may want to rethink every aspect of their business, from the business model and strategy, down. Rethink has to do with the firm’s attitude toward the market, turning our services around in order to help clients, based on the stage they are at, in dealing with the pandemic: reaction, resilience, or implementation. Rethink is BDO’s global framework encouraging a broad reassessment around original business models and commercial assumptions that can be used to manage business priorities, address issues, and leverage innovative thinking. Depending on the stage each BDO client is at, we can help to build resilience and achieve any growth opportunities they encounter.

What are BDO’s objectives for 2021 in Spain?

Regulatory and public policy matters have become a key strategic consideration for BDO globally, and they are becoming increasingly important for our clients as well. Market expectations are often even higher around some of our services and public debate on a series of issues such as non-financial information reporting, sustainability, climate change, corporate governance, cybercrime, data protection, privacy, anti-fraud, anti-bribery, and anti-money laundering is increasingly visible and relevant. BDO has sought to lead and be an example through our transparency reporting locally and globally, which heightens trust in what we do and how we do it, as well as helping shape the environment in which both we and our clients operate.