Scherrer Hernández CPA firm takes on new identity, becomes BDO
Gabriel Hernández and Fernando Scherrer
Corporate accounting firm Scherrer Hernandez & Co. is looking to “play with the big boys” in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, becoming part of the world’s fifth largest accountancy group, the prestigious BDO network.
Local partners Fernando Scherrer and Gabriel Hernández announced the conversion that is taking place on the firm’s 12th anniversary, saying the company will now be able to compete head-on with the so-called “big four:” PricewaterhouseCoopers; Deloitte LLP; Ernst & Young; and, KPMG.
“Our firm has maintained consistent growth since its founding and we are already ranked fourth among Puerto Rico’s auditing and accounting firms,” Scherrer said, “Becoming part of this well-established international network and benefitting from BDO’s enviable reputation for delivering consistently exceptional client service is going to have a marked effect on our international client portfolio, in particular.”
Scherrer Hernandez & Co. was established in 2000 and provides audit, accounting and business consulting services, as well as tax compliance and advisory. The company generated $14 million in revenue for the year ended January 2012.
Scherrer is confident that joining BDO will mean that the firm will grow rapidly in the near future, projecting an growth in billing to $20 million in five years.
“We’re convinced there’s opportunity in the market because we’ve had customers tell us they would have wanted to hire our services that required international certification, as the big four have, which we can now provide,” Scherrer said, noting the company will continue concentrating on banking, distribution, real estate, construction, retail and government clients.
“Our firm has always taken pride in challenging the accepted modes of service delivery and, based on our core ethics of trust and collaboration, we ensure that we provide the best results for all our clients,” said Hernández, head of the firm’s tax division. “Our project strategy is to deliver to clients on time, on budget and according to agreed scope.”
During a meeting with a small group of local business reporters, Gerd Glaudemans, regional senior partner for BDO based in Curaçao, said adding the Puerto Rico-based firm to the network represents new opportunities to cooperate in favor of client companies.
“We have local clients and many that operate on a more international basis, which have subsidiaries in Puerto Rico that want to be serviced they way they are on an international level, with the same level of expertise,” Glaudemans. “This firm can deliver the quality that the network expects and represents great growth for us in the region.”
