Ferrier Hodgson joins Baker Tilly to extend global reach

Singapore

FERRIER Hodgson - the financial advisory and restructuring firm involved in landmark cases such as Singapore Flyer, Borders Singapore, and now Hyflux - is joining the Baker Tilly International network and rebranding.

The nine-person team will also join forces with the insolvency practice of Baker Tilly in Singapore, moving into the same office and operating "in a fully-integrated manner", Ferrier Hodgson partner Tim Reid told The Business Times.

Ferrier Hodgson will change its name with immediate effect and operate under the Baker Tilly brand, though remaining legally separate.

"We've known Baker Tilly for a good period of time, we've respected each other's firms, we've cross-referred work, and we see this as a significant opportunity," said Mr Reid.

"The world is becoming a borderless world and we see significant benefit in joining the Baker Tilly network, a very well-respected and extensive network in this region and also globally."

Baker Tilly Singapore is one of the country's top 10 accountancy and business advisory firms with some 290 staff. Baker Tilly International is a top 10 global network of such independent firms, with 35,000 professionals across 145 territories.

Within Singapore's highly-competitive environment, Mr Reid has been "able to win work that most people would think would go to the Big Four", said Sim Guan Seng, managing partner for Baker Tilly in Singapore.

Mr Reid and Ferrier Hodgson executive director Theresa Ng are currently receivers of the power plant owned by Hyflux subsidiary Tuaspring. They were also receivers of the Singapore Flyer, judicial manager and liquidator of Borders Singapore, and liquidator of California Fitness gym chain operator J. V. Fitness.

In insolvency, having "the person with the right experience, the right expertise, is critical in winning big jobs", said Mr Sim. Although Baker Tilly Singapore had an existing insolvency practice, it was much smaller and did not handle such high-level work.

Mr Reid will continue to serve current clients, while extending his and his team's services to Baker Tilly's clients in Singapore and the region.

Singapore is becoming an increasingly important area for restructuring, and entities may not just be based in Singapore but in multiple jurisdictions, said Mr Reid.

"If you're doing this sort of work, along with the litigation support, evaluation-type work that we're doing, one needs to have on-the-ground knowledge, local knowledge, to do work effectively and efficiently."

In restructuring cases, it is not enough to be present where an entity is headquartered, he said. Rather, one needs local knowledge wherever the affected company operates.

"We have previously not been able to take on jobs because we did not have a presence in the local market," he said, noting cases when a presence in Europe was needed and Ferrier Hodgson could not provide one. "With this network, we won't be facing that problem."

In contrast, the Ferrier Hodgson network has been shrinking, with Singapore business as the sole remaining single-branded network office before this move.

Ferrier Hodgson had long been on Baker Tilly's radar, and the shrinking of the former's network had not escaped attention, said Mr Sim.

In March, the news of KPMG Australia acquiring Ferrier Hodgson's Australia partnership - a separate entity from the Singapore business - "expedited (their) plans", he added.

Mr Reid and Ms Ng bought Ferrier Hodgson's two Singapore entities in April, giving them the autonomy to decide what should be done.

The move comes against the backdrop of accounting firms here expanding their legal services - even as conflict of interest worries have prompted calls in the United Kingdom for the Big Four firms to be split up.

But Mr Reid does not see such pressure being applied beyond the Big Four to "mid-tier firms" such as Baker Tilly.

Similarly, noting that conflict of interest issues have been around for the longest time and Baker Tilly is "stringent on ethical requirements", Mr Sim said: "We are the right size."

"We are big enough to service the kind of work that Tim needs, but we are also small enough not to have too many conflicts."

And while Baker Tilly is always looking for firms "to bring in or work with", any collaboration will have to be premised on cultural and strategic fit, he said. "We're not here to chase some numbers game."