Press Release: Innovation in the consulting industry: Afileon Group enters the market

Oberhaching, January 21, 2025 –

• The new "Afileon" network of tax consultancy, auditing and legal consulting firms starts with revenue of 100 million euros.

• The Germany-wide group addresses SMEs as clients.

• The law firms in the network expand their consulting portfolio and support each other with their expertise.

• The employees of the law firms benefit from better training and career opportunities throughout the Group.

• Afileon takes over central services such as recruiting, optimisation of the IT infrastructure, digitalisation and AI, as well as client marketing for the law firms.

Afileon Audit GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft from Oberhaching near Munich is transforming the industry in Germany with an innovative network model. The concept combines the benefits of a strong network with the personal support of local law firms that operate independently. Afileon's aim is to be the leading premium consultancy in the areas of tax, law and auditing with the best possible service for SMEs in German-speaking countries.

Network of mid-sized law firms with the expertise of a large provider

Afileon brings together mid-sized law firms to form a strong corporate group. The law firms enter into reciprocal shareholding, in which the partners are directly invested in Afileon and Afileon takes over the shares of the law firm in return. Unlike previous approaches in the law firm market, which either rely on individual law firms, industry systems or large corporations, the partners in the Afileon Group enjoy entrepreneurial freedom and offer their advisory services regionally with their mid-sized law firms. They are supported by a high-performance service company. "Afileon combines the best of both worlds: a strong corporate group paired with entrepreneurial and therefore client-orientated law firms," explains Uwe Richter, CEO at Afileon.

The goal is to bundle the consulting expertise of a wide range of law firms, each of which is one of the best in its own specialised field. From the client's perspective, the range of advisory services is then expanded, while maintaining the same level of personal support. The partner law firms are equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

At the launch of Afileon, 19 partner law firms with 28 locations and total combined revenue of 100 million euros are on board:

• Bartsch & Kollegen Steuerberatungsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg

• Conrad, Bartsch & Kollegen GmbH, Hamburg

• BFS, Offenbach

• bks partners. GmbH Steuerberatung, Munich

• BM Partner Revision GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Düsseldorf

• Garlich, Müller und Partner mbB, Haan (near Düsseldorf)

• Kai Säland + Collegen Steuerberatungsgesellschaft mbH, Harsefeld

• LHP Rechtsanwälte, Fachanwälte für Steuerrecht, Steuerberater Tax GmbH and LHP Legal GmbH, Cologne, Zürich

• Mertens Schabow Steuerberatungsgesellschaft Hamburg mbH, Hamburg

• navigator GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Gütersloh

• TAXFBA GmbH, Hamburg

• TLC AG Steuerberatungsgesellschaft, Berlin

• Weitkamp Hirsch & Kollegen Steuerberatungsgesellschaft mbH, Schleswig

• Dr. SchwarzPartners GmbH, Fürth, Neustadt, Kahla

• Dr. Schwarz Recht GmbH, Fürth

• Friebe & Dr. Schwarz GmbH, Nuremberg

• Freiß Dr. Schwarz GmbH, Nuremberg

• Wartenberg, Dr. Schwarz Steuerberatungsgesellschaft mbH, Ingolstadt

• Harrer, Dr. Schwarz & Partner mbB, Neumarkt

Further law firms are set to follow in the coming months.

Structure of the market

For the law firms, the Afileon model means considerable strengthening of both their economic and personnel situation. The tax consultancy market in Germany is currently highly fragmented with over 50,000 independent law firms.

The "Big 4" and "Next 10" focus their advisory services primarily on DAX companies and larger SMEs. To date, SMEs have mainly been served by individual, mid-sized law firms. As a large provider, Afileon now addresses SMEs so that they can benefit from the professionalism and technical infrastructure of a large network of law firms, while still enjoying the individual support of a small service partner. Alongside tax consultancy, SMEs will also be able to take advantage of auditing and legal consulting in future, thereby enjoying an excellent service portfolio from a single source.

Challenges faced by the industry

The Afileon Group offers the many independent tax consulting firms the opportunity to strategically position themselves for the future. After all, the industry is facing considerable challenges:

1. Need to digitalise

Digital transformation and artificial intelligence, together with increased cybersecurity and data protection requirements, are changing the industry at a rapid rate. Clients also expect small law firms to offer a professional and technically modern service – so those who cannot pace risk losing clients in the future. Without big data and modern AI tools, as well as an extensive IT infrastructure and IT expertise, consulting activities can no longer be performed securely and in line with market requirements. In a study of law firms conducted by "manager magazin" in April 2024, some 80 percent of respondents expect digitalisation and AI to change the industry significantly.

Afileon shoulders the necessary investments in digitalisation and AI at Group level, which then benefit all law firms in the network.

2. Skills shortage

In a survey of law firms conducted by market research institute Innofact on behalf of Haufe, almost 60 percent of the law firms surveyed have difficulties finding qualified employees. This leads to a loss of revenue and potential closures of law firms. In fact, 30 percent of all law firms are even considering terminating existing client relationships due to bottlenecks. And one in four law firms will be forced to turn down new clients in future if the recruitment bottleneck does not ease. The situation is particularly serious for smaller law firms with fewer than 50 employees. In this group, almost half of the law firms have already noticed a significant decline in applications.

A central service company supports law firms in the Afileon Group with recruiting, personnel development and further training. Enticing career paths and specialised training within the Afileon Group attract the best talent and offer long-term prospects.

3. Requirements in terms of the size of companies

Small and mid-sized law firms often lose large companies as clients when their consulting needs require a more comprehensive service portfolio. Within the Afileon network, these law firms will also be able to handle larger clients in future, as they can draw on the services offered by other law firms within the strong Afileon community. Since Afileon takes care of HR, marketing, IT and administrative tasks for all law firms, the partner law firms can then work more efficiently and concentrate on providing clients with valuable advisory services.

"Afileon's business model represents an attractive solution for mid-sized tax consultancy firms, as well as their employees and clients," says Frank Jacob, CCO of the new network. "The industry is undergoing massive change, and we find the right approaches for this transformation."

About Afileon

The Afileon Group was founded by a team of experienced managers and professionals from the tax consultancy industry. The company's mission is to provide tax consultancy, auditing and legal consulting services for SMEs in an uncomplicated, excellent and personalised way. In the coming years, Afileon will continue to expand its leading role as a premium consulting company in the German-speaking region. Afileon's shareholders are the partners of the law firms, a leading Swiss private market investment manager (Partners Group), as well as the management team and employees at Afileon.

Press contact

Stefanie Karkheck
presse@afileon.com
+49 (0)171 212 6829