Stresa/Munich, 12 November 2010 – The name "WTS" (World Tax Service) will be associated with corporate tax consulting in even more countries around the globe in future. At a convention of international tax consultants in the Italian town of Stresa at Lago Maggiore the foundation of the new WTS Alliance was announced which is now taking the legal form of an association. As a consequence, the members of such network which has been continuously growing since its inception in 2003 will be cooperating even more closely. Already today the concept of WTS Alliance can be considered a success. Since the association has members and cooperation partners in more than 90 countries around the globe, in particular globally active companies can rely on competent and reliable partners. The appearance is now to become more uniform, both in the representation to the outside but also in the day-to-day work.

This was a "milestone" in the 10-year-history of WTS rooted in Munich, said Fritz Esterer, CEO of the tax consulting firm, at the opening of the international convention of WTS Alliance in the Italian town of Stresa. He added that the new association would give the consulting network a more uniform appearance and more clout. The board of the new association will consist of three representatives of the network's founder and name giver (WTS AG Steuerberatungsgesellschaft from Germany) as well as one representative each from America, Europe and Asia.

"After having created the appropriate structures it is now crucial to tap joint cross-border business opportunities", explained Mr Esterer. His vision is to establish a premium network of consultants that stands for global presence, innovation and excellent work. By strengthening the WTS Alliance the demands of the business world were met, elucidated Mr Esterer. A survey among the heads of tax departments of large international groups and medium-sized companies had shown that a uniform appearance, a coordinated approach, high quality standards, a solution and practice-oriented consulting strategy as well as quick responses to client enquiries are the main criteria for commissioning large tax consulting firms, he outlined and added that this was particularly true for globally active companies with consulting needs in several countries. These expect to have a central point of contact and to be able to draw on the best expert knowledge in the respective country. Due to its independence, its specific success in outsourcing, the practice-oriented approach and the world-wide team spirit of its consultants, WTS Alliance was indeed unique, Mr Esterer underlined. He promised that in the future the association would focus on further increasing its brand strength, the targeted business development in its core markets and the establishment of consistent service lines world-wide.

As an innovative consulting house WTS was a synonym for distinctive products and solutions, emphasised Mr Esterer and added that with the addition of finance-related management consulting WTS would not only continue to be one of the major tax consulting firms in Germany but would also gain more international importance in future. "Today we are very pleased to be considered the hidden champion in our industry. At the same time this compliment is an incentive for us to use all our effort to move ahead in the market", announced CEO Fritz Esterer and continued that this also involved enhanced cooperation with law firms as in many transactions tax and legal issues were becoming increasingly interrelated.

At the convention in Stresa WTS Alliance could also welcome its most recent members from Australia, Austria, Malta and Ukraine as well as promising candidates for further enlargements. Finally WTS Alliance also passed a BRIC initiative as many of the existing as well as new international clients wish to be assisted in their expansion in the growth markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China as well.

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