Global accounting and advisory network HLB has admitted a new member firm in Qatar: Antonio Ghaleb & Partner CPA.

Adding to its extensive coverage right across the Middle East, global accounting and advisory network HLB has appointed Antonio Ghaleb & Partner CPA of Qatar as its latest member firm. Operating out of Lusail City north of Doha, Antonio Ghaleb & Partner was established in 2017 and provides audit & assurance, business advisory, tax, corporate governance, and HR services among its offerings.

“The strategy for joining HLB was not only to grow our business in the marketplace, but to align with a network that shares our core values and where we can offer our expertise. We believe that through persistence and determination we will grow and reach new milestones. The journey has started with HLB, as together we can make anything happen.” said founder and Managing Partner Antonio Ghaleb.

Earning an MBA in auditing in 2012, Ghaleb prior to establishing the business spent six years as an audit and risk manager with Mazars, before which he served for two years as a senior auditor with Jeffreys Henrys (Assad Haddad & Partners) in Beirut. “Antonio Ghaleb & Partner CPA will make a great addition to our global coverage and will be a great addition to our Middle East network,” HLB stated.

The addition of Antonio Ghaleb & Partner CPA – HLB’s sole current member firm in Qatar – comes on the back of the network this month celebrating its 50th anniversary. Formed in 1969 (as Hodgson Landau Brands, based on the names of former early members), HLB International, as it was rebranded in 1990, has since expanded its footprint to almost 750 offices in more than 150 countries worldwide.

With collective revenues now exceeding $2.7 billion – growing by over 60 percent since 2013 and on track to eclipse its target of $3 billion by 2020 – HLB is the world’s 12th largest network of its kind, chasing the likes of Baker Tilly and Nexia on the mid-tier table. To underscore its growth, last year the firm unveiled fresh corporate branding, including a new logo, tagline, website and overall look.

“We live in a time where everyone – our clients, our people and our members – are always online, said HLB CEO Marco Donzelli at the time. “This new brand represents our identity, our values and our aims, and allows us to communicate more naturally in the digital space… I look forward to seeing the new brand adopted across the network as we prepare for our 50th anniversary next year.”

Celebrating that milestone on the 7th of June, the network held its first ever global Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, #HLBCommunities Day, with 1,320 participants contributing nearly 8,500 volunteer hours to 42 community projects worldwide, including volunteering with the elderly and at food banks, supporting after school programmes, and helping with outdoor public maintenance.