Business Support Services

A look at lawyers, accountants, and more

Expats.cz Staff

Written by Expats.cz Staff Published on 11.04.2006 11:16:32 (updated on 11.04.2006) Reading time: 4 minutes

Written by David Creighton
for Expats.cz

Setting up a company in the Czech Republic? Negotiating an important business deal? Wading through the labyrinthine tax system? In all these situations it´s extremely useful to know where to find good business support services, especially lawyers and accountants/auditors/tax advisors. Here is a brief overview of where to look.

Very often, foreign nationals who are looking for business support services immediately consider long-established international firms, for example the ‘Big Four´ of Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. However, although they may not have the international backing of global firms, many Czech law and accountancy firms are equally professional and reputable. Lawyers and accountants are generally trained to a high standard, and finding a professional who speaks English shouldn´t be difficult. Younger lawyers will almost certainly be fluent in the language, and a good many will speak another language too. The situation is basically the same for accountants/auditors/tax advisers. However, as with lawyers, while older professionals will likely speak another language it may not be English.

Finding a Lawyer

It´s often the case that international companies operating here will still tend to use the services of a large, international law firm such as Clifford Chance or Linklaters.  Clients see these companies as having a solid reputation and a presence on the international scene that the local firm may not have. But if you are looking for legal advice bear in mind that choosing a local firm can have definite advantages too, and over the last few years Czech law firms have developed the range of services that they offer. Another advantage of a Czech firm is that it can offer you with advice at a competitive rate and at the same time provide the same level of quality as an international firm.

When choosing a company you have a number of options to consider. Firstly, word of mouth and the personal recommendation of others in business circles can be a good way of finding a company. You may want to choose a firm based in own country and which has representation here; companies from the EU nations and the US operate in the Czech Republic, so contacting the commercial section from the relevant embassy may be a good idea. Another option is to contact the Czech Bar Association (Česká advokatní komora). This body is the professional association of lawyers in the Czech Republic and like similar organisations elswhere, is concerned with ensuring that professional standards are maintained. It acts as a regulatory body to ensure standards and quality. The Association has a database of individual lawyers as well as firms, and it also gives details of specialisations of firms and lawyers. Thirdly, there are the usual sources, such as the internet or the Yellow Pages (Zlaté stranky), although you have no way of gauging the quality of the firms listed or in some cases the actual services provided by a lawyer or law firm, in the latter.

Further Information:

Czech Bar Association
Národní 16, Praha 1, 110 00
Tel.: 221 729 011
Fax: 224 932 989
e-mail: sekr@cak.cz
www.cak.cz

The Association also has an office in Brno.

Accountants, Auditors and Tax Advisers

If you´ve ever had to fill out a Czech tax return (daňové přiznáni) you´ll know that getting somebody else to act on your behalf in accounting matters is a good idea. And at some stage you´ll need to use the services of an accountant, auditor or tax adviser anyway. The accountancy profession is not regulated in the Czech Republic, although it has a professional body, the Union of Accountants (Svaz učetních), and a reputable accountant will have a government licence as evidence of competence. In contrast, the auditing and tax advice sectors are regulated and there are also separate professional bodies representing them; the Chamber of Auditors of the Czech Republic (Komora auditorů ČR) and the Chamber of Tax Advisers of the Czech Republic (Komora daňových poradců ČR).

Although there is obviously a considerable deal of overlap between these professions, an accountant may not necessarily be authorised to act as a tax adviser or auditor. In particular, if you use the services of smaller firms or self-employed accountants you should find out what they are qualified to do.

As with law firms, the accountancy sector in the Czech Republic consists of the large international firms as well as many local companies. The process for finding an accountant, auditor or tax advisers is basically much the same as that for lawyers, as described above.

Further information:

Union of Accountants 
Štěpánská 28, Praha 1,
tel.: 224 041 015,
fax: 224 042 915
Email: hv@svaz-ucetnich.cz
www.svaz-ucetnich.cz

Chamber of Auditors of the Czech Republic
Opletalova 55
110 00 Praha 1
Tel.: 224 212 670
Fax: 420 224 211 905
Email: kacr@kacr.cz
www.kacr.cz

Chamber of Tax Advisers of the Czech Republic
P.O. Box 121
657 21 Brno
Tel.: 542 422 311
Fax: 542 210 306
Email: kdp@kdpr.cz
www.kdpcr.cz

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