Recently merged accounting firm Crowe Horwath Jamaica will be expanding its footprint into Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba over the next 12 months.

“We are currently very advanced in rolling out throughout Trinidad and we are significantly advanced in rolling out our presence in Cuba,” managing partner of Crowe Horwath Jamaica, Dawkins Brown, told the Jamaica Observer at the launch of the new brand on Thursday.

As more Jamaican companies looks to establish a presence in Trinidad and Tobago, Brown reckons that the demand for professional services will increase amid the big four accounting firms — PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and Touche, KPMG, and Ernst and Young — already operating in Trinidad and Tobago.

“We believe in Caribbean linkages and we believe that there are a lot of Jamaican companies who will establish their presence in Trinidad and will need help in identifying the right location, business partners, recruiting staff, and setting up operation,” he said.

He added that the advantages of setting up manufacturing plants in Trinidad, where energy cost is significantly less than in Jamaica, will heighten local manufacturer’s interest in that country.

“It’s Caricom; the treaty is there which speaks to double taxation, almost free mobility of technical staff. We see our growth as almost lateral.”

Brown noted that setting up operations in Trinidad will be a fairly easy task since all the firms under the Crowe Horwath umbrella adopt international accounting standards.

“So all we are doing is lifting the platform and putting it there. And we are not even lifting everything because a lot of services will be supported by the Jamaican team remotely,” he said.

As for Cuba — “Cuba is very interesting; we see over the next five to 10 years the US amending aspects of its embargo [which] is significant,” Brown continued.

Crowe Horwath Jamaica hopes to capitalise on the unstructuredness of Cuba, which has few accounting standard or procedures. Additionally, with the expected lifting of the US embargo, Cuba will soon be open to an influx of private firms — local and international.

“We know that a firm will be required to help them structure working with governments as consultants to set up their systems and also to work with the private sector. And we also talk about foreign companies who would want to set up in Cuba,” Brown told the

Caribbean Business Report.

Recently, the former UHY Dawgen merged with accounting firm Crowe Horwath International, which is touted as being ranked among the top 10 global accounting networks with more than 200 independent accounting and advisory services firms in more than 130 countries. The international firm members are known for personal service to privately and publicly held businesses in all sectors, and have built an international reputation in the areas of audit, tax and advisory services.

Crowe Horwath Jamaica will call on the services of its partner firms in rolling out across the Caribbean, but its hub will remain in Jamaica.

“We already have the market, so what we are doing now is working with the regulations of the countries,” Brown said.

With plans underway to expand its footprint into Caribbean markets, Crowe Horwath Jamaica expects to see an increase of 35 per cent in its customer base over the next 12 months.

Additionally, Crowe Horwath Jamaica will be employing another 35 people by year end as it seeks to increase its ability to compete in the global marketplace, while further embracing local small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) seeking to do business internationally.