Reading time: 5”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Improve through emulation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00ab<\/em> Discussing and sharing views and expertise on joint projects helps us to be more relevant and efficient. Everyone retains his or her independence and specificity, and it’s this marriage of differences that makes the group strong. \u00bb<\/em> (Ga\u00eblle Loinger-Benamran)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact that two professionals have \u00ab the same level of knowledge of their common customer<\/em> \u00bb<\/em> enables them to \u00ab exchange ideas and provide better support together<\/em> \u00bb<\/em>. (Maxime Soulignac, chartered accountant in an SPE with a lawyer, Compta online<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Attracting new customers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SPEs make life easier for customers by offering them a one-stop shop from which they can access a whole range of services: “Customers really appreciate the added value we can bring them thanks to our combined expertise and synergies. We’ve also been able to win over new customers who immediately embraced our vision.” (Ga\u00eblle Loinger-Benamran).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00ab<\/em> Imagine the strike force of a company specializing in wealth management and bringing together lawyers, notaries and chartered accountants<\/em> \u00bb<\/em> (Guillaume Boulan<\/a>, lawyer and head of the Eurojuris network).<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Pooling resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The economies of scale enabled by an SPE are far from negligible in terms of office space, IT services, communications and human resources. This can enable small structures with no budget margins to dedicate to these \u00ab ancillary \u00bb items, to increase their visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Attractive employer brand<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00ab<\/em> With a total of 500 people in our SPE, we have significant recruitment capacity, which attracts talent, sometimes from far away, and fosters prospects for advancement \u00bb <\/em> (Jean Boisson<\/a>, member of an SPE bringing together lawyers and a firm of chartered accountants and statutory auditors since 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to increasing staff numbers and the communications budget, the SPE is also an original practice structure that can attract people weary of the traditional model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Solidity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If well managed, the association can provide greater resilience in the event of a drop in sales, as was the case with the covid crisis : \u00ab If I still had the slightest doubt at the beginning of the year about the strength of our structure, the health crisis and the confinement would have definitively removed them ! \u00bb<\/em> (Jean Boisson<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Make sure you share the same values<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like firm mergers<\/a>, SPEs will only be successful if the partners are sure of their compatibility beforehand: \u00ab We are associated with lawyers with whom we had already been working for around ten years. We took some time before finalizing our partnership, to confirm our compatibility and affinities in terms of projects and resources. \u00bb<\/em> (Ga\u00eblle Loinger-Benamran)<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Defining a common business project<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The SPE is the most advanced form of interprofessionality, and it’s important to be clear about the purpose behind the approach. Joining forces for the sake of joining forces “is pointless; you need a project, an economic rationale, a target, a – often niche – market” (Soir\u00e9e Village de la justice<\/a>, 2018).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00ab The creation of such a structure, however relevant, requires a complete audit of one’s activity and a clear definition of one’s objectives before initiating exchanges with potential partners, taking the time to get to know each other to take stock of everyone’s skills around a common entrepreneurial project. \u00bb <\/em>(Audrey Chemouli<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Anticipating technical difficulties<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of the technical difficulties involved in setting up an SPE can be anticipated thanks to the guide and the experience of the pioneers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00ab We need to anticipate the organization of the SPE with great rigor, to compartmentalize what needs to be compartmentalized and avoid conflicts of interest. This requires very concrete measures, such as a secure back office. We have a team of 10 people headed by a CIO to ensure that lawyers and chartered accountants do not have access to information to which they are not entitled \u00bb<\/em>. (Jean Boisson<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Preparing customers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some professions, such as notaries, have had clients for generations. You will need to be particularly vigilant in communicating with them to explain your project, check that they are on board, and reassure them that they will continue to be free to choose their own professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Getting support<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While the guide will shed light on many previously obscure points, setting up an EPC is still a long-term project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00ab You have to be aware that setting up an EPC takes a lot of time and raises a number of issues that must be anticipated. In my opinion, it’s essential to be accompanied by seasoned professionals (lawyers to draw up the articles of association and partnership agreements, chartered accountants\/asset auditors to value the various activities that may already exist within the SPE, etc.) \u00bb<\/em>. (Ga\u00eblle Loinger-Benamran)<\/p>\n\n\n\n *Ga\u00eblle Loinger-Benamran, an industrial property attorney, is co-founder of TAoMA Partners<\/a>, one of the first multi-professional firms to bring together lawyers and industrial property attorneys. As President of the Future of the Profession and Digital Commission of the CNCPI (Compagnie Nationale des Conseils en Propri\u00e9t\u00e9 Industrielle), she took part in the drafting of the guide on SPE<\/a>s. A member of the Emerize think-tank, dedicated to the legal and accounting professions, she recently gave an interview<\/a> there, from which the quotes in this article are taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new era for partnerships between chartered accountants and lawyers<\/a>, Wilo, 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n La cr\u00e9ation d’une soci\u00e9t\u00e9 pluri-professionnelle d’exercice: une opportunit\u00e9 strat\u00e9gique pour l’expert-comptable. R\u00e9flexions et pistes pratiques de mise en place<\/a>, Dissertation by Julien Patry, 2017, For a fee<\/p>\n\n\n\n L’interprofessionnalit\u00e9 permet d’aller bien au-del\u00e0 de l’apport d’affaires<\/a>, Compta Online, 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does interprofessionalism open up promising prospects<\/a>, Village de la justice, June 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n La soci\u00e9t\u00e9 pluri-professionnelle du droit et du chiffre sort de terre<\/a>, EFL, June 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soci\u00e9t\u00e9s pluri-professionnelles d’exercice, le chemin reste long<\/a>, Les Echos, July 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n SPE: s’enthousiasmer, anticiper et construire l’interprofessionnalit\u00e9<\/a>, Village de la justice, July 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interprofessionnalit\u00e9: se lier pour se renouveler<\/a>, Interview Village de la justice, August 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n Les SPE, de r\u00e9elles opportunit\u00e9s<\/a>, Les Echos Judiciaires, September 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat are the points to watch ? What about ethics ?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nFurther information<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n