Athene Tax opens a new department in Sweden
We are expanding our services for companies with international activities by opening a new tax department in Sweden with Rikard Öberg as managing director.
Opening a new department in Sweden is an important step in our growth strategy. Athene Tax Sweden will collaborate with the head office in Norway to deliver seamless services to our customers in the Nordics, says Petra Remman, Head of Athene Tax.
In order to get to know the new department in Sweden and the collaboration with the Norwegian office a little better, we have had a chat with both Remman and Öberg.
Why start Athene Tax Sweden?
Athene has an ambitious goal to become one of the largest providers of accounting and tax services in the Nordic region within the next 5 years. We see an increasing demand for taxation advisory among our existing and new clients. In order to offer premium support, our strategy is to establish local offices in all Nordic countries, Remman says.
Therefore expanding our existing accounting services in Sweden with a new dedicated tax department is an important step in this direction. Our goal is to offer a single point of contact and provide advice through each step of the process. The focus of Athene Tax Sweden will be entity management, compliance, direct and indirect tax advisory and Global VAT/GST consulting.
What advantages do customers get with a separate department in Sweden?
Our clients are mostly corporations with international presence, for which cross-border tax harmonization often is a key element. Having both accounting and tax under one roof provides the client with a unique experience focused on approaching their challenges from a variety of angles. In addition, we offer a variety of services connected to entity establishment and management.
How will the Norwegian and Swedish Tax department work together?
The headquarter of Athene Tax is located in Oslo and will play an important role in aligning all our international growth. The Norwegian and Swedish office will work close together to ensure that the customer receives a seamless experience independent of location. This we plan to achieve by focusing on communication and teamwork in all of our tax departments, Remman concludes.
We warmly welcome our new CEO in Athene Tax Sweden, Rikard öberg.
Why did you agree to come in as CEO and start up the Athene Tax department in Sweden?
I know Arild Haavik (CEO of Athene Group) from the time I worked as CEO of TMF Group, and also know that Athene is very good at accounting and payroll. Not least, the company is also very focused on finding technological solutions, which is the future of the industry. Especially if you want to work with foreign companies. In addition to that, I have wanted to work in a larger team again for a while, after working in my own company for several years after my daughter was born.
What is your previous experience?
I have a background in law and have also worked with foreign companies that want to start business in Sweden throughout my career. Right from when I worked at the so-called Foreign Tax Office at the Swedish Tax Agency to my time at TMF Group and Foothold.
What are you most looking forward to in Athene?
It will be very fun to work in a larger team again and I think I can contribute a lot in terms of developing the services we can offer our customers today as well as making Athene an attractive partner for foreign businesses that want to start businesses in the Nordics .
Do you have any ambitions/goals in the position of CEO in Athene Tax Sweden?
The ambition is to take as many market shares as possible in the Nordic region. In contrast to, for example, many trust companies, Athene has a greater focus on offering technological solutions for its customers, which means that we can offer greater flexibility than many other companies.
In addition, I believe we can offer good conditions for our employees by being a nordic group, which is important considering how the labor market looks for e.g. accounting economists.
What do you think about the future of Athene Tax and is there something you want to focus on?
The goal is for Athene Tax to become the market leader in the Nordics and the focus will thus be on developing the services we can offer in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. The foreign customers often have a greater need for a wider range of services than what a traditional accounting firm offers, and if we manage to meet that need, we have good prospects for growth.
