Franco Falzon & Franco Azzopardi

Since its inception through a management buy-out deal, the firm 3a Accountants has been investing seriously in plotting the coordinates of its corporate strategy. The vision of the firm is ‘to be a distinctive accountancy firm building on durable relationships between talented professionals and (challenging) business clients’ (www.3a.com.mt) . Through its investment with its advisors, namely Mr Joseph FX Zahra and Mr Franco Azzopardi, 3a is working incessantly towards living and achieving this vision. Within just a few months, it managed to move its offices to the upmarket penthouse level of a prestigious office block in Valley Road Birkirkara, which offices were recently officially opened by the Hon Tonio Fenech. Mr Neville Cutajar, Managing Director and spokesman for the board said that “this move was a natural first step towards creating the right ambience for the right talent to intersect with the needs of our target customers”.

Franco Azzopardi is currently a management and business advisor. His core competence is in envisioning entry-to-exit business strategy and his main industry specialisation is Professional Service Firms. Franco has been advising the Board of 3a since its inception. The role of a non-executive director (NED) in the board has been explored and based on experience drawn from the corporate world and better practice governance procedures, the contribution of an NED in the boardroom of an owner-managed business such as 3a will most likely add significant value to the shareholders and other stakeholders of the company. As a NED, Franco’s contribution will be an unbiased and independent body of thought since he holds no equity and is neither involved in the day-to-day operations. “The skills and knowledge Franco will bring into 3a will be extremely valuable. His reputation and extensive background in being a motivator, innovator and alert risk-manager gained over many years managing and advising successful professional service firms will be a force in our Boardroom”, Clive Farrugia an equity partner and director said. Franco Azzopardi holds a Master of Science postgraduate degree in Finance with the University of Leicester in the UK, is a Fellow of the Malta Institute of Accountants and is a Certified Public Accountant and registered auditor.

Franco Falzon has a Masters degree in International Tax Law at the Vienna University of Economics and Business administration. After graduating from Vienna, Franco invested further in himself by joining the tax department of Ernst and Young (Malta) where he intersected theory with practical experience in international taxation. Franco also obtained with distinction a diploma in Maltese domestic tax law from the Malta Institute of Taxation. He is also an active member of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners, the Malta Institute of Taxation and the Chamber of Commerce. Franco will report directly to Christian Vella, a director in 3a Accountants, and responsible for the Tax Advisory Directorate. ‘Christian Vella emphasised that “It was a conscious effort from our part to strike an arrangement with Franco. We are long time colleagues and we firmly believe that Franco will not only be a forceful driver in tax advisory directorate, but he will also be appreciated by our customers for his assertive, surgical and analytical qualities that make him an advisor of choice”.