Gold Magazine February - March 2013, Issue 23 | Page 22

interview

five minutes with...

The professional
services industry
should be our
main focus and
number one
priority

Constantinos
Chiotis Partner, Abacus Ltd.*

W

hat does it
mean for you
to be made
a partner in
a firm like
Abacus?
I am honoured that my Partners have
endowed me with their trust and confidence and invited me to join them in
continuing and enhancing Abacus’ reputation as a “Best in Class” international
business services firm. During my time
at Abacus, I have had the opportunity to
participate in the firm’s growth, and, at
the same time, to gain a genuine appreciation of its heritage and the importance
we place on adding value to our clients
globally, while contributing locally to the
quality of life of our colleagues and the
Cypriots in general.
No one can deny that a partnership
appointment brings prestige and longterm rewards but it comes with great
responsibility to create growth for the
firm and for the industry, which will lead
to further opportunities for all. This is a
challenge which I strongly embrace.
You worked in the US for three years.
Is there a noticeable difference in the
way the professional services sector
operates there?
Other than the sheer size of the firm
and of the clients in general in the US,
I wouldn’t say that there is a noticeable

difference. Even though my work in the
US was more local in nature (versus heavily international in Cyprus), I strongly
believe that reputable firms in Cyprus
and their people are the equals of their
US equivalents.
How confident are you that the
professional services sector in Cyprus
will continue to thrive and drive the
economy in these difficult times?
People need to realise that the services
sector is a sunrise sector for the country.
Before we get carried away with the
performance of our Tourism sector and
the whole hydrocarbons euphoria (which
is a major blessing, of course – if handled
properly), it’s the Professional Services
sector that has been the driver of the Cyprus economy for the past two decades,
showing remarkable growth even through
the crisis. Moreover, the sector has also
supported and complemented several
others (mainly Tourism and Construction) by attracting higher-spending
visitors/clients. As a key growth sector,
therefore, the professional services industry should be our main focus and number
one priority. It needs to be nurtured and
further streamlined, modernised and
regulated to become more competitive
with other traditional financial centres. If
we do all the right things (or at least the
obvious ones) this is where, in my opinion, future growth will come from.

20 Gold THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

What do you hope to achieve in your
new capacity as part ner?
The ownership/management of Abacus
has always operated the company so that
we keep one foot in today and one foot
in tomorrow, regardless of what’s happening around us. In an economy like
this one, everyone tends to concentrate
on today. In our opinion we can’t do
that. We’ve got to be looking forward
and doing as many things for tomorrow
as we are doing for today, even when
we’re at the top of our game. What I
hope to achieve therefore, is to contribute as much as I can towards shaping
the company’s strategic direction for the
future (and that of the industry in general) in a way that maximises growth and
creates opportunities for our colleagues
and all young professionals in Cyprus. To
achieve this, by building on the tradition
of leadership that has served the firm and
our clients well throughout our history, is
the biggest challenge for me.
* Constantinos Chiotis holds a BSc (Hons)
in Accounting and an MBA. After finishing
his studies in the US, he joined the assurance and advisory services department of
Deloitte in Phoenix (Arizona), where he
also qualified as a CPA. He later joined
PwC’s Tax department and also held a top
executive role with a prominent private
group of companies. He joined Abacus in
March 2007. On 1 January 2013 he was
made a Partner in the firm.