The Congress took place at the Sheraton Krakow Hotel on the banks of the River Vistula and very close to the Wawel Castle where the coronation of Polish Kings took place.

The Welcome Cocktail and Buffet Dinner took place in the Wisla Ballroom and 94 companions and delegates representing 38 member firms and 24 countries met colleagues and friends.

The Social Tour on Friday June 11 for the companions incorporated a visit to the Renaissance Castle of Pieskowa Skala which houses a branch of the Wawel National Art Collection and they stayed there for a light lunch.  This was followed by a visit to The Ojcow National Park that encompasses the valleys of two rivers: Pradnik and Saspówka. 

The Congress Programme was very full this year and started on Friday June 11 with a welcome from Liam McQuaid, Chair of the region, and he introduced Teresa Brzozowska and Pierre Wautelet (BW Corporate Services, Poland) who did a short presentation about Poland.  The European Regional Committees then gave an update on their activities for 2009 and proposed activities for 2010.  This was followed by a presentation on the Political and Economic Status of Poland given by Professor Grzegorz Kołodko (Former Deputy Premier and Finance Minister of Poland).
 
After a short coffee break Andrew Brown (Chairman of EGIAN, European Group of International Accounting Networks and Associations) gave an update on EGIAN and the European Institutions in Brussels.  This was followed by a presentation on Client Development given by Andy Syms (Client Development Partners Ltd).  This session incorporated a short round table discussion on “TLC” (Think Like Client).  Nick Blake then did a brief presentation about Good Citizenship which included an update on the procedures that are now taking place in the International Executive Office to monitor response times on all issues from the member firms.

The Business Development Committee presented a brief update on their activities and Werner Kleinle (Wirtschaftstreuhand Group) then introduced Daniel Guéguen (CLAN Public Affairs, Belgium) to do a presentation on European Institutions and how EU work can be more easily obtained.

After the close of the meeting all attendees walked to the Jagiellonian University for a special visit arranged by BW Corporate Services.  The visit incorporated a welcome speech by the Rector of the University followed by coffee and refreshments.  The attendees were then split into three groups and had a guided tour of the Collegium Maius which now serves as the museum of the University.

On Saturday June 12 the meeting was opened with the 8th Annual General Meeting where Nicholas Blake, Company Secretary of the European Region updated the members on the financial position of the region and asked the members to vote on the resolutions.  This was followed by New Member Firm presentations by Wright Vigar Limited (United Kingdom) and Köker CPA & Auditing Inc. Co. (Turkey).

These were followed by a presentation on Sales Commission or Bribe?  Factual and Legal aspects of a tightrope walk in China by Jürgen Kracht (Fiducia Management Consultants Ltd in Hong Kong), a very interesting insight into the way business is conducted in China.  This was followed by a presentation about PCAOB – going through the process….. by Jim Carulas – International Chair of AGN (Meaden & Moore, USA).  Some firms outside of the United States have gone through the process of being PCAOB registered and some are considering this for the future.

The Tax Session was introduced by Nancy Cruickshanks and the first speaker in this session was Stephen Bill of the European Commission in Belgium on the subject of  Work of the European Commission – in Particular the recent EU wide VAT changes.  This was followed by a presentation on Cross Border Tax Planning by Miles Dean (Milestone International Tax Consultants in London).  The final session of the congress was presented by Karl Horsburgh (HT Group SA, Luxembourg), on the subject of International Tax Planning through Luxembourg.

The closure of the conference was led by Liam McQuaid as chair of AGN International – Europe Limited, who thanked all the delegates for their participation and announced that the conference next year would be held in Vienna, Austria.  The now traditional handing over of the AGN flag took place and Teresa and Pierre handed the flag to Wolfgang Schwarzer of Schwarzer & Co and Josef Wurditsch of Consultatio Wirtschaftsprüfung GmbH & Co. KG the two firms based in Vienna.

A celebration cake was arranged for Jürgen Kracht and his wife Cynthia as it was their 28th Wedding Anniversary and was presented to them during the lunch for delegates and companions.

In the afternoon, delegates and companions were invited to join a touristic tour around the old city of Krakow.  The tour started with a very short coach ride to the Barbican gate at the top of Florianska Street and continued with a walking tour of the old town that included a visit to St Mary’s Basilica and Wawel Castle.

The Gala Dinner took place in the evening at the Wierzynek Restaurant in the Old Town Square.  This is the oldest and most famous restaurant in Krakow.  The rooms were elegant and the food was excellent.  After the dinner there was an open bar and dancing in the cellars below the restaurant.

The conference was very successful and feedback from the delegates was very positive.  Members were able to meet with their AGN colleagues and had the opportunity to do business and make new contacts.