Our history
BDO, Semaan, Gholam & Co has been initially established as Russell & Co in 1930. The Lebanese auditors Alex Semaan and Georges Gholam joined the firm during 1931 and 1948 respectively: both gentlemen were instrumental in founding the accounting profession in Lebanon as a whole and Georges Gholam remains the Senior Managing Partner of the firm.
In 1970, Arthur Young took over Russell & Co. In 1972, Alex Semaan and Georges Gholam abandoned Arthur Young and established Alex Siman & Co. In 1996, the firm was renamed Semaan, Gholam & Co. and Antoine Gholam, Nicolas Barakat and Nehmé Semaan were nominated partners of the firm next to Alex Semaan and Georges Gholam.
In 2011, BDO, the world’s fifth largest accountancy network, has announced the appointment of Semaan, Gholam & Co as the new BDO Member Firm in Lebanon.
BDO, Semaan, Gholam & Co. is a member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms.
BDO, Semaan, Gholam & Co is a growing firm that currently groups more than a hundred of talented and experienced people. Our workforce consists of Accounting, Finance and Auditing graduates from top universities in Lebanon. A great number of professional staff is affiliated to the Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants (LACPA) which is the sole organization representing the CPA profession in Lebanon.
Antoine Gholam is BDO Lebanon's international liaison partner, assisted in the management of the firm by his partners, Nicolas Barakat and Nehme Semaan and Hani Abboud. He says: “Our firm's diverse client base already knows that we are committed to long term relationships as their trusted adviser and we look forward to enhancing our service offering through collaboration with BDO firms both across the Middle East region and further afield. Being a member of BDO network helps our people to grow and we are committed to the sustainable development of all who work for us. BDO Lebanon's client approach is directly aligned to that of BDO international and the firm has the skills and expertise to deliver the high-quality service our clients expect”.