You know how the story goes. The success stories you remember best all have a common thread: they start with humble beginnings in a garage, student room or a remote, provincial location far removed from fame and fortune. The company that forms the basis of BDO today has a similar story to tell.
On 16 February 1948, Sten Erik Feinstein started an audit firm that for many years would go under the name of Sten Erik Feinstein Revisionsbyrå. He was not yet 28 years old and started the firm in his mother’s flat on Kungsholmen in Stockholm. One year later he moved the agency into its own offices and the rest, as they say, is history.
We have a long history, but there are a number of stand-out years that are particularly important to us. In 1973 the agency became a member of the global organisation BDO, named after founders Binder Dijker Otte & Co. Another key milestone was the formation of SwedAudit, which at the beginning of 1982 consisted of ten independent firms. In 1987, the name was changed to BDO Revision, which grew to encompass 25 agencies during the 1990s.
Today BDO is the world’s fifth largest audit and advisory organisation with around 110 000 employees in about 160 countries. The Swedish company employs about 700 people at around 20 offices. From the first Stockholm firm started by Sten Erik at the end of the 1940s, today’s company has grown to be the entrepreneur’s leading guide for advisory, audit, tax and business services.