Stöllinger leaves helm of KPMG Hungary after 16 years

Robert Stöllinger

Robert Stöllinger will retire from KPMG on December 31, 2019. Rózsai is the current head of the firm’s Audit practice. Gábor Beer, who is currently managing the tax and legal practice, will step up as head of Advisory and become deputy national senior partner.

Stöllinger joined KPMG in 1992 and was appointed head of the Hungarian audit practice in 2000. Since 2003, he has been the firm’s CEO, holding this position for 16 years. During that time, KPMG’s Hungarian business grew from just 380 employees in 2003, to become a group with 1,300 employees, providing services to every major player in the Hungarian economy, the press release notes.

Under Stöllingerʼs leadership, KPMG grew to become the largest of the Big Four firms in Hungary. Budapest now hosts a Digital Audit Center, a global services center (KPMG Global Services Hungary), and KPMGʼs Global Sports Advisory practice. All of these are unique within the KPMG global network, the press release notes.

KPMG’s now departing senior partner also served as head of the Central European audit practice until 2015, and from 2016 led the Hungarian business advisory practice.

“I have spent half of my life with this firm,” Stöllinger says, “and as I depart, I feel I have enjoyed almost every minute here. As a leader, one can easily fall into the trap of feeling irreplaceable, but at our organization that has not occurred. The years spent here have been fantastic and challenging, a time in which we have succeeded through a series of good decisions and recruiting and developing the right people. Iʼve been planning retirement from KPMG for quite some time, and it was no question for me that there are capable successors at the firm who can be entrusted with its future leadership for a seamless transition. I wish Rezső, Gábor and all my colleagues every success!”

Rezső Rózsai

New senior partner Rezső Rózsai began his career in 1997 at KPMG in Hungary. In the course of his career path, from 2002 he began working as a manager in Audit. He was selected for partnership in 2008 and head of Audit in 2014.

For the past ten years, companies such as BMW, Continental, Graphisoft, Mercedes-Benz, SAP, Siemens and Zwack Unicum have been among Rózsai’s clients, KPMG says. He has extensive experience in corporate restructuring, acquisitions-related financial and accounting advisory, and IFRS conversions. Following his appointment as head of the firm, he will also continue to head KPMG in Hungaryʼs Audit practice.

“Iʼll be taking over a solid and prosperous practice from Robert, from whom Iʼve learned a great deal over the years,” says Rózsai. “It will be difficult to replace him, but we will work hard to build upon his legacy.”

Gábor Beer, who since 2014 has headed the firm’s tax and legal advisory practice, has been appointed head of business advisory. He has been involved in tax consulting since 1999, joining KPMG in 2000. Beer specializes in tax matters in the real estate and industrial sectors, and has a wealth of experience in international tax matters, as well as being a renowned tax specialist in M&A.

“Under Robert’s leadership, the Advisory practice has been renewed, and every day I can see that the team is performing outstanding work,” notes Beer.