GEMA

Gema is an accountancy and tax advisory office on Lambrechtshoekenlaan in Merksem, the northern district of Antwerp. Its story begins in 1973, when Marcel Geens founded it. The accounting act of 17 July 1975, which required every business to keep double-entry books, brought steady growth, with a lasting focus on small businesses. His daughter Kristjan Geens joined in the 1980s and built up a client base in the Antwerp region and across Flanders. On 31 January 2019 the office was taken over by Steve De Greef.

The new owner kept the original working methods and values and added two elements: a full range of services and computerisation designed to stay easy to use. The office highlights fast action, made possible by a lean structure, and regular contact with each client. These conversations are used to review current activity and to understand the business better, so that advice fits more closely. Confidentiality of information is presented as a basic requirement.

The core accounting tasks apply at every stage of a business, from incorporation to closure, through growth, merger or acquisition. Gema handles bookkeeping and the filing of the annual accounts, as well as monthly or quarterly VAT returns. The office values proactive communication: it points out to clients the opportunities and threats it sees in their figures, such as late payments or products that sell poorly.

The tax side covers the follow-up of obligations for VAT, personal income tax and corporate income tax. The office advises, argues and defends its clients during tax audits, looks for optimisation within the legal framework and continuously monitors their tax position to avoid unpleasant surprises. It also carries out due diligence for acquisitions and sets up succession and wealth plans.

Gema also offers first-line legal support through an in-house legal adviser. The areas listed are company law, employment law, tax law, including international tax treaties, commercial lease and farm tenancy law, and mergers and acquisitions. For more complex files, the office calls on external legal experts while remaining the central file manager.

Start-ups receive full support: drafting the business plan, both qualitative and financial, start-up formalities, financing and investment advice, start-up grants and subsidies, and preparing documents such as general terms of sale or a lease. The website sets out a step-by-step plan, from testing the idea to joining a social insurance fund.

Clients choose how they work. They can hand in their documents on paper every month or quarter, and the office even offers to collect them. They can also switch to the online portal « Mijn dossier », accessible from a computer, tablet or smartphone without installing software, where bookkeeping, articles of association, annual accounts and Belgian Official Gazette publications are kept together. A transition period is offered to those who want to move gradually from paper to digital.