Armando Hernandez, CEO, H&CO

In an interview with Invest:, Armando Hernández, CEO of H&CO, talked about how the firm supports clients expanding overseas by helping them open new operations abroad, staffing them, and handling the accounting side. He said that the company delivers the same level of service, integrity, and presence in the 29 countries where it is present by leveraging the local business know-how of its employees.

How is H&CO supporting client operations?

We are a global expansion advisory firm rather than just a CPA firm. We help companies that want to expand overseas, so if a company or investor aims to invest or start operations in another country, we help them open that company abroad and staff it. Moreover, we hire employees for clients, implement a SAP-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, and handle accounting and taxes. We are present in 29 countries and have close to 1,000 employees helping clients in those countries. 

H&CO has offices and people in almost every country in the Americas. That includes not only the U.S. and Canada but also Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Paraguay. Nevertheless, our presence in Europe reaches the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Spain. We are also present in South Africa, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, and Turkey. We can help any company or anybody that aims to invest, buy real estate, or expand business to any of those countries. Our ideal client is any corporation that does business internationally, which includes small and large companies that have an international component. We also help companies and investors coming to the U.S. as a subsidiary foreign corporation. 

What are the most significant achievements and milestones for H&CO over the past 12 months?

The highlight of 2024 was the acquisition of a company called Corpag, which is a Netherlands-based company that has become one of the largest providers of incorporation, business, and fiduciary business entity management services. It was a great acquisition because that gave us a presence in many new countries and places, which expanded our reach to provide those services.

What’s your perspective on the influx of companies into Florida?

Miami continues to be an attractive destination for foreign investors. We still see people coming from all over the place, but the investors coming today have more money compared to three or four years ago because Miami has become more expensive. We are seeing high and ultra-high net-worth individuals coming to buy real estate properties compared to only high net-worth individuals in the past.

Investors aim to buy a $500 million property in Miami as an investment expecting for it to appreciate, but it is not possible to find such a property in Miami nowadays. It has become a different ballgame for many international players. Miami might be the only city in the world where billionaires are kicking out the millionaires. Whereas in the 1980s it was possible to buy a building for $1 million, nowadays you can buy a condo for $2 million. The transformation has been dramatic. Miami was inexpensive compared to New York, Hong Kong, California, or London, but we are reaching the same level as those cities.

Prices have been driven by the high demand that makes it more difficult for foreign investors with less capital to invest in Miami. For instance, many Latin American investors are moving up north but they are investing in other cities such as Orlando. Those Latin American investors are high rather than ultra-high net-worth individuals. On the other hand, ultra-high net worth individuals from Latin America continue to come to Miami.

How does H&CO help clients navigate the challenges stemming from international expansions?

Our main value proposition is our experience in the international market, our knowledge of the culture, and the fact that we speak the language of investors. Having bilingual professors enables us to, for instance, connect a Brazilian advisor to Brazilian investors or a Spanish advisor with Spanish investors. We have employees from almost every country, so we have someone who knows the culture and can work with those investors. 

Our local presence in many countries also enables us to help investors. We know the local market, culture, and how to do business there. Knowing exactly how to operate, deal with people, and do sales means we can help the investors, so we become those investors’ most trusted advisors. For instance, an investor going to Colombia will have somebody there helping them with everything. That person will go by the same principles and rules of a CPA in the U.S., which guarantees the same level of integrity, presence, and service that we offer in the U.S. 

Considering the importance of talent for H&CO to support its clients, what is the strategy of H&CO to attract and retain top talent?

We have one of the best internship programs in the country that has worked wonders for us. That program enables us to attract the best students coming out of college to work here. We then ensure that we have the culture in place and that those interns are treated with respect in the way they want to be treated. We also help them grow so we can retain some of them. Our culture is putting people first as we believe that we have done so well because of the people we have. We would otherwise not be able to serve clients. 

We have been lucky to attract the best of the best. I have the best professionals in our industry working in every country where we are present. We do not have problems attracting people. We get about 500 resumes every time that we publish a position. That allows us to cherry pick the best of the best.

What is your outlook for international business growth over the next few years and how does H&CO plan to support clients?

Globalization is here to stay thanks to technology and the search for talent worldwide. Working from home was accelerated after the pandemic, which enables people to work remotely from Miami, Orlando, Spain, China, India, or anywhere. Companies are now going overseas to not just do business but also to hire talented people. H&CO has employees in many countries, but we also help clients hire in those countries. Opening that talent pool for companies in the U.S. is one of the ways that we can help those companies go where they want to go. For instance, if a client based in Miami wants to hire tech employees in Argentina, we can do it for them. 

With globalization, we are becoming one country because there are no frontiers in the business arena anymore. Technology enables people to find out what others are doing, so when something is good in one country, it can immediately expand to every country. For instance, if something works in Spain, it reaches Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil within a few months. AI will make things move even faster. There is a lot of potential for companies to benefit from the globalization market in terms of what they should do to be competitive.

What are H&CO’s top priorities and growth objectives for the next two to three years?

People complain that things are bad in the times that we are living, but you have to look at the positive side. There are a lot of opportunities all over the place. When you look at the international market, one country may not do well one year, so it is important to diversify the risk. That is the beauty of being international. Anybody that is not in the international market is missing out on not only the opportunity to do business and make money, but also to learn so much from others.

Our goal is to maintain our commitment of helping clients invest overseas and open new operations. We want to expand our reach by opening new countries so clients have more possibilities to expand. We have the goal to start operations in two or three new countries per year.