IFS has been a boutique international tax consultancy firm since 1971, specifically created to assist entrepreneurial clients with the development of their international business operations. Established by Roy Saunders, IFS was initially geared towards entrepreneurs trying to extend their UK based businesses to the common market, now the European Union, in which at that time the UK was only a prospective member. An IFS office in London and Amsterdam catered for both their advisory and implementation needs in creating the appropriate structure for such expansion. In the 1980s, Roy opened offices in New York, Madrid, Jersey, Cyprus and the Netherlands Antilles to help US based clients expand their businesses to the developing markets outside of the US, as well as EU clients wanting to invest and develop businesses in the US. The 90s saw the development of Eastern Europe where IFS began to develop its significant client base in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and many other countries. And with the growth of China, India and Africa on the international stage there has been no dearth of potential markets which have required Roy’s expertise.

Having written many books on international taxation comparing the tax systems in over 30 countries, Roy extended his academic knowledge to younger professionals through his creation of the International Business Structuring Association (the IBSA) in 2014.