Our firm
Our Firm
About Us
Since 1955, API Expertises has been supporting businesses and individuals in their projects with proximity, expertise and innovation.
Our story began in Saint-Lô, when Julien LEBAS founded the firm in Saint-Lô. An inspiring anecdote: before becoming a Chartered Accountant, he was an athlete and even competed in the Olympic Games!
Today, our Saint-Lô headquarters is ideally located near the Julien LEBAS sports centre, in a leafy setting, just a stone’s throw from the swimming pool, golf course and local shops.
In 1998, we opened our Torigny-Les-Villes office, driven by Michel PESCE.
Then, in 2014, Michel LEFEVRE joined the adventure as a partner, followed by Laurence HENNEQUIN and Vincent AVENEL.
This momentum was accompanied by the opening of the Valognes office and the merger with Cabinet Alain Pignolet et Associés, renowned for its expertise in the equine sector.
Why choose API Expertises?
Because we do more than just keep your accounts:
✅ Tailor-made support to secure your decisions
✅ Strategic advice to develop your business
✅ An available and responsive team to simplify your daily life
Our locations to be close to you:
- Saint-Lô, our historic headquarters
- Torigny-Les-Villes, opened in 1998
- Valognes, in the heart of the Cotentin and Cherbourg industries
Our strength today:
- 3 partner chartered accountants: Mrs HENNEQUIN, Mr LEFEVRE and Mr AVENEL
- 2 additional chartered accountants
- 80 committed employees
Our areas of expertise:
- Accounting & taxation
- Payroll & HR
- Business law
- Strategic consultancy & CSR
- Wealth management
At API Expertises, you benefit from a reliable, local and committed partner, ensuring your projects come to life with total peace of mind.
Alain PIGNOLET & Associés, your leading equine accountancy firm since 2002
Located in the heart of Saint-Lô, renowned as the ultimate home of the horse, our firm benefits from a vibrant environment, with leading equestrian institutions such as the National Stud Farm and the Pôle Hippique. Our expertise enables us to offer specialised accounting services tailored to professionals in the equestrian sector throughout France.. You can rely on our expertise and experience for all your accounting and financial needs within the equestrian sector.
Accounting: serving owners, breeders and high-level riders
Alain Pignolet & Associés stands out for its expertise dedicated to the equine sector, with a marked specialisation in the field of Show Jumping (CSO). Since its inception, our firm has developed deep sectoral proficiency, meeting the specific needs of our equestrian clientele. Today, our team comprises around forty staff members managing over 1,000 cases, offering comprehensive services covering accounting, taxation, legal, social and HR aspects, as well as management and consultancy.
We work with a wide range of activities within the equine world, including owner stables, breeders, riding centres, boarding stables, sport horse, trotter and galloper studs, pre-training services, dressage, trotter and galloper training, as well as professionals such as drivers, jockeys and riders. Our services also extend to farriers, trading stables, and horse promotion associations, thereby ensuring comprehensive assistance for all facets of the equine industry.
The merger between C2L Expertise and the Alain PIGNOLET firm
C2L Expertise joined forces with the firm following a professional alignment between the partners of C2L Expertise (Michel Lefèvre, Laurence Hennequin and Vincent Avenel) and Alain PIGNOLET. This union is based on a shared vision of client relationships and support, focused on proximity and advice, while maintaining the family spirit characteristic of the equine firm.
In order to maintain the capacity to provide a service of excellence, to develop new management support tools, and to expand further into the racing world, Alain PIGNOLET & Associés merged with C2L, whose partners indeed share the same values. Furthermore, each benefits from IT tools integrated with artificial intelligence—indispensable for producing the essential dashboards required by the equine industry. This allows for the pooling of specific knowledge of the racing world, complementary to Alain PIGNOLET’s expertise in sport horses. Consequently, this development between the two firms brings new skills in wealth management, human resources and CSR.
Thus, the Pignolet firm, strengthened by this new synergy, is committed to providing personalised, high-quality support while preserving the values and family spirit for which it is renowned.
A few words about our equine chartered accountant
Alain Pignolet, a former high-level rider, is the founder of Alain Pignolet & Associés. With recognised expertise in the equestrian field, he has established a benchmark firm dedicated to advising horse professionals.
His impressive career and deep understanding of the specific challenges facing the equine industry allow him to offer specialised and bespoke services, covering accounting, tax and legal needs, while supporting the equestrian community with passion and dedication.
Our experts
Alain PIGNOLET est un expert-comptable de renom, reconnu pour son expertise dans le domaine équestre. Ancien cavalier de haut niveau, Alain Pignolet a su conjuguer sa passion pour les chevaux avec ses compétences professionnelles pour devenir un conseiller de référence pour les professionnels du cheval. Son expérience et sa connaissance approfondie du secteur l’ont conduit à créer un ensemble de services de conseil spécialisés, adaptés aux besoins spécifiques des acteurs de la filière équestre. Alain Pignolet offre ainsi des solutions sur mesure, alliant expertise comptable et compréhension fine des enjeux propres au monde équestre. Implanté à Saint-Lô, une ville reconnue comme terre de cheval par excellence grâce à son Haras national et son Pôle Hippique, Alain Pignolet bénéficie d’un environnement propice au développement et à l’accompagnement des projets équestres. Son implantation stratégique lui permet de rester au cœur des activités et des innovations de ce secteur dynamique. Grâce à son parcours unique et à sa passion indéfectible pour les chevaux, Alain Pignolet continue d’apporter son soutien et ses conseils avisés à ceux qui font vivre et prospérer l’industrie équestre.
Riche de la connaissance du monde de l’entreprise, de l’expertise comptable et de l’audit, je vous accompagne dans vos projets afin que vous puissiez atteindre vos objectifs. Je suis là pour vous assister et vous apporter une vision globale de l’entreprise en privilégiant l’anticipation.
Présent depuis de nombreuses années aux côtés de nombreux chefs d’entreprises, je vous accompagne pendant toute la durée de votre projet, de la création à la cession de votre entreprise en toute sécurité et sérénité. Mon appétence pour les nouvelles technologies me permet d’apporter un autre regard sur votre organisation future. Vos choix stratégiques actuels ont des conséquences pour demain, je vous propose d’anticiper, d’innover, de voir plus loin!
Fort d’une riche expérience professionnelle, mon parcours m’a permis d’accompagner une grande variété d’entreprises dans leurs projets de croissances (création, acquisition, cession, financement), ainsi que leurs dirigeants dans leurs stratégies patrimoniales. De plus, je me suis intéressé aux procédures collectives (droit des entreprises en difficultés), domaine pour lequel j’ai effectué une spécialisation auprès de l’université de Panthéon Sorbonne. J’interviens sur tous secteurs d’activité avec une expertise au sein du cabinet sur le secteur équin.
Membership
Our firm is a member of the Order of Certified Public Accountants.
For chartered accountants specialising in the agricultural sector, UNECA is indispensable. Created, designed and organised by chartered accountants for chartered accountants, UNECA ensures we stay constantly informed and benefit from the best documentation and advice for the success of our missions with a highly demanding clientele in a constantly evolving sector. Membership of UNECA also provides security, offering reliable and validated information—unlike that found at random through internet searches. And as experience in the agricultural sector has repeatedly shown, there is a real synergy on the ground between chartered accountants, notaries, lawyers and agricultural land experts.
Synerga is a group of independent chartered accountancy and statutory audit firms, present in 80 towns across France and comprising 1,000 staff members.
Our membership of Synerga:
– guarantees high responsiveness to legislative changes through the pooling of resources and knowledge;
– provides you with the availability of specialists and access to a comprehensive range of services;
– allows you to benefit from the strength of a national group, which is a member of the MSI international network, to support your development in France and abroad.
Pôle Hippolia is an association accredited as a ‘competitiveness cluster’ by the French State, and is the only one dedicated to the equine industry. Its missions are manifold, yet its ambition is singular: to position the French equine sector as a world leader in innovation.
We are a member of Pôle Hippolia because we share this same ambition through the support we provide to our clients within the equine industry.
MEDEF is the leading network of entrepreneurs in France. It is a social partner. The strength of MEDEF lies in its territorial network and its professional branches.
MSI is an international network of independent chartered accountancy and law firms, present in around a hundred countries across every continent.
Thanks to these correspondents, our firm can support you towards new horizons and address any accounting or legal queries with an international dimension: exports, imports, expatriation, and more.
