OUR PARTNERS
Burçin Gözlüklü, Ph.D.
Managing Partner, Sworn-in CPA
Burçin Gözlüklü is the founder of Centrum Sworn-In Financial Advisory and Consulting Inc. and he serves as the managing partner. He also serves as the chairman of ETL Turkey Office, which is a part of Germany based ETL Group, one of the top Tax and Audit companies in worldwide. Centrum has been listed as Best Tax Firm in Turkey for 2018 by International Tax Review, a leading International Publisher in tax world.
Before establishing the Centrum Group, Burçin has worked as a tax inspector within the Turkish Ministry of Finance Tax Inspectors Board for 10 years.
Beginning from the mid-2008, he was appointed as the Secretary General of the Turkish Accounting Standards Board (now named as Public Oversight Board), and took the leadership role of adopting the international accounting standards (IFRS/IAS) into Turkish legislation for 3 years. During this period, he participated as a member in the Asian - Oceanian Standard Setters Group (AOSSG) and as an observer member in the World Standard Setters (WSS) Group.
During his duty as Secretary General, he actively participated in the preparation of the New Turkish Commercial Code (TCC) as well as he represented our country regarding accounting and audit legislations of new TCC during the negotiation process of EU Acquis’ Company Law Chapter with EU Commission.
The European Union acquis represented our country in terms of accounting and auditing regulations of the new TCC during the negotiation of the Company Law chapter with the EU Commission.
After he left public sector in 2010, he became the Group Audit Coordinator of Koç Holding Inc., which is the biggest conglomerate and the only Top 250 Fortune's Global Listing company in Turkey. For three years before establishing Centrum, Burçin served as the Tax Management Coordinator of Koç companies responsible from the tax advisory and management of the group firms.
Burçin Gözlüklü has received his BA degree in Business Administration from the Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences. He has a Ph.D. degree in finance and accounting from Başkent University.
Between the 2011 and 2014 years, he served as the member of Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) intellectual rights sub-study group. Between 2011 and 2013 years, he represented TÜSİAD in the Commissions of Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority.
He has been the executive board member of the International Financial Management Association of Turkey since 2013.
In 2020, he was elected as the executive board member of the Istanbul Economy Summit and as the independent member of the board of director of a listed company, Yeni Gimat GYO A.Ş.
He holds Sworn-in CPA and independent auditor degrees and he is fluent in English.
Specialty Areas
Fazıl BOYRAZ
Partner, Sworn-in CPA
He started his career in 2004 as a Revenue Assistant Specialist at Turkey Revenue Administration.
Then worked as a Tax Inspector at the Turkish Ministry of Finance Tax Inspectors Board between 2005-2014 in this position. During this time he was the Group Vice President at the Ankara Big Scale Tax Payers Group Department his work was focused on tax inspection,report assesment and reconcillation.
After that between 2012-2013 when he was working at Tax Inspection Board he was responsible from the coordination between Big Scale Taxpayers Deparments and Transfer Pricing Departments in the meantime he was also reporter for the Tax Inspection Board Central Report Assesment Commission.
In January 2014 he was assigned as Head of Group in responsibility of Corporate Income Tax at the Revenue Administration.He worked in this positon 6 years and in February 2020 he resigned his public office.
Specialty Areas
Adem BİLGİLİ
Partner, Sworn-in CPA
He began his career as Assistant Tax Inspector at the Tax Inspectors Board under the Ministry of Treasury and Finance in 2007. Upon passing the proficiency exam, he was appointed Tax Inspector in 2010.
Between November 2012 and February 2014, he served as Department Assistant Director at the Ankara Large Scale Taxpayers Department of the Tax Inspectors Board, responsible from inspection assignments, reconciliation and report evaluation commissions. During the same period of time, he also served as reporter of Central Report Evaluation Commission under the Turkish Tax Inspection Board.
Between February and August 2014, he served as technical advisor to the Minister of Treasury and Finance.
In August 2014, he was appointed Department Director to the Turkish Revenue Administration and served until April 2019 in charge of legislation and practices of SCT (Special consumption tax), BITT, RUSF, SCT (Special communication tax), ToGoC and analysis of VAT returns.
In April 2019, he was appointed Department Director to the Turkish Revenue Administration, responsible from VAT, SCT (Special consumption tax), BITT, RUSF, Digital Services Tax, SCT (Special communication tax), Accomodation Tax and ToGoC. He served until January 2021 when he resigned his commission and joined Centrum Group as tax partner.
During his commission at the Turkish Revenue Administration, as a member of the Rulings Commission, he took part in the evaluation process of precedent rulings. Also during 2019, he served as substitute to the Department Director responsible from stamp tax, duties and taxes on wealth (inheritance tax, motor vehicles tax, real estate tax).
During his commission at the Turkish Revenue Administration, he acted as the member representing the the Ministry of Treasury and Finance in councils of certain organizations, mainly in the sectoral councils of TOBB - The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (Automotive, Capital Markets, Maritime), various non governmental organizations and international organizations.
During his commission as Department Director at the Turkish Revenue Administration between 2014 and 2020, he played an active role in the preparation, decision making and inditing processes of various legislations such as laws, presidential decrees, edicts and communiques.
He was gratified with the Executive Success and Performance Award of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance in 2019.
He graduated with honours from the Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Gazi University in 2017.
Specialty Areas
Okan NETEK
Partner, Sworn-in CPA, Lawyer, Independent Auditor
Okan NETEK started his career in the banking sector in 2004 and joined the Board of Tax Inspectors of the Turkish Ministry of Finance in 2007, where he was appointed as Tax Inspector in 2010. Between 2011 and 2015, he served as a Tax Inspector at the Tax Audit Board, Izmir Large Taxpayers Group Presidency. From 2015 to 2016, he held the position as Group Vice President who is responsible for tax examinations, report evaluation commissions and settlements.
Between 2016 and 2021, he served as the Director of Financial Affairs at Yaşar Holding A.Ş., based in Izmir, where he was responsible for tax management, corporate risk management, and investor relations management processes for group companies. From 2021 to 2023, he held the position of Group CFO and the Member of the Board at CMS Jant, based in Izmir.
Okan NETEK holds undergraduate degrees in Business Administration from Middle East Technical University and Law from Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Law. In 2009, he obtained a graduate degree in International Finance from Istanbul Bilgi University, and in 2013, with a scholarship from the Turkish Ministry of Finance, he obtained LLM degree in International Tax Law from the University of London - Queen Mary College. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies in financial law at Yaşar University Social Sciences Institute.
Okan NETEK is a Certified Public Accountant registered at the Izmir Chamber of Certified Public Accountants, a Lawyer registered at the Izmir Bar Association, and an Independent Auditor registered at the Public Oversight, Accounting, and Auditing Standards Authority of Turkey. He is proficient in English.
Specialty Areas
Fırat Coşkun GÜÇLÜ, Ph.D.
Partner
He started his career at Yıldız Holding Control and Auditing Group in 2004 and continued there until 2013, and he worked in the Audit Department of Bilkent Holding (Tepe Group) between 2013-2015. Between 2015 and 2017, he worked at Natura Gıda San. A.Ş. (Golf Ice Cream) as a CFO. Since 2017, he has been working as a Founding Partner in Seta Partners Consultancy and Audit Services company which he founded himself.
He also lectures on Auditing and Accounting at various universities and is currently working at Bahçeşehir University. He has many published articles and has over 15 years of experience in auditing and financial affairs.
He holds a Ph.D. in Accounting and Finance from Istanbul University and Bilkent University Executive MBA. He completed certificate programs at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and Cornell University, and participated in the Executive Program on Corporate Management of the “AOTS-EPCM Program (Japan)” supported by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Specialty Areas
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet FEYZİOĞLU, Ph.D.
Sustainability, R&D, Innovation Partner
He, graduated from Marmara University Mechanical Engineering Department in 2003, attended the Engineering Management Master Program at Middle East Technical University, and at the same time earned his master's degree from Marmara University in the field of Mechanical Engineering (2003-2005). Ahmet, completed his PhD Program in Mechanical Engineering Department in 2012. He continued his post-doctoral studies on Innovation Research at the University of Manchester, Manchester Business School (2012-2013).
Ahmet, 2002 TUBITAK - Turkey has entered the Industrial Management Institute, TUBITAK in 2004 - the Presidency, in 2004 TUBITAK - he has worked at the National Institute of Electronics and Cryptology. He has been still working on Sustainability, R&D, Innovation, Technology Management and Entrepreneurship at Marmara University.
During his professional career, he had principal investigator and consultancy roles in R&D focused national and international projects. He has patents and published articles and books in the fields of Mechanical Engineering, Technology, Innovation, RTD Management and Sustainability.
Ahmet, works as a Sustainability, R&D, Innovation Partner in Centrum company.
Specialty Areas
Nihat SÖNMEZ
Partner, Sworn-in CPA
Nihat Sönmez serves as a tax partner at Centrum Turkey, where he manages relations with Taxand Global, one of the world's largest tax consultancy and law firms.
Before joining Centrum, he spent 13 years at KPMG's Tax department, holding the position of Tax Partner. In 2018, he was appointed as the leader of the Tax Certification Services Division and managed this division for three years.
Nihat Sönmez graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration at Middle East Technical University.
With a total of 27 years of experience, Nihat Sönmez holds the title of Sworn Financial Advisor and also has an Independent Auditor License.
Specialty Areas
Tuğrul DİRİMTEKİN
Partner, Sworn-in CPA
He was awarded the titles of Doctor in 1976 and Associate Professor in 1978 as a result of his undergraduate studies at Esk.İ.T.İ.A. and postgraduate studies in Accounting and Auditing at Bursa İ.T.İ.A.
While he was carrying out his professional activities in London while his postgraduate studies, he got his education on professional terminology at the Pitman Academy of English.
In 1983, he left his faculty member position at Uludağ University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, gave a start to his private sector experience in foreign capital companies in the textile and automotive industries and worked for many years as a senior manager, responsible of financial affairs.
In 1991, he started his mission again as a faculty member at Uludağ University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences. With the enactment of the Vocational Law No. 3568, he left his full-time position at the university, established his own office serving as a Sworn-in CPA in 1992 and tax advisor. In the following years, besides his job, he started giving lectures at various faculties on accounting, auditing and taxation. During this period, he served as the president of the Bursa Chamber of Sworn-in CPA between 1992 and 2000. From 2011 until 2024, he served as the managing partner and Sworn-in CPA in Grant Thornton TR/ Bursa Branch as Engin Yeminli Mali Müşavirlik A.Ş. and as the independent auditor of Eren Independent Audit Inc.
As of November 2024, he became the authorized Sworn-in CPA of Centrum Audit Yeminli Mali Müşavirlik ve Danışmanlık A.Ş - Bursa Branch, headquartered in Istanbul. His professional life continues as a Sworn-in CPA registered in Chamber of Bursa Sworn-in CPA. During his professional life, he has published many books related to his profession.
Specialty Areas
Ayla İPEKOĞLU
Partner, Sworn-in CPA
She graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University in 1992. In 1993, she passed the entrance exam and was appointed as an Assistant Accounting Expert. After demonstrating success in the qualification exam, she was appointed as an Accounting Expert. From 2003, when she was appointed as the Chief Accounting Expert, until the end of 2018, she carried out high-level tax audits for Turkey's leading large taxpayers and also served as the Chairman of the Report Evaluation Committee for an extended period.
Since the beginning of 2019, Ayla İpekoğlu has been working as a Certified Public Accountant. She is married and the mother of two children. She has a good command of English.
Specialty Areas
Mehmet YILMAZ
Partner, CPA
He joined Centrum Denetim in 2015, where he has held roles such as Tax Manager, Senior Tax Manager, Administrative and Financial Affairs Director, and Financial Advisor. He is responsible for organizing and managing the company’s Tax, Independent Audit, Consultancy, and Finance services. At Centrum Denetim, he provides consultancy services to clients in tax, full certification audits, and independent audit areas.
From 2005 to 2011, he worked at Gür Mali Müşavirlik as an Accounting Supervisor. Between 2011 and 2014, he served as a Tax Auditor at Fatih Denetim ve Yeminli Mali Müşavirlik A.Ş., contributing to compliance efforts for the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 and Small and Medium-Sized Entities Financial Reporting Standards (SME TFRS) presentation projects. In 2014-2015, he worked as a Senior Tax Auditor at Ertürk YMM ve Bağımsız Denetim A.Ş., where he acted as a project manager for initiatives related to electronic ledger applications, year-end processes, and substantive accuracy audit procedures for companies.
During his tenure at various audit and consultancy firms, he conducted audits across multiple industries, including textiles, food, tourism, energy, engineering, construction, retail, fuel, and automotive. His expertise encompasses full certification reports, special-purpose reports, revisions, risk reports, international financial reporting, and related areas.
Since 2010, he has held the title of Certified Public Accountant (CPA - SMMM) and, since 2016, the title of Independent Auditor registered with the Public Oversight Authority (KGK).
He began his undergraduate studies in the Department of Public Finance at Karadeniz Technical University, earning top grades in his first year before transferring to the Department of Public Finance at Marmara University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, from which he graduated in 2006.
He completed his master’s degree with a thesis in the Department of Financial Law at Marmara University’s Institute of Social Sciences in 2010. His thesis focused on "An Analysis of Education and Health Expenditures in OECD Countries and Turkey."
Additionally, he has conducted academic studies at Marmara University in the areas of tax crimes and transitioning the informal economy into formal structures.
Specialty Areas
Murat SOFTA
Partner, Sworn-in CPA
He began his career in 2012 as a Tax Inspector Assistant at the Tax Inspection Board of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. Following the qualification exam held in 2015, he was appointed as a Tax Inspector.
Throughout his tenure as a Tax Inspector, he conducted audits for large-scale taxpayers operating in various sectors, including manufacturing, construction, automotive, retail, software, banking, and finance. He also served as an instructor, providing training to Tax Inspector Assistants and Revenue Specialists during different periods.
From 2021 to 2022, he served as the Deputy Head of the Sectoral-1 Audit Department at the Istanbul Directorate of the Tax Inspection Board. During this period, he undertook responsibilities related to audit assignments and monitoring audit processes.
As part of the professional organization and institutionalization efforts for Tax Inspectors who started their roles within the Tax Inspection Board established in 2011, he assumed the founding presidency of the Association of Finance Inspection Personnel.
He completed his master’s degree in Financial Law at Istanbul University in 2017 and graduated with honors from the Faculty of Law at Yalova University in 2018.
He holds the titles of Certified Public Accountant (CPA) registered with the Istanbul Chamber of Certified Public Accountants, Attorney registered with the Istanbul Bar Association, and Independent Auditor registered with the Public Oversight Authority of Turkey.
Specialty Areas
Gökhan ŞİT
Partner, CPA
He joined Centrum Denetim in 2015, where he has served as Senior Tax Manager and Audit Director. He is also responsible for organizing and managing the company’s Tax and Financial Advisory services. At Centrum Denetim, he provides consultancy and planning services to clients in the areas of tax, full certification audits, and financial advisory.
From 2011 to 2013, he worked as Group Accounting Manager at Fortes Engineering Inc., where he oversaw the preparation and reporting of tax returns and the consolidation of accounts for the company, which had 16 branches. From 2013 to 2015, he served as a Financial Advisor at Fatih Denetim Inc.
During his career in audit and consultancy firms, he has conducted audits in various sectors, including textiles, food, tourism, energy, engineering, construction, retail, fuel, and automotive. His expertise includes full certification reports, special-purpose reports, revisions, risk reports, and international financial reporting.
He has held the title of Certified Public Accountant (CPA - SMMM) since 2010 and the title of Independent Auditor registered with the Public Oversight Authority (KGK) since 2016.
He graduated from Istanbul University’s Faculty of Economics, Department of Economics, and is proficient in English.
Specialty Areas
Erol PELİSTER
Partner, Sworn-in CPA
Erol Pelister, one of the partners of the Centrum Group, graduated from Ankara University’s Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Finance and Economics, in 1966. He began his professional career by joining the Ministry of Finance’s Board of Account Experts.
Following his tenure as an Account Expert, he held several positions, including Deputy General Manager at Bozkurt Mensucat Sanayi A.Ş., General Manager at Fürsan Fermentation Products Industry and Trade Inc., and CEO of Borova Holding. Subsequently, on April 1, 1990, he began his profession as a Certified Public Accountant with registration number 007.
He is currently a member of the Association of Account Experts, the High Council of Büyük Kulüp, the High Council of Moda Deniz Club, and the High Council of Fenerbahçe Sports Club.
He is currently a member of the Association of Account Experts, the High Council of Büyük Kulüp, the High Council of Moda Deniz Club, and the High Council of Fenerbahçe Sports Club.
Specialty Areas
