End of 2024 review and 2025 forecast

Content from this article was first published on internationalaccountingbulletin.com on 8 January 2025.

How has your organisation changed and grown in 2024? Where has this growth come from?

In June 2024, Mazars and US firm Forvis joined forces to create a new, two-firm global network, Forvis Mazars. Being only two firms, each being strongly integrated, is a unique model in the market that provides clients a seamless and consistent client experience wherever they are in the world. This alternative model comes at a relevant time for our profession, when we see many of our competitors looking for more integration across borders through mergers.

This was a bold and exciting move, which gave the industry a much-needed shake-up. Operating under a single brand and working as one team, Forvis Mazars is designed to serve clients consistently and seamlessly across the globe. Already present in over 100 countries and territories, this development significantly built on legacy Mazars’ international presence and extends capabilities in the United States, with an additional 6,000+ professionals on the ground to serve clients. For Forvis clients, it offers international coverage across all service lines in audit, tax and consulting.

In terms of financial results, Forvis Mazars Group achieved double digit growth once again in the 2023-2024 financial year – mainly organic – which is testament to our strategy and the dedication of our partners and people. We achieved growth across all service lines and regions, with particularly strong results in audit and assurance. The growth of our sustainability business shows the focus our clients are placing on becoming more environmentally and socially responsible organisations. Combined, Forvis Mazars is a €5bn+ network. We also continued expanding our international footprint to serve clients across the globe, with new offices in New Zealand, Niger, Moldova, Finland, Panama and Togo.

What tech investment has been made across your organisation to pass on value to your clients and member firms?

We continuously invest in our digital transformation to add value for our clients and deliver a superior experience. Examples include:

• Significant investment in our IT platform, to ensure the highest standards in terms of cyber security.
• Development of dedicated apps and tools using AI, for example ‘Reinventing audit’.
• Use of AI for our people, in a secure environment, allowing greater efficiencies in the way we work.

Our vibrant community of 300+ innovation ambassadors and tech experts enables us to develop in-house a portfolio of augmented services, bringing enhanced experiences and added value to our clients as well as new skills and capacity to our teams.

What are your predictions for the global market for 2025 and the accounting profession?

Businesses will undoubtedly face continued uncertainty in 2025, with ongoing geopolitical conflicts, climate risks and regulatory pressure. Navigating short-term challenges while simultaneously preparing for the longer term will be key. This is how we see our role: helping our clients balance the ‘now,’ with preparing for what’s next.

Increased compliance, digitalisation and sustainability priorities will bring not only complexity, but also vast possibilities to develop new strategic growth plans.

In the accounting profession specifically:

• Regulators will continue – and rightly so – to apply pressure in our profession. Universally, we will see a tightening of regulation.
• Talent attraction and retention will remain a challenge for all: talent with a broad array of competencies will be in strong demand.
• The ever-growing demand from clients – particularly large and international organisations – for an evolving range of services, delivered consistently and seamlessly across borders, will continue. Forvis Mazars is uniquely designed to meet these needs.
• Private equity firms have been penetrating our industry in recent years and this will likely continue. Though we are not interested in private equity and strongly support our partnership model, this will change the market we are operating in.

Overall, ensuring trust with clients and customers, compliance with regulations, and mitigating risks are vital for an organisation’s success in remaining competitive, resilient and innovative.