YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Two years after BKD LLP merged with Charlotte, North Carolina-based DHG, the combined FORVIS LLP certified public accounting firm has gone global through a partnership with Paris-based international audit, tax and advisory firm Mazars Group.
An agreement announced last year between FORVIS and Mazars Group became effective on June 1, creating a global accounting network with $5 billion in combined revenue that comprises Forvis Mazars LLP in the United States and Forvis Mazars Group SC operating internationally in more than 100 countries and territories, firm officials say.
Forvis Mazars was formerly FORVIS LLP, and Forvis Mazars Group SC previously operated as Mazars Group. Additionally through the deal, FORVIS acquired Mazars USA LLP for undisclosed terms, adding 1,000 employees and 14 offices to the U.S. operation.
Firm leader Tom Watson said no debt was taken on by FORVIS or Mazars as part of the agreement. FORVIS, which operated its headquarters in Springfield prior to the DHG merger, now does not have a designated headquarters, he said. Forvis Mazars Group continues to operate its headquarters in Paris, and the new global network comprising Forvis Mazars and Forvis Mazars Group as its two members is based in the United Kingdom, he added.
Global gateway
Watson is now serving as CEO of Forvis Mazars after previously holding the same role at FORVIS. He said in an interview with Springfield Business Journal that the partnership with Mazars Group accelerated the company’s international growth plans that had been in the works since the merger with DHG.
“It’s our gateway to creating a global solution,” he said.
Through the newly created global network, Forvis Mazars has a presence in some 103 countries, he said. Before the Mazars Group partnership came along, FORVIS officials “thought it would take years and we would build it one location at a time,” Watson added, pointing to the firm’s 2023 expansion into Canada as an example.
“When this opportunity with Mazars came up, it was an opportunity to create years’ worth of work with one decision,” he said.
Forvis Mazars now is among the largest accounting firms in the United States and in the world. The combined revenue for the network worldwide is roughly $5 billion, said Mike Brothers, public relations manager for Forvis Mazars.
“Worldwide, I think we’ll be around the eighth-largest global network,” Watson said, pointing to a workforce of nearly 40,000 employees and 1,800 partners.
In the United States, Mazars USA’s $260 million in revenue adds to FORVIS’ $1.7 billion, bringing combined revenue for Forvis Mazars to around $2 billion, Brothers said.
Watson and Brothers said Forvis Mazars likely would maintain its No. 8 rank on Inside Public Accounting’s benchmark list of the top U.S. firms.
“We feel like we’ve really helped solidify that,” Watson said.
IPA’s annual rankings typically are published later in the summer.
FORVIS cracked the top 10 to rank at No. 8 in 2022, following the DHG merger. Last year, FORVIS maintained its rank with reported net revenue of around $1.7 billion, according to past SBJ reporting. Springfield firms KPM CPAs & Advisors and Abacus CPAs LLC also ranked on the 2023 list, with placements of No. 253 and No. 314, respectively. New York-based Deloitte topped the IPA list with net revenue of nearly $28 billion.
Prior to the DHG merger, FORVIS in 2021 ranked No. 14 and DHG placed at No. 17.
Forvis Mazars joins a host of other companies that present an international presence to the Springfield market, including the likes of Symrise AG, a German company that purchased businessperson Bill Darr’s American Dehydrated Foods and International Dehydrated Foods in 2019 for $900 million.
While unable to estimate the number of companies in the city with an international presence, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce President Matt Morrow said companies like Forvis Mazars that grow internationally are a point of pride and show the possibilities that can exist for a local business.
“It’s a demonstration that it’s possible to grow here in a way that has no ceiling,” he said. “We’ve seen now a top 10 accounting firm in the U.S. understand that’s something they can do right here.”
The company now known as Forvis Mazars started as Baird, Kurtz and Dobson in 1923, initially with offices in Joplin and Kansas City, according to past reporting. The firm opened its third office in Springfield in 1948.
Branding work
Gary Schafer, managing partner of Forvis Mazars’ Springfield office at 910 St. Louis St., said via email that signage at the building was changed shortly after the partnership became effective.
It’s part of a large-scale rollout that will take place over the next 6 to 12 months, said Watson. Digital branding has largely been changed over, he said, but physical assets are widespread and will take time to replace.
Watson said U.S. employees, of which there’s more than 7,000, are excited about acclimating to the changes.
“We’ve been working on our teams really over the last two months to help them get ready for this day,” he said.
Beyond the name change, business is largely operating as usual for those employees.
“For most of our people ... there’s not a lot of day-to-day changes in what they do,” Watson said.
Clients stand to benefit from the added expertise a global firm can bring, he said, offering an example.
“If you’re a client in Springfield and you have a business operation in Mexico, we’re able to quickly connect with the Forvis Mazars team in Mexico,” Watson said.
The frame is in place for a multipurpose athletic facility on the grounds of Logan-Rogersville High School.
