Forvis Mazars grows its Manchester leadership team

Forvis Mazars, a leading global professional services network, grew 8.3% in the UK in the year to 31 August 2024, recording revenue of £362.4m. This is the firm’s fifteenth consecutive year of growth, which continued unabated in its first year as a global network.

The team in Manchester has seen strong year on year growth across all service lines (Audit, Tax, Advisory & Consulting and Private Client).

Five new Partners joined the team during FY24, with Jenn Hazlehurst and Helen Knowles joining as Audit Partners, while Lisa Pennington (Healthcare), Daniel Watson (Public Sector Audit) and Adam Cooper (Advisory – Valuations) were also promoted to Partner. This has strengthened the Senior Leadership team, with 17 Partners now based out of the firm’s Manchester office who oversee and cover the delivery of its services locally.

Following the formation of Forvis Mazars on 1 June 2024, the firm now sits among the largest international professional services networks, bringing clients a global perspective alongside local insights and offering career and mobility opportunities to team members.

Commenting on the firm’s growth in Manchester, Steven Abbott, Manchester Office Managing Partner, said: “It’s been another incredibly successful year for the Manchester team. We are pleased to have expanded our senior team, promoting existing team members which reflects our commitment to meaningful career development, and welcoming new Partners to help develop our offering further. We are particularly proud of the growth we’ve seen in our Public and Social Sector practice over the last year, with new clientsand  investment into the teamWe look forward to building on these successes over the next year.”

Forvis Mazars’ growth in the UK

Across the UK, Forvis Mazars saw strong growth across service lines and sectors. Investment in audit services resulted in 15.1% growth, whilst sustainability services recorded rapid growth (45.4%). Reflecting the needs of clients and the strength of its multidisciplinary model, the firm also enjoyed growth in revenue across Advisory & Consulting (2.1%), Tax (3.4%) and Private Client (7.9%).

Reflecting a continuous investment in talented people, headcount grew by 6% (to 3,469). The firm continued to expand its partnership, which now totals 186; nearly a third of whom (30.5%) are female. It continued to recognise and reward talent, promoting 524 team members. The firm has also invested in building its team for the future, welcoming 374 early career joiners, including 204 graduates and 86 school leavers.

To support both clients and teams, Forvis Mazars has made a series of investments to integrate data analytics and AI where they can make the greatest impact and complement its team’s skills and insight, while retaining a strong focus on governance and data security. This has included the launch of integrated data analytics solutions across its audit and advisory businesses, as well as implementing AI tools and running pilots across the tax and financial planning service lines.

Quality remains a cornerstone of Forvis Mazars’ strategy, and this has been reflected by the firm’s investment in its internal quality team, as well as in technology and processes. This financial year has seen investment into its global audit platform, to continue to enable the delivery of consistent and efficient quality audits that deliver value for clients.

James Gilbey, CEO of Forvis Mazars in the UK, said: “Despite a challenging market and economic headwinds over the past year, we’ve achieved sustainable growth in revenue, profitability and headcount. Thanks to our multidisciplinary model, our teams have been able to listen to clients’ needs and respond with the right expertise and support, across service lines, to meet their objectives. I’m particularly proud of the strong growth in audit, reflecting both the shifting dynamics in the top end of the audit market and our investment in competing to win in key audit sectors; building expertise and systems to deliver quality for our clients”.