Increase of 8.8 per cent: Mazars above the average growth of its immediate competition

Hamburg/Berlin, Germany – With an annual turnover of € 135.3 million in 2017, Mazars secured ninth place in the Lünendonk ranking, the annually published market overview of the leading auditing firms in Germany. With growth of 8.8 per cent, Mazars displayed an increase that surpassed the average within the Next Five companies and is therefore above the mean of its immediate competitors. The domestic transactions of the 25 leading auditing and tax consulting firms grew an average of 7.4 per cent. With this, Mazars further strengthened its position in the German market.

Sustainable growth – this basic principle also proved to be a recipe for success for the company in 2017, encompassing both organic and inorganic growth. After the initial phase following the fusion with Steinberg & Partner in Hamburg, the full benefits of the merger are now becoming a reality, as expected. The partner model of Mazars has proven to be exceptionally successful in the market and attracts new employees, external partners and chambers. The growth of the company is due to both the strengthening of its regional presence and the continuous expansion of the portfolio, which allows Mazars to offer tailored solutions to clients in all regions of Germany. “The signals that we have received from the market, and especially from the sectors relevant to us, are entirely positive and encourage us to continue on the path to sustainable growth,” says Dr Christoph Regierer, Speaker of the national Management Board and member of the international Group Executive Board for Mazars.  

Profits through auditor rotation and a strong Financial Services division

The good result from 2017 can be traced back to several factors and developments within the company. One of these factors is the auditor rotation, from which Mazars clearly profits. The company was able to score points through its strong sector expertise and win new relevant auditing clients, especially in the areas of banking and insurance. This development became apparent and could be confirmed in 2017. “We are expecting to win many more clients in the coming years, also through our mandatory rotation approach,” says Dr Christoph Regierer.

The unique, internationally integrated partner structure of Mazars again made a positive contribution towards the growth of the company: thanks to its sectoral in-depth expertise, a huge influx of German companies could also be seen in 2017. Medium-sized companies in particular, but also an increasing number of bigger groups, benefit from our cross-border offer, expertise in auditing and consulting, internationality and, at the same time, uncomplicated and cross-border cooperation between Mazars teams. This combines the advantages of the international group structure with the on-site support of clients.

Mazars is planning on further strengthening the solid expertise of the company in the areas of auditing, tax and financial advisory services through increased consulting expertise. “The processes and process structures in all areas in which we are active are playing increasingly important roles. We are actively working to expand our consulting area in order to be able to offer even more fitting customised solutions to our clients, both within the scope of the industry and within the context of an international services portfolio,” says Dr Christoph Regierer.

Transformation in times of technical innovation

Lünendonk’s market study shows that the topic of digitalisation has become much more important. This means that the acceptance of IT-backed full audits is growing among the participants of the study, which is linked to increased investments in digitalisation. The results confirm the development and validate the course of action of Mazars towards paying increased attention to topics related to digitalisation as well as its intention to expand its personnel. In addition to the expansion of the consulting business operations, the company offers the expertise and interdisciplinary knowledge that directly address the needs of the market.

“We consider this transformation – which is, by the way, the slogan of our Annual Report 2016/2017, and has been precipitated by the digital revolution – as our mission. This applies both internally and externally: we see the will and readiness to change of the clients whose transformations we oversee. At the same time, we are also working towards optimally setting up the company in times of technical innovation and leading it into a modern future. Transformation should change the existing parameters and be carried out within the context of a strategic vision. Therefore, Mazars is currently working on a digital roadmap to serve as a basis for a systematic digitalisation project, which will contribute towards the sustainable strengthening of the company’s digital competence and the establishment of its capacity for innovation as well as the development and establishment of consulting solutions for the digital transformation of clients.

Innovation in this case does not refer to offering isolated solutions. This becomes evident when looking at the support for medium-sized transformations, which Mazars fully oversees at medium-sized companies in order to secure the implementation of digital measures, for example within the context of business process outsourcing projects, IT advisory or the usage of data analysis tools. “The client has realised that we will not leave him to his own devices when it comes to facing digital challenges and now actively requests our services,” says Dr Christoph Regierer.

Increasing demand for themes related to social responsibility

Assuming social responsibility and fulfilling a purpose in society are, just like profitable operations, part of responsible enterprise. Therefore, topics related to corporate responsibility, risk management and compliance are seeing increasing demand. In this area, Mazars has proved to be in a strong position and was able to announce remarkable successes in the previous year. The auditing and consultancy firm has incorporated the basic principle of social responsibility as “stewardship” into its global strategy; it describes the basis of all sustainable growth that Mazars represents.

Outlook

The positive development has continued through 2018 and the company expects to again see a marked increase in its business activities in the current financial year. Once more, internal and external growth will make their contribution towards a positive result.