Forvis to acquire Mazars’ U.S. operation

Top 10 U.S. accounting firm Forvis, which has about 270 employees in Virginia, announced Wednesday it will acquire Paris-based audit, tax and advisory firm Mazars’ U.S. arm, creating a new top 10 global accounting network to be known as Forvis Mazars.

The merger is set to go in effect June 1, 2024, and the combined company is expected to produce approximately $5 billion in annual revenue, according to the firms’ announcement. Mazars does not have an office presence in Virginia, according to a spokesperson with Forvis.

“We do not expect any impact to team member numbers in Virginia,” public relations manager Mike Brothers said Wednesday. “There will not be any reductions in our workforce in the state as a result of the creation of the global network. The impacts will be purely additive for markets such as Virginia.”

“A two-firm network, operating under a single global brand, quickly advances our firms’ shared strategies. It’s an opportunity to better serve our clients, especially those with international needs, and support our people on a path of continued growth. Our organizations know each other well, with a strong history of collaboration and very similar cultures of putting our people and clients first,” Forvis CEO Tom Watson said in a statement.

In June 2022, Missouri-based BKD CPAs & Advisors and North Carolina-based Dixon Hughes Goodman merged to create Forvis, which recorded $1.5 billion in revenue in fiscal 2022 and has 72 offices across 28 states, the U.K. and Cayman Islands. The firm has about 5,700 employees total in 70 markets.

Mazars operates in more than 100 countries and territories, and employs 34,000 people. Mazars Group CEO and Chairman Hervé Hélias said in a statement that the merger “gives us the scale and expanded presence that we have been striving for in the U.S. and marks us out as a top 10 global network with extensive scale and coverage.”