Creating Shared Value: Forvis Mazars Group publishes its 2014-2015 Annual Report

2014-2015 was a remarkable year for Forvis Mazars, with an outstanding 15.9% growth and a 1.25 Bn € turnover, proving its robustness and resilience in a fast-transforming world. The Group also celebrated the 20th anniversary of its international integrated partnership, a unique model which has allowed Mazars to become an influential challenger in the audit, accounting, advisory, tax and legal services industry, present on all continents.

The Forvis Mazars Group’s Annual Report 2014-2015, built upon the concept of ‘Shared Value’, includes both our consolidated financial statements and the ‘Yearbook 2015’, which depicts both the principles by which we abide, and the way we understand our role in the business community and in society as a whole, i.e. the way we create value.

Naturally, our annual report is a way to state who we are and where we stand, but we also think that it should contribute to a more global reflection on business and society. This is why we have designed our Yearbook 2015 as an enjoyable read, with a series of articles shedding light on the most significant aspects of Forvis Mazars’ strategy, on our success stories, and on the women and men that make Forvis Mazars what it is today.

Reinventing ourselves in the digital era

Charles Handy is one of the most acclaimed management thinkers of our time. Often called by his peers ‘the guru of gurus’, he has published twenty books. Way before publishing the eponymous book in 2015, Handy had aired the idea that people and organisations should prepare for the second part of their development journey (the ‘Second Curve’ before the first one begins to decline. In this conversation with Philippe Castagnac and Laurent Choain, Charles Handy explores the concepts of change, innovation, and talents in a fast-evolving world.

Available in the Yearbook in electronic format (download below) pp. 6-8.

The Audit Manifesto

Do users of audit reports trust auditors to arrive at the right answers in relation to the really big challenges facing business? Are auditors looking at the things that truly matter, and is their opinion still relevant? Forvis Mazars’ objectives are to ensure that its audit and assurance services are relevant, bring value to companies and their many stakeholders and are delivered by excellent, committed and truly independent professionals. We want to offer genuine choice in a market that has had far too little of it. We want to play our part in the long-term success and growth of our economies.

Available in the Yearbook in electronic format (download below) pp. 16-17.

Future Cities: Addressing Complexity in the Age of Shared Value

With its 12 million inhabitants, the Paris region is a fascinating site to understand urban issues, whether in terms of infrastructure, solutions or governance. The Paris Region authorities called on Forvis Mazars, asking for assistance on methods and solutions to construct sustainable and adaptable urban logistics models, that integrate the demands, constraints, ebbs and flows of cities of the future.

Available in the Yearbook in electronic format (download below) pp. 18-21.

Tax transparency: clarity without explanation is not an answer to the question

How can a company or an individual be deemed to be a ‘good citizen’? Against a backdrop of public sector deficits and cuts in public spending, being transparent on how much tax you pay, whether that is ‘fair’ and where you pay it is now a key factor for any business and especially for Multi-National Entities (MNEs). How should businesses deal with tax transparency when it comes to corporate reporting? At Forvis Mazars, we believe that businesses should go beyond truth and provide clear explanation of their tax approach.

Available in the Yearbook in electronic format (download below) pp. 23.

Towards a more equal distribution of value? A look into the extractive industry in Africa

The benefits that local populations receive from mining profits are extremely varied. Driven to act, several states have turned to a more equal distribution of that revenue, calling on external experts to help them transition to a new model. Forvis Mazars has been commissioned by the state of Niger to implement a ‘Cost Oil Audit’ as part of a Production Sharing Agreement with a private oil company. This mission is a benchmark example of how the auditor serves the public interest and generates trust.

Available in the Yearbook in electronic format (download below) pp. 26-29.

Training future leaders: a disruptive model / Mazars’ NextMBA

Meet the NextMBA. Next as in the next type of MBA, next type of leader, next type of faculty, and the next kind of cooperation between corporate universities. Pioneered by Forvis Mazars, the NextMBA centres on cutting-edge business topics ranging from client-centric marketing to digital disruption, 21st century talent management and sustainable strategy. This comprehensive programme prepares tomorrow’s leaders to be insightful about how today’s market transformations will impact business, teams, and industries, and to be agile in identifying new solutions.

Available in the Yearbook in electronic format (download below) pp. 30-33.

A common ambition: the RBS / Mazars merger in Germany

April 2015 was an important milestone in Forvis Mazars’ history: the firm merged its 30-year old German practice with Roever Broenner Susat (RBS), significantly strengthening its position in the economic powerhouse of Europe. With more than 1,000 audit, tax, outsourcing, accounting, financial advisory and legal professionals operating out of 12 offices across the whole country, the new entity joins the Top10 of the profession in Germany. We interviewed 6 professionals from both entities coming from various cities in Germany, asking for their own personal impressions about the merger.

Available in the Yearbook in electronic format (download below) pp. 49-53.

About Shared Value

We are experiencing a revolutionary era in which business engagement is becoming essential in addressing today’s most complex global issues. In a 2011 groundbreaking article*, Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer popularised the concept of ‘Shared Value’, paving the way for a new way of thinking in regard to the way businesses are creating value.

The central idea behind the ‘creating shared value’ concept is the interdependency between the competitiveness of a company and the health of the communities to which it is connected. In the words of the authors, this new approach, that goes beyond the notion of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’, can help ‘reinvent capitalism and unleash a wave of innovation and growth’.

Available in the Yearbook in electronic format (download below), p. 5.

Also in the Yearbook

Find also in the Yearbook a tribute to Robert Mazars (1920-2015), pp. 10-11 ; a presentation of the Mittelstand Business School (p. 29) ; our study on the ‘Future of Work’ (pp. 34-37) ; the ‘Innovation Game’ (pp. 38-39) ; and an overview of the #ForvisMazarsForGood innovation challenge (p. 40).