Mazars in Ireland Transparency report 22/23

As we reflect on the year just passed, 2023 will be remembered as a year where the global and local economies faced continued uncertainty driven by geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East, ongoing inflationary pressures, a rising interest rate environment, resourcing constraints and structural issues that persist and weigh heavily on society and the economy. The combined impact of these global and local issues has presented stern challenges for the economy and our profession. In this context, it was particularly pleasing to see Mazars deliver double digit revenue growth over the year, and we look out to 2024 with cautious optimism, with our focus continuing to be directed at supporting our people and clients through ongoing investment in the firm.

The publication of our Transparency report is a welcome opportunity to report to all of our stakeholders in respect of the firms’ achievements over the year and the progress of the firm against our key goals – goals which guide the quality of our work, the development of our people and the impact of our firm within our professions and the business community, and on society as a whole.

The report summarises the hard work and dedication of our partners and Non-Executive Public Interest Committee members, Ms Denise Fletcher and Ms Éimear Moloney. I hope the Report will provide readers with an in depth understanding of our firm, our approach and our culture.

A year of substantial growth

Audit continues to play a key role in business and the community and the reliance that investors, creditors, staff and customers alike place on the audit process, puts a responsibility on all those involved in the profession to ensure the highest standards of quality are met at all times. This year our audit and assurance practice has grown substantially. This is a reflection of the dedication and commitment of our audit partners and staff who work tirelessly to ensure Mazars are the auditor of choice for so many PIE and large corporate clients both local and international.

This growth in market share confirms that the market has embraced Mazars as an alternative to the Big 4 auditing firms. The growth in our audit business has not been unexpected and is the result of a combination of factors.

Mazars both locally and internationally has been at the forefront of debate on prominent issues facing the audit market and our input has contributed to many of the reformative measures that are changing how the audit profession works.

Secondly, our approach of combining technical and sectoral excellence has resonated with the market and has contributed to our continued success in growing our audit footprint in areas such as financial services.

There is little doubt, that the integrated nature of our global firm offers a unique advantage in servicing cross border assignments in a seamless manner and improves the audit experience for our international clients. On this note, we were very pleased to recently announce the formation of the Forvis Mazars Global network which will be effective from 1st June 2024. The network will be ranked within the Global Top 10 and will further enhance our ability to serve international clients on a global scale and we look forward to the opportunities that this will bring to the firm through having a much broader footprint in the US market.

A commitment to quality

As a leading audit firm, Mazars is committed to quality. Quality is at the centre of everything we do – from how we train our staff, to how we organise our firm and execute and deliver our audit assignments. We have designed and embedded quality processes and methods in each of our business lines, and monitor our performance against the key quality indicators relevant to those processes.

Todays business environment is evolving at a rapid pace and technology in particular is changing not only how we assess audit risk, but also how we undertake our work. Mazars, both locally and internationally, continue to invest heavily in technology with a view to further strengthening our quality framework whilst also improving the audit experience for our clients.

We recognise that the bar set by the public and regulators is appropriately very high, and we continue to invest in systems, processes and people to ensure that we consistently meet or exceed these expectations.

In particular, 2023 saw us reinforcing our quality and risk focused culture, embedding global tools and technologies, enhancing our governance structures and driving related transformation initiatives. We also maintained a continued focus on embedding the new Mazars quality management framework, aligned to the International Standard on Quality Management (ISQM1), by driving a consistent approach across our wider global firm. As a member of the Mazars Group, Ireland has adopted the global baseline materials aligned to ISQM1, tailored and adapted to our local circumstances to ensure we have an effective and robust System of Quality Management in place.

Investing in our people

The quality of our work is determined by our people and the manner in which they approach their work. We are committed to investing in our people and ensuring that they have the training, support and relevant experience to discharge their professional responsibilities. It is in this context that we launched our new ambitious People Strategy in 2023, which aims to address the fundamental shift that has occurred in how we work. The strategy is focused on the continuous development of our people and their skills, customising roles and benefits in line with life stages, and providing a flexible working environment to ensure work life balance is maintained.

We also recognise that the younger generations in society have different expectations from life and their career and have grown up in a world that challenges conventional norms. As a firm, we believe that challenge is to be welcomed and respected and by listening to and learning from all of our staff, we can assist them to have a meaningful and rewarding career with the firm.

Diversity and inclusion continue to be a key area of focus for the firm and a very important pillar of our People Strategy. This year we were pleased to be re accredited with the Investors in Diversity Silver Award which recognises the emphasis the firm places on diversity and inclusion.

Sustainability

Sustainability is firmly on our priority list. As a firm we have adopted the Mazars Group Net Zero Charter of Commitments, which will see the firm strive to reach net zero emissions in line with the science-based targets initiatives (SBTI), thereby playing our role in mitigating the negative impact of climate change.

As part of this initiative, the firm will be introducing policies around travel, waste management, how we procure our energy needs and implementing a supplier code of conduct.

Putting our commitments into practice

As a partnership, our focus is to build a firm that is synonymous with quality, a firm that lives its values and delivers for all its stakeholders and communities - a firm we can all be proud of. We achieve that by doing what is right, consistently, and accounting for our efforts in a transparent and honest way.

In this foreword to our Transparency Report 2023, I have sought to outline our values, our achievements as a business and the commitments that we have made as partners in the business to our people, to our clients and to the communities in which we live and work. It plays an important role in giving our stakeholders an insight into our business and allowing them to understand us, how we work and why we do what we do. I hope that you find it useful and engaging.

21 December 2023