Forvis Mazars expands into Cork in merger with James Byrne & Company

On 2 September, 2024, Forvis Mazars announced its expansion into Cork with the merger with James Byrne & Company, a well-established local firm. The merger represents a significant milestone in Forvis Mazars' growth story and complements the firm’s national footprint.

With the addition of James Byrne & Company, the firm’s workforce in Ireland will increase to almost 900 employees. This expansion enables Forvis Mazars to enhance its regional service offerings by leveraging James Byrne & Co’s local expertise and sector-specific knowledge. A new Forvis Mazars Cork office will be located at South Mall, Cork City, adding to the firm’s other offices in Dublin, Limerick and Galway. Forvis Mazars plans to further grow its regional footprint in the Southwest to 150 employees over the next two years.

Founded in 1978 in Mallow, Co. Cork, James Byrne & Co has built a strong reputation for delivering practical and innovative accounting and taxation solutions. Over the years, the firm has built a diverse client base across sectors such as SMEs, family-run businesses, agriculture, healthcare, construction, property management, manufacturing, and hospitality.

Tom O’Brien, Managing Partner at Forvis Mazars, commented: “Welcoming James Byrne & Co into the Forvis Mazars family is a pivotal step in our strategy to be a truly national firm. Cork, as a dynamic business hub, offers tremendous growth potential and is an ideal location for us to provide our clients with high-quality, tailored solutions. Fiona Byrne and the rest of the team at James Byrne & Co bring invaluable local expertise to our firm across our full range of service lines.”

Fiona Byrne, Practice Lead, Forvis Mazars Cork, said: “We are excited to join Forvis Mazars and collaborate with our new colleagues in Ireland and abroad. Together, we aim to build a dynamic and agile practice that offers innovative audit, taxation, advisory, and consulting services, while also providing meaningful career opportunities for our team.”

The Cork practice will offer a full range of audit, tax, advisory, and consulting services, strengthened by the appointments of Stephen Gahan as Partner, Tax, and David Swinburne as Partner, Financial Advisory. They will join Fiona Byrne, Partner, Audit & Outsourcing, in leading the office. These appointments will enable the Cork practice to leverage Forvis Mazars' extensive resources and sector-specific expertise to deliver innovative solutions and meet clients' evolving needs and expectations.