The first ten years of Mazars in Mexico: The vortex of time
As my time progresses, I see it coming and passing, every time faster for me as well as for others. It is not surprising, but does draw my attention that the same happens to people who are in their thirties and even some who are still in their twenties. It is not an issue of age: the speed of our evolution, the technological advances, the instantaneousness through which we can access information and discard it, the stress of arriving..., the pressure to achieve... the distances we travel. All of this coincides in imprinting a speed on our lives that, being very honest, I believe we do have to learn to live, but we also have to learn to control. We cannot miss the opportunity to savor our own lives, made out of moments.
As such, our first ten years are plethoric with experiences. It is indeed impossible to remember them all and even tougher to describe them. This will not be an article, or a mini series of articles, on creating a memoir of our first ten years, but I do want to share some of those experiences that marked out our path. Every single thing we have lived is part of the path to be where we are today.
Our Firm in Mexico, as it functions today, was legally incorporated in March 2009. To reach this incorporation and start operations in September of the same year, a necessary process started in 2006. It was one of knowledge, negotiations, and agreements between Mazars Group, the Firm from which most Partners and staff came from to create the new Firm in Mexico, and another Firm that at the time was already part of the Group, but which after a period of eighteen months reached an agreement with the Group to separate from our organization. Some members and a partner of that Firm did continue with us.
The Firm from which the majority of Partners and staff came to form this new organization of Mazars in Mexico was Despacho Freyssinier Morin (DFM), a professional accounting firm whose history reached one hundred years. DFM was one of the pillars of the accounting profession in Mexico, and was a member firm of one of the Big 8… Big 7… Big 6…; firm of which I have the honor to have been a part of, and from which I learned so much of what I know. I remember DFM with much gratitude and pride, on behalf of those who come professionally from it.
I had the opportunity to participate in the first conversations in Mexico City. Afterwards, our visit to Paris to meet with Mazars´ Group Executive Board (GEB), meeting in which we were approached with the idea of incorporation and the beginning of local negotiations.
Subsequently, the incorporation of other accounting firms took place, having contributed to the growth, geographic coverage and strengthening of our national organization: Monterrey in 2010; Mexicali and Guadalajara in 2013; our Transfer Pricing Service Line in 2011. In addition, we have experienced the very gratifying appointment, as Partners, of professionals that initiated since 2009, as members of our teams. We have also welcomed other Partners who were not part of the original members of the Firm in Mexico at that early stage in 2009. We have also seen the arrival of the retirement moment of four Partners.
During these first ten years, Mazars in Mexico has drawn an ascending trajectory in every way: our activity volume and revenue; the number of individuals composing the professional teams to the point of having reached 400 people; our national coverage, with 9 offices across the Country; our client portfolio; our service lines, which in the early stages included only Audit and a small Accounting and Outsourcing practice, and nowadays include Audit, Accounting & Outsourcing, Tax, Transfer Pricing, Consulting, and only recently Financial Advisory Services. Mazars in Mexico has grown from an accounting firm relying 95% on audit services to become a Firm with diversified professional services to offer comprehensive solutions to our clients, both local and international.
We traced out this trajectory having coped with the difficulties stemming from the adjustments and growth of our organization. We have forged ahead, and we continue with this rise thanks to the commitment of the Firm´s Partners, the continuous support of Mazars Group, thanks to the daily work, both enthusiastic and positive of our teams, of all Mazarians in Mexico, and of course, thanks to the trust bestowed upon us by our clients.
Thinking about the vortex of time, and in the middle of the commemoration of the ten years of Mazars in Mexico, I would like to take a moment to ponder and share these thoughts, but above all this I want to thank those who along with Mazars have participated in these first ten years; to those who keep on writing this story of a project that continues to grow, which is more and better known in our business environment as a reliable Firm, with quality and solid principles, growing and active in the professional and business environment, concerned for the path and well-being of its members, and committed to the creation of a more transparent and sustainable society, hand-in-hand with our clients.
Jorge Santibañez.
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