Our story: Acting now for what's next

2022 was an eventful year that tested the agility of companies, governments and individuals around the world as we contended with the sudden return of macroeconomic instability and geopolitical tumult, further evidence of climate change, alongside the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. These disruptions came on top of longer-term business trends, including digitisation and sustainability, which bring both challenges and vast opportunities to grow, develop and explore new ways to create value.

In this unsettled context, Mazars’ mission has never been so compelling: we support organisations in their quest to grow responsibly, comply with increasing regulations, successfully transform their operations, strengthen internal control systems, and secure long-term performance. Now more than ever, businesses must respond to societal expectations and needs, acting today to secure the future they want to build tomorrow. 

At Mazars, we intend to do just that. Driven by our values and purpose, we transform and invest where it counts to attract and develop our talent, and stand by our clients as they navigate this evolving landscape, helping them to make the right decisions, at the right time. 

Our response to the war in Ukraine

Russia’s shocking invasion of Ukraine took us all by surprise, and at Mazars, we did our utmost to protect the safety and welfare of our Ukrainian teams and their families, ensuring full financial support and extending humanitarian aid, transport and accommodation. We also thoroughly assessed the consequences of these tragic developments for our teams and clients around the world, and how we should respond as an international firm. In May 2022, we decided to stop all Mazars activities in Russia.

Strong, responsible and balanced growth

Despite a complex global environment, 2022 was an excellent year for Mazars across geographies and service lines. Once again, we achieved double-digit growth, with global revenues reaching €2.45bn, representing a year-on-year increase of 16.4%. 

Our performance reflects the relevance of our multidisciplinary approach, grounded in keeping the right balance between our regulated audit services and our non-regulated tax, consulting and advisory services. We are convinced this equilibrium is essential to the common good. Offering both audit and advisory services, in compliance with regulation, has several benefits: for audited companies, a multidisciplinary approach guarantees relevance and quality; for the market and public interest that our profession defends, it is necessary for the future of the auditing profession, as it is what attracts the best talent. 

This is why we constantly invest in developing a diverse portfolio of services, for both public and private organisations. 

This variety of disciplines enables us to serve clients of all sizes by offering a deep understanding of sector-specific environments, issues and trends, including financial services where we have a recognised leadership position. Through high-quality audit and advisory services, we help our clients mitigate risks and operate with transparency and confidence, setting the foundations of a solid trust contract in our economy.

The sustainability imperative

Like all organisations today, we must be accountable, grow conscientiously and advance our environmental, social and governance commitments. This year, Mazars signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative, underlining our commitment to achieving a robust net zero pathway. We have also taken steps to further gender diversity in the management of our organisation and will continue to progress on all aspects of our corporate sustainability journey, guided by the latest expertise and science.  

Beyond keeping our own promises, we also have the duty to help our clients transform their businesses. As new regulation emerges, including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in Europe, in addition to the rules and guidelines likely to follow in other regions of the world, corporations will need to provide high-quality, reliable corporate reporting on both their financial and non-financial performance. We, as auditors and advisors, will play a key role in helping build trust in sustainability commitments, fight greenwashing and foster systemic change. Consequently, we are devoting resources to upskilling our teams in this regard, as well as integrating new capabilities in our core business.  

Investing where it counts 

Looking ahead, we will keep our attention on remaining an employer of choice, able to attract, develop and retain a diverse pool of talent globally. Today, we count over 30,000 professionals within our integrated team, of which 1,200 are partners. We strive to provide an inclusive work environment in which all can fully express their potential. Mazars is by design an international and multicultural firm that expressly appreciates the value of difference as a prerequisite for business success, and we will continue to nurture this collective intelligence. 

Quality remains our top priority and serves as a guiding value in everything we do. Responding to changing regulations and standards, we have invested heavily in our people, tools and processes to ensure we uphold the latest quality requirements. We welcome these evolutions and see them as opportunities to further strengthen our quality management.   

Last but not least, at a time when audit is at a crossroads, Mazars has an ambitious programme to reinvent and digitise audit for the benefit of clients, auditors and the entire business ecosystem. We are investing in technologies that bring real-time added value to our clients’ decision-making and experience, and equally more advanced data analytics tools to enhance the work of our auditors. At the same time, we are upgrading a wide spectrum of technology-powered advisory services, including tax, legal, financial advisory, consulting and sustainability services. 

In 2023 and beyond, Mazars will remain fully committed to playing its part in creating a fairer, more sustainable world. I am confident that together, we – businesses, governments, regulators – can make the right decisions and transformations to pave the way for a brighter tomorrow. It’s time to move forward with renewed purpose, concentrating on what really matters; acting now to prepare for what’s next.

Hervé Hélias

Through high-quality audit and advisory services, we help our clients mitigate risks and operate with transparency and confidence, setting the foundations of a solid trust contract in our economy.

Hervé Hélias CEO and Chairman, Mazars Group