
Accounting firm merger sets up growth, international implications for Fort Worth clients
Tom Watson (left) and Hervé Hélias of Forvis Mazars. (Courtesy photo | Business Wire)
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Mergers are hardly news in the world of accounting firms, but a recent one has some key North Texas connections and implications for Fort Worth.
Accounting firm Forvis acquired the U.S. unit of Paris-based Mazars on June 3 as part of a new international partnership that will serve more than 100 countries and territories.
The new organization will operate as Forvis Mazars LLP in the U.S. and as Forvis Mazars Group SC overseas. Forvis itself was created in 2022 through the merger of BKD and Dixon Hughes Goodman.
In the U.S., Tom Watson will continue as CEO of Forvis Mazars, be based in Dallas and will also sit on the global network board.
Rob Opitz, market leader in Fort Worth for Forvis Mazars. (Courtesy photo | Forvis Mazars)
Forvis Mazars has also introduced a new team of managing partners and assistant managing partners, including Rob Opitz, who will be the market leader in Fort Worth and also the assistant managing partner for the DFW unit. The managing partner in Dallas is Chris Clark.
Opitz said the new firm will provide greater expertise for the company’s clients as well as the additional capabilities of a global network.
“The message I have been giving to clients is that this is purely additive and allows us access to even more experts and resources to bring to bear,” he said. “Should our clients need those resources or those experts, we have that. And if they’re involved in anything that would be cross border, we just have more resources than we did before.”
The Fort Worth office has about 95 employees, he said.
“We serve a broad array of clients in a variety of industries,” he said. “The North Texas area is a vibrant, growing economy, and so, we’ve seen growth year over year, and we anticipate that to continue.”
The Fort Worth office does a lot of work with car dealerships and the insurance and banking industries and also has a large construction and real estate practice. There is also plenty of work in the energy industry, Opitz said. Healthcare is also a key industry for Fort Worth.
The merger will add 1,000 more professionals and 14 office locations in the U.S., bringing the total locations to more than 80. Forvis Mazars will have approximate revenue of more than $2 billion and over 7,000 employees in the U.S.
Ram Venkataraman, associate professor of accounting at the University of Texas at Arlington, said mergers in the accounting industry are hardly rare, but the ones that work best are those that bring clients new expertise.
“Mergers bring more skills in house, so you don’t have to shop around across firms for skills,” he said. “They also bring more depth and breadth. If one of four business customers has international operations, now they don’t have to go pick a weird third firm, go and do that bit and report to them. Now they have a partner that they can use to go and do that, so there can be real benefits.”
However, he said, mergers mean there are fewer choices for clients.
“If there are only a few accounting firms that specialize in your field, your choices are limited,” Venkataraman said.
Venkataraman said firms also merge because they need to invest in technology to improve their services to clients.
“To do that, they need to scale up, so they can make these investments,” he said.
Forvis Mazars is now ranked as the eighth largest public accounting firm in the U.S., according to Inside Public Accounting, an industry publisher.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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