Mazars new Gauteng hub spearheads further expansion

MAZARS, the internationally represented organisation specialising in audit, accounting, tax and advisory services, has substantially grown its footprint in South Africa over the last year, becoming an important service provider for businesses at every stage of their life cycle.

Inaugurating its new offices in Melrose Estate, Johannesburg earlier this year, Mazars’ exponential growth in South Africa is a result of organic growth of the international organisation as well as local acquisitions.

“We’re in the process of extending our offering to the full spectrum of services, which is what any client of any size expects today, as even small and medium sized businesses are looking to diversify into Africa or elsewhere. We already offer the full spectrum of services including audit, accounting, tax, management consulting, corporate finance, project finance, ICTA, forensics and BEE consulting, to name a few,” comments Michelle Olckers, managing partner of Mazars Cape Town.

Olckers notes that the recent acquisition of leading financial modelling firm, Corality Consulting Group has bolstered Mazars’ project finance unit, and positioned Mazars as a key resource for project developers, investors and financiers in the Infrastructure industry.

“Corality’s team has been integrated into Mazars Global Infrastructure Finance. The globally integrated world class team is able to deliver a complete industry service suite ranging from financial model development to advisory and valuations, including model audit, tax, accounting and a specialised training academy,” Olckers says.

Another strategic move establishing Mazars South Africa as an industry leader, according to Olckers, has been its merger with Gauteng-based insolvency firm, Westrust. She points out that this has helped Mazars further develop its capabilities in the business rescue space, which has recently emerged in South Africa.

Olckers states that Mazars South Africa has proven itself as a formidable firm in the country, serving several large listed companies. “We have also been instrumental in growing large companies and we have successfully assisted a number of clients to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.”

“At the same time we have a real passion for supporting and growing smaller and medium sized businesses, especially entrepreneurial or owner-managed businesses. We flourish in this market, and support our clients at every stage of their business development from conception onwards. This entrepreneurial spirit is instilled in our staff from the commencement of their training with us, and it creates a different skill set which other bigger firms cannot match,” she says.

The reason for Mazars’ success on this front, is in its unique approach to client interaction. “We’re partner led. That means a client has ready access to a dedicated partner. It enables us to act immediately on the needs of larger clients, as well as provide indepth assistance to smaller, entrepreneurial businesses which need that greater degree of hand holding,” Olckers states.

Underscoring its values and philosophy is the fact that Mazars has for a second year running been adjudged a top employer by the Top Employer Institute, according to Olckers. The latter’s website explains that the Top Employers certification is “only awarded to organisations that achieve the highest standards of excellence in employee conditions”.

“We are very proud of this. We are a people-based business and try to attract the highest quality of trainees who realise they can build a career both within the firm and in commerce after qualifying,” says Olckers.

Mazars was also recently ranked as the number one Reporting Accountant and number three Investment Adviser by deal value in the first quarter of 2016 by South African corporate finance magazine, DealMakers.

Mazars South Africa is part of a global organisation covering 78 countries with its headquarters in France. The South African firm acts as a resource and fulcrum to assist the other English speaking Mazars African offices to grow their businesses and expand their service offering, which in return provide an in-country point of contact for Mazars South Africa’s own multinational clients expanding into Africa.

The global Mazars firm has also recently expanded its operations in China with a merger with Chinese firm ZhongShen ZhongHuan. This further strengthens their position in another high growth economy.

“We remain agile enough to provide our clients with the personalised, professional service that they have come to expect, with the added benefit of access to a broader range of services and highly skilled teams,” Olckers.

Mazars is not alone in achieving accolades – South Africa’s entire audit and accounting standards have repeatedly been acknowledged as among the world’s best, if not the best. According to the latest World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2015-6, South Africa has maintained its number one position, out of 140 countries, for its strength of auditing and reporting standards for the sixth consecutive year.

The ranking brings confidence to foreign investors that they can trust and rely on South Africa’s auditing strength notwithstanding political and economic factors challenging the country.

South Africa’s decision to adopt the globally recognised International Standards on Auditing (ISA) as well as the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as early as 2005, and its forward thinking banking regulatory practices have contributed to the ranking, and largely sheltered the economy from the worst of the financial crisis which had affected many countries in the developed world. As a result, South Africa also achieved a number one ranking for regulation of securities exchanges.

This accolade comes in the midst of great change within the profession. At the end of 2016 new and revised auditor reporting standards become effective. In January 2015 the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) released its suite of new and revised auditor reporting standards, after six years of development. The aim is that these standards is to significantly improve the relevance and value of the auditor’s report for shareholders and investors, and other users of financial statements.