Mazars managing partner Tom O’Brien is looking forward to spearheading the firm’s continued growth in the coming years. “I relish that task,” says O’Brien, who took on the lead role earlier this year. “We have a great team and Mazars is a really young and energetic partnership. The average age of our partners is just 43, and I have known them all as colleagues over the years. The idea of working with them to achieve the firm’s goals is very appealing.”
He began his accountancy career with a small practice in Dublin in the 1990s. “I was a bit of a jack of all trades,” he recalls. “I did everything – tax, audits, annual accounts, payroll. It was pre-computerisation days, very old school, and great training. I qualified in 1997, and then spent three years with KPMG before joining Mazars as audit manager in 2000.”
He moved from audit to transaction services and established the Mazars due diligence practice in the mid-noughties. “There was frenzied activity in the corporate finance area at the time, and I was made partner just as the recession hit.”
That led to his next move when along with fellow partner Simon Coyle he developed the firm’s highly successful insolvency practice. “It was a very exciting time working on the recovery and liquidation of a huge variety of businesses ranging from nightclubs to pubs and travel businesses like Budget Travel as well as high profile properties like Apollo House. At its height we had 55 people working in the practice. Working with Simon developing the practice was a great experience.”
2014 saw him move again, this time to head up Mazars financial advisory services. “I became a member of the executive committee at that time,” he says. “I am very adaptable. I’ve worked in all practice areas and in all sizes of firm from very small to the Big 4. Being adaptable is very important in all walks of life. That’s the advice I would give anyone starting out on an accountancy career – be adaptable and get broad experience.”
And then came the switch to managing partner. “A large number of people had pushed me in that direction and after eight years on the executive committee I felt the time was right for me.”
The new role brings its own challenges. “My days are starting earlier and finishing later. A lot more people are looking for my time now. The business has to keep moving. Someone has to look after HR, finance, marketing and all those other things. We are blessed that we have very good people in those areas.
“Also the partners become your clients to some degree. There is no more demanding bunch of people with higher expectations than your own partners. They are not afraid to tell you if they think you are not performing. You’ve got to be on top of your game all the time.”
Representing the firm externally is another facet of the role. “That requires me to have a clear view of the firm’s strategy and how we support clients and deliver services to them. Wrapping around that Mazars is probably the only fully integrated global firm and I spend a lot of time managing the group relationship.”
Looking ahead he says that he didn’t come into a blank canvass situation. “We are building on the success the firm has enjoyed over the past number of years.”
Following a root-and-branch review of current service lines, the firm will focus on areas like ESG, regulatory change and privately-owned business advisory services, along with core offerings such as corporate finance, restructuring and audit.
“Outsourcing is another area of focus for us,” he says. “Large companies are increasingly outsourcing different aspects of their businesses to trusted partners. This is going to be huge, and Mazars Group has established centres of excellence around the world to take advantage of the opportunity there. I would be very disappointed if we haven’t significantly grown our outsourcing business over the next 12 months.”
The firm will continue to grow organically as well as through mergers with other practices. “We are continually looking out for firms that want to join with us. That has already worked really well with firms in Galway and Limerick. Those are two great examples of how smaller firms can fit in really well with Mazars. There are obvious gaps in the map, and we are actively looking out for firms in other cities who might wish to join us.”
A focus on people will be key to the firm’s future success, he believes. “I played a lot of football and I have a real belief in teamwork and inclusiveness. I will push the concept of teamwork and inclusiveness right through the ranks.”
The firm will shortly launch a new highly ambitious people strategy which will, among other things, include the Mazars Post Qualification Academy and the Mazars Office Anywhere concept. “The academy will allow our people to continually refresh their professional, technical and soft skills. It will enable them to round out their skills and future proof themselves. The Office Anywhere concept will include things like funding to fit out a home office or providing hubs in different areas. This will complement our existing hybrid working model.”
Technology and innovation will also be important. “The accountancy profession is changing at a rate of knots,” says O’Brien. “It is not possible to remain relevant without significant investment in innovation. Data analytics, robotic process automation, artificial intelligence and other technologies increasingly factor in how we do our work. Quite a sizable chunk of our budget is invested in innovation every year.”
Finally, he believes the economy could be in for a bumpy ride in the near term at least.
“I keep quite a close eye on the economy. The expected mass business failures post-Covid have failed to materialise. In early 2022 everyone was optimistic, and the mode was very positive, but a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. The war in Ukraine, rising inflation and interest rates, and continuing uncertainty around Brexit have dampened the mood somewhat. There is talk of private equity investment into Ireland falling, as well and we still have a lot of businesses with warehoused Revenue debt.
“There are storm clouds on the horizon. But if there is a recession it will be a cash flow recession rather than a debt recession. To mitigate that Ireland must retain its competitiveness. The Government also needs to address high personal tax rates and the housing shortage and cost of housing.”