As the UK market undergoes significant shifts, leadership plays a pivotal role in ensuring that firms not only adapt but also thrive.
James Gilbey, the newly appointed CEO of Forvis Mazars UK, steps into this challenge at a time of opportunity, with the firm already enjoying a 15-year streak of growth and a newly strengthened global presence following its integration into the Forvis Mazars network.
In this exclusive Q&A, Gilbey shares his vision for leading the firm forward, his commitment to strengthening audit quality, the integration of new technologies, and how he plans to cultivate a dynamic, forward-thinking environment for both clients and employees alike.
Congratulations on your new role as UK CEO. What excites you most about leading Forvis Mazars at this pivotal time?
The first thing that excites me is that I am joining a team already on the up. With 15 consecutive years of UK growth behind us I have a lot to live up to but it’s fantastic to have the wind in our sails.
Throughout my career to date, my main motivation has always been delivering great work for clients and building successful, engaged teams where everyone is able to be their best.
I’m incredibly excited to now be in a position where I’m leading a firm that’s focused on achieving exactly that and to be able to dedicate my time to furthering those goals.
In addition, since creating the Forvis Mazars network last year, we now benefit from being truly global, and I look forward to greater collaboration within the network and the opportunities that this will bring both our clients and our team.
The profession is undergoing major changes, including the influx of Private Equity investment, AI adoption, and the regulatory priorities. What are your immediate priorities for Forvis Mazars in this evolving landscape?
Changes in the external environment are not uncommon and, to a degree, are expected in our profession.
During my first weeks and months in leadership, we have already seen huge changes geopolitically, but we try to not let these distract us and instead remain clear and focused on our overarching goals and ambitions.
My immediate priorities are simply to stay true to what has led to our success so far, which has been centred around the needs of our clients and team members.
We remain deeply committed to the partnership model which we believe is in the long-term interests of our clients and our people.
The pathway to Partner is always open and we’re proud of the number of home-grown Partners that we’re able to nurture. It’s exciting to lead a firm that offers this.
We will continue to focus on delivering the highest quality of work for our clients, whilst also supporting our colleagues and team members in their growth and development.
As our external landscape evolves, our commitment to these goals will remain at the core of our decision making.
How do you see the UK arm contributing to the network’s long-term vision?
I don’t actually view us as the UK arm. As a network of two firms, we operate as a unified global partnership, with no distinction between regions outside the U.S.
Our success is intertwined with the success of the broader network and we all share a single global vision.
This integrated approach sets us apart from other firms, as we collaborate seamlessly across over 100 countries, leveraging diverse expertise to deliver consistent, high-quality services to our clients, bringing a global perspective with local insight, whilst also creating career and mobility opportunities for our people.
The UK Financial Reporting Council has called for improvements in audit quality across mid-tier firms, including Forvis Mazars. How do you plan to strengthen audit quality and restore confidence in the sector?
We take our responsibility as an auditor of Public Interest Entities seriously. It is right that the regulator works to protect public interest by holding firms like ours to account by ensuring a focus is maintained on quality.
I am proud that we have been investing in audit quality for several years now and we are seeing the benefits of our actions. We’re making really good progress because of the decisions we’ve taken to build and enhance audit quality.
Do you believe regulatory changes—such as operational separation of audit and advisory services—have gone far enough to improve audit independence, or is there still work to be done?
We remain committed to being a multi-disciplinary firm and believe that, with the right safeguards applied to retain independence, the ability to bring experts together from different disciplines improves quality, with clients ultimately benefiting from more rounded expertise and solutions.
Auditors being able to tap into the deep expertise of specialist consultants can lead to more incisive judgments, and our consultants can benefit from the deep industry expertise that our auditors are happy to share.
In addition, for our teams, I am committed to ensuring that those joining us benefit from being able to move around a firm that offers both audit and advisory services, so each individual can fulfil their own career ambitions.
Forvis Mazars has been investing in talent development, particularly in data and technology driven training. How do you see the future role of technology in professional services?
There’s no doubt that the use of data and technology will play a big part in how we serve our clients and we are focused on identifying where the adoption of technology will drive efficiency and improved quality.
Where it does, we’re embracing it and providing our teams with the necessary training to equip them for the current market.
For example, we have launched data analytics solutions across our audit and advisory businesses and are trialling and developing AI tools across service lines including tax and financial planning.
However, whilst technology will undoubtedly play a growing role in our future, building trusted relationships with clients will always be paramount for us.
Alongside technology training, we’re also training our team members, so they have the skills needed to build lasting relationships with each other and clients.
This year we will roll out a comprehensive learning and development programme, tailored for every member of the firm, covering topics like relationship building, personal branding, building inclusive teams, and impactful communication.
If we look five years ahead, what would success look like for Forvis Mazars UK under your leadership?
Fundamentally, success is defined by having happy clients, wanting to do more and more with us, and strong financial performance for our business: and I think any CEO would articulate a similar sentiment.
But those are a given and, in addition, I want my tenure to be defined by providing equal opportunities for everyone in our firm, or supported by our firm, to reach their full potential.
That includes those in the local communities that we engage with, such as through our partnership with IntoUniversity and our Forvis Mazars Charitable Foundation.