Spotlight On: Brian West, Managing Partner, Forvis Mazars
April 2025 — Brian West, managing partner at Forvis Mazars, spoke with Invest: about adopting innovative technologies and developing new talent in the accounting sector. “We are evolving training programs to meet new professional demands, and are positioning the firm to be a trusted advisor, rather than just a service provider,” West said.
It’s been nearly a year since Forvis Mazars launched their global network. How has the integration progressed and what benefits have clients experienced?
It’s been a good process, especially in Houston. Our local clients have needs that are international, and we have many international clients that have inbound needs that benefit from our local expertise. Companies in South America or Europe have someone there on the ground who understands the local tax perspective. We’ve streamlined our communication process to great benefit for our clients. We can get responses in two or three hours instead of days. We’re continuing to add additional services internationally and share insights on AI and hiring strategies across regions. I sit on the governing board for the firm, and many of the synergies and positive developments we knew would occur as a result of forming our global network are happening even faster than we anticipated. Integration impact exceeded expectations, accelerating benefits for both clients and the firm.
What makes Houston an ideal location for Forvis Mazars, and how does it compare to other major markets?
Houston has everything for professional services firms. It has a lot of energy that has been here for a long time. There have been many entrepreneurial ideas of how the economy can expand and go onto different areas. Apple announced a large AI database in Houston, and we’ll see if there are others who follow suit. We are starting to see a trend of AI picking up and data centers becoming more important. Houston is a place that will be set up well to be a large part of that engine. Many bankers believe AI will lead most of the investment. We are starting to see the benefits of a large population of people with a lot of talent, and local leaders have done a good job of keeping the cost of living and doing business low, which attracts many people to Houston. It makes Houston a top destination over the next five to 10 years from a business standpoint.
What are the key milestones for the Houston office over the past year?
We have over 250 people in our office, a big increase compared to 120 three years ago. Our office has doubled in size. We have offered many new services, including our tax specialty practice where we’ve seen a lot of need. We are seeing movement in international tax and tariff implications. Our clients need to understand the tax implications of shipping inside and outside the U.S. In Houston, we developed a tax specialty practice to help clients make business decisions in a world that is rapidly changing. We have consistently achieved over 10% revenue growth over a four-year period, with growth exceeding 15% in three of those four years. It’s been good growth from a people and revenue perspective. My favorite achievement in the last year is record promotions within our team. We had almost 27% of our team receive promotions. Many of our employees have stepped up and taken on new responsibilities.
How are you assessing the talent pool in Houston for the professional services industry, and how are you attracting and retaining talent?
From a CPA perspective, we have seen a decline in students pursuing the CPA credential and accounting in general. We get many recruits from the University of Houston, Texas A&M, UT, and Sam Houston. These schools do a good job of producing talent. From out of state, we are recruiting talent from LSU and Ole Miss. We focus on the University of Houston because they excel at preparing their students with solid accounting and entrepreneurial backgrounds. We are getting over 50% of our campus hires from the University of Houston. We have seen the dynamics of professional services firms are changing, with AI taking over routine and commodity-type work and a lot of offshoring. We are one of the few firms that are below 10% from an offshoring standpoint. For a lot of firms, 30%-50% of their work is done offshore. Employees must adapt faster. With AI and offshoring, some of the more detailed and routine tasks will be handled by software. This means many things employees typically have done earlier in their careers need to evolve and they will need to learn how to interpret their work with clients faster. It will change the way students learn in school and how employees work on day one.
How is the firm adapting to changes in technology, and are there specific products you are integrating to improve efficiencies and help clients?
AI adoption requires a strong governance to protect client data. We cannot put our clients’ data at risk. AI may be intimidating to some people, but it’s all based on the same machine learning we’ve been using for many years. We are using a lot more computing power to process data and provide answers to our team. Microsoft Copilot is an important tool to enhance meeting efficiency, data analysis, and presentations. AI simplified workflow but raised questions about how firms will utilize the time that is saved. Companies will analyze AI efficiencies and find targeted ways to help clients in an accessible and usable format. The next few years will be critical as firms adjust staffing and training models.
How do you see macroeconomic factors affecting your operations and clients?
There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding tariffs, their effects on the cost of goods, and effects on business expansion. The economy has slowed slightly in Houston, along with the rest of the country. More businesses are pushing back on expanding their teams and services. Budgets are being constricted from taking on opportunities for future planning. Business acquisitions have dropped in the last quarter. We are seeing signs pointing to a wait-and-see approach which is putting a pause on hiring, decision making, and new projects. Houston is outperforming other cities around the country because we have new ways of developing businesses. The lower cost of living and opportunities created means Houston will weather the storm. Our economic engine is built to withstand economic slowdown.
How is the firm engaging with the Houston business community and local governments?
We partner with local city governments from an auditing and consulting standpoint to help them with grant income and federal funding. We work with local chambers of commerce to provide insight into the economy in many different areas. Our transaction services team hosts discussions on AI, macroeconomics, and business trends. We support the Houston Business Journal and related economic forums to share insights and expertise
What are your top priorities for the firm over the next few years?
We want to have the talent of the future. We will invest in our team and train employees for leadership opportunities. Our team members will move into management and leadership roles faster than at other firms, especially in AI management and client advisory. There is a lot of private equity investment coming into CPA firms, driving competition. We want to avoid commoditizing our basic services, where you may see machines do it or another way to simplify it. We will double down on investing in our relationships because this is a relationship business. Clients want to get to know and trust their CPAs. How we work with our clients and what information we are bringing are key focus areas. We are evolving training programs to meet new professional demands and are positioning the firm to be a trusted advisor, rather than just a service provider.
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