Spotlight On: Paula Ferreira, Assistant Managing Partner, Forvis Mazars
July 2025 — The last year showed remarkable progress and momentum for Forvis Mazars. Paula Ferreira, assistant managing partner, discusses with Invest: the impact of the launch of their global network on operations and client services in New Jersey. “We were able to grow organically, and our network integration allowed us to better align our service offerings and deepen our bench strength,” said Ferreira.
How has your network launch impacted your operations and client services in New Jersey?
The last year saw remarkable progress and momentum, with the transaction occurring on June 1. We were able to grow organically, and our network integration allowed us to better align our service offerings and deepen our bench strength.
I always say that we provide the highest level of customer service and achieve that in part through our deep bench of talent, so we can get technical expertise from throughout the United States as needed. Clients continue to look to us not only for compliance, but for a full picture of what’s next.
We see a lot happening right now amid the backdrop of the economic and regulatory uncertainty. The shift in demand is more towards consulting. We see that businesses are seeking more than just tax or audit needs, whether it is succession planning, digital transformation, or anything else that helps them adapt and thrive.
We continue to see ever-evolving businesses, and we have more ability now to service them because of our enhanced presence across the country, across sectors, and now, across the globe. We have more resources at our fingertips.
We, too, are facing changing trends in our own profession, such as continued consolidation and a hybrid workforce. Returning to the office is a big topic of conversation. But we are still able to remain true to what Forvis Mazars is, what our legacy has always been, which is providing an unmatched client experience, and being highly responsive to our clients’ needs.
How are you taking advantage of innovation and technology?
We tend to stay ahead of the curve by using these new tools in intentional ways, training our people on them, evolving them to help our clients, and staying at the forefront of digital technology. We stay ahead of the curve by being involved in the industry with organizations such as the AICPA and the New Jersey Society for CPAs, and making sure that we are aware of everything that’s happening from an industry perspective to be able to train our teams and be able to offer our people and clients the newest resources that are available.
What is your firm’s strategy to develop talent?
In New Jersey, I do think we have a deep well of talent. New Jersey has a little bit of everything, and people tend to migrate towards it. Making sure that we have the highest level of talent and training is still a challenge in the profession, so we’re fortunate to be able to draw from such a dynamic pool of talent in this region. But we also must be intentional in attracting and retaining great people.
That’s why culture is so important. Maintaining a good culture where we train and invest in our professionals is key. As our clients’ needs become more complex, our teams need to be more specialized.
We focus on developing those technical skills, but also on developing the soft skills of our teams. We have doubled down on the apprenticeship model, having classes of interns for on-the-job training, and making sure that we’re investing in people at all levels, from associates to partners, allowing us to serve our clients at the highest level.
We are also partnering with other institutions, especially colleges and universities. We do recruit in several institutions throughout the state. I get involved with some of the recruiting alongside our recruiting teams, which is rewarding and fun. I also look at what is occurring in the profession with various new ideas that are being proposed about the path to obtain a CPA license. This is an important and evolving topic here in New Jersey and around the country.
Are there any particular services or industries that are driving the most growth for your firm?
New Jersey has always been a manufacturing and distribution state. We’ve focused heavily on that area. But Forvis Mazars itself has a large educational focus, as well as banking and finance, and we’re focused on growing those aspects of our practice in New Jersey.
What are your thoughts on the future of merger and acquisition activity in the profession, given the current economic conditions?
There’s no question it will continue. We’ve seen so much consolidation in the marketplace, and it will continue, whether it’s private equity or ESOPs. Our firm chose a different route. We choose to remain partner-owned and partner-led and maintain our focus on culture by bringing together firms of similar minds. Consolidation is a natural occurrence of what we see happening in the market overall, not just in the public accounting industry. You’re seeing it in banking; you see it pretty much across industries. We’re going to continue to see that evolve.
What would you consider to be the biggest challenges facing the industry?
Talent and training are the two most pressing challenges in the profession. Our clients’ needs are complex, and we need to be specialized and develop our skills to address those complex needs. We focus on training and developing our top talent, mentoring, deep relationships with our clients and with our team, hands-on training, AI, and automation.
Our approach is to adapt technology where it enhances client service, where we can add more value without losing the personal touch and tailored insights that truly define our relationship with clients. We want to use AI, use everything at our fingertips, but still be able to provide that service and that personal touch to clients.
What is the outlook for your firm in the next two to three years?
I think enhancing the brand will be our focus moving forward. It’s a fairly new brand, although our firm has been around for more than 100 years. We’re going to focus on enhancing that and continue to align our services and support our clients through what we currently have and through the new tools that are available to us.
We’re seeing more clients seeking consulting services rather than traditional compliance services or financial statement services. We feel privileged that we have a lot of those resources at our fingertips.
We’re able to be on the forefront of some of that technology, on the forefront of some of that guidance, and we’re able to help our clients. Internally, we’re making sure we have the right infrastructure and support to be able to provide the highest value to our clients. Then, we can expect more demand for these advisory services.
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