When your reputation is in the cross-hairs
I came across an article in Bloomberg Law about the reputation of former President Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars US which is part of Mazars Group, the global entity based in Paris. The parent Mazars is a large international firm spanning 90 countries. Mazars USA has 26,000 employees in 11 locations throughout the US and is now tied up with Trump’s alleged tax fraud. What’s the firm to do? Of course, Mazars Global or US could decline to work with the former President Trump going forward but as the article makes clear, it is highly unlikely that just resigning the account will put an end to its professional obligations and continued congressional and tax investigations.
The immediate issue is how the collateral damage from Trump impacts Mazars’ global and US reputation as an upstanding, ethical and reputable accounting firm. The stain on its reputation has the potential to push partners, employees and some clients to consider leaving the firm. It might be that the relationship is too close for comfort as the Trump organization faces criminal charges in New York. Mazurs is intent on competing with the big 4 who have had their own set of problems.
One of the first steps companies take when their reputation is in harm’s way is to rebrand. Mazars Global did just that. Rebranding, redefining your values and cultural touchstones and reporting on your societal responsibility initiatives requires using outside advisors or internal task forces to dig deep into what makes the company tick and taking a forward look. Taking those first steps to understand what stakeholders think of the firm, its commitments, employee experience and culture usually show up in a rebranding. It seems that Mazars did that well and is starting afresh.
The next step would be for the Mazars US group to communicate their story or narrative to solidify the foundation of trust that might be shaky from the Trump connection. One year ago in September, right before the presidential election, they announced a management shakeup. Now, there seems to be more content coming from them such as an announcement of a new chief marketing officer and two new leaders joining the US group. The new CMO might be useful in helping to counter the Mazars-Trump relationship in the USA online. I did not find a Mazars US designated spot on LinkedIn. On Facebook, it looks like Mazars US is focusing on a diversity push for various holidays/celebrations that the firm participates in – Gay Pride, Juneteenth, Father’s Day, the American Heart Association, National Nurses Week and the Jewish holidays. All of which is good but not chock full of information about themselves, the industry, insights, why people join, innovation, leadership, etc. Similarly, they are awol when it comes to Twitter and when I search for Mazars US on Twitter, media coverage comes up instead about subpoenas for Trump’s financial records from the firm and the Bloomberg piece mentioned above. Most companies do choose to remain quiet when their reputations are under duress but it often helps to counter that reputation-negativity with some good news about the firm and what it is doing to be an active industry, talent and societal partner.
Also as part of a communications push to attract talent (today’s holy grail), they should beef up their Glassdoor site. It has some bells and whistles (photos) but not much else that features their personality and character. Since Glassdoor recently bought Fishbowl, there are a few mentions of what people are saying about the firm and luckily, Trump’s name does not appear. No one is asking how it feels to work for a firm that is accountable for Trump’s tax returns. Their listing of awards and recognition is fairly sparse for the past two years as well. Its overall rating of 3.8/5 is above average but their business outlook looks low to me with only 42% saying it is positive. Is that a leading indicator of what is to come as Mazar US finds itself in the news as congressional investigations into Trump’s taxes mount and earn more attention?
The CEO of Mazars US Victor Wahba has a Twitter account but the last post is from one year ago. He does comment on Mazar US news and achievements online and is quoted in a press release about the new global branding that took two years in the making for the global firm. Otherwise, he’s been fairly quiet for the past several years. I was surprised by his statement in Accounting Today in 2020 when he said: “While Mazars isn’t a household name here, it is recognized through the globe and in parts of the U.S. With the new launch, we expect that the brand will be further elevated and associated with the U.S.” Unfortunately, Mazars US’s profile is now well known in the US due to Trump’s tax issues and a ProPublica investigation that does not paint a good picture. A deeper profile that highlights Mazars US management team and the CEO’s leadership might help build greater credibility during what I see as difficult times.