MAZARS EXPANDING FURTHER:
A new stage of European growth in Switzerland and Estonia

Mazars, an independent challenger with a presence in 58 countries, is continuing its expansion in Europe in order to achieve credible size.

Mazars has formed closer links with Coresa in Switzerland and Rimess in Estonia.

In Switzerland, Mazars and Coresa have merged their Swiss offices in Geneva, Zurich and Fribourg with effect from 1 September 2005.

The new entity operates under the name of Mazars Coresa and has a staff of 40, including six partners, with turnover of around €5.3 million.

The management committee is led by Gerhard Auer and comprises six partners; the other five are Marie-Blanche Zahno, Jean-Philippe Keil, Denis Bulle, Alain Gimmi and Frédéric Mazzotti.

Mazars has had a presence in Switzerland since 1975 and this new relationship will allow it to strengthen its position in the country.

In Estonia, Mazars has formed a correspondent relationship with Rimess.

This new player ranks fifth among audit firms in Estonia, and offers services covering audit of listed companies, accounting expertise, financial advice and tax advice.

Mazars will thus have a presence in Estonia from now on, with three offices in Tallinn, Tartu and Voru. These three offices employ 64 people including four partners: Eva Veinberg, Mati Nommiste, Artur Suits and Raul Koni.

The development of these new offices offers a perfect example of the group's European growth strategy: Mazars wants to offer tailored services, in close proximity to its clients, and of equal quality across the five continents.


CORESA

Coresa was founded in Geneva by Gerhard Auer in 1988 and is a well-known audit and accounting firm in Switzerland. The company, which employs 15 people of whom 4 are partners, has notably developed expertise in the banking and financial sector, as well as assisting small and mid-size companies in the commerce and services sectors. In 2004, CORESA produced turnover of 3.7 million Swiss francs, or around €2 million.

Gerhard Auer, director of Mazars Coresa, says: "We have made the decision to join an international and independent organisation with an impeccable professional reputation in the audit business."


RIMESS

The audit firm Rimess has had a presence in Estonia since 1992 and serves more than 500 Estonian companies, many of which are in the Estonian TOP 100. Rimess also works for NGOs and public service organisations. In 2004, Rimess produced turnover of €1.7 million.

Eva Veinberg, a partner at Rimess, says: "We are proud to join the Mazars organisation. This link will permit us to develop further on the Estonian market and to consolidate our position as the fifth-largest audit player in our country."


MAZARS

Mazars is an international organisation specialising in audit, accounting, tax and business advisory. With a presence in 58 countries, Mazars forms a community of 10,000 people who share the same values. Its estimated turnover for 2005 is €500 million for the integrated partnership across 38 countries.

Patrick de Cambourg, Chairman of Mazars, says: "Switzerland is one of the key financial markets. As our strategy focuses primarily on Europe, we owed it to ourselves to achieve credible size in Switzerland in order to develop our business there. As for Estonia, which joined the European Union in 2004, it constitutes the first stage of our strategy in the Baltic countries."