Forvis Mazars appoints Graeme Hedding as partner in Melbourne
Accounting and advisory firm Forvis Mazars has added former Ernst & Young director Graeme Hedding as a partner in Melbourne.
A commerce graduate in accounting and finance from the University of Pretoria, Hedding has spent the past two decades at Ernst & Young, initially in South Africa until migrating to Australia and joining the Big Four firm’s Melbourne branch in 2010.
Forvis Mazars said Hedding’s extensive experience, strong networks, and robust expertise in servicing large and listed clients would support the continued expansion of the firm’s audit division in the Australia market.
“Graeme’s wealth of experience will add tremendous value to our operations and amplify our Australian expertise,” said Melbourne managing partner Richard DeBono. “His appointment is a testament to our commitment to attracting top industry talent and yet another step in Forvis Mazars’ strategic vision towards building a strong national and global presence.”
After joining EY as an audit trainee in Johannesburg in 2004, Heading worked his way up to assurance director in Melbourne with a specialty in serving clients in the industrial products sector, providing support across commercial and audit technical issues including risk, human resources, and financial performance.
“Graeme strategic approach to managing risk and driving efficiencies aligns perfectly with Forvis Mazars’ goals of providing personal, agile, and trusted advice to clients,” the firms stated. “Based in our Melbourne city office, he will play a crucial role in strengthening our audit and assurance division, enhancing our ability to deliver exceptional client service.”
Having merged in the middle of last year, Forvis Mazars’ presently has 42 partners listed on its Australian website, including respective Sydney and Brisbane managing partners Matthew Ashley and John Kotzur and now more than a dozen in Melbourne. Pei-hua Loke was promoted into the latter’s business advisory partner mix in the back half of last year.
Having announced their intention to merge at the end of 2023 – at the time bringing together revenues of $4.7 billion to disrupt the global top ten accounting and consulting pecking order – Forvis Mazars ultimately banked $5.2 billion for its 2024 financial year to September. Asia Pacific chairman Pascal Jauffret was appointed as global CEO at the end of the year.
