RSM Ebner Stolz breaks turnover threshold of 400 million euros

• Turnover grows by 16 per cent in the 2023 financial year
• Assurance, tax consulting, legal consulting and management consulting continue positive development
• Internationalisation, digitalisation, sustainability: RSM Ebner Stolz drives forward future topics

Stuttgart, 28 May 2024 - The auditing and consulting firm RSM Ebner Stolz closed the 2023 financial year with revenues of more than EUR 400 million for the first time. With an increase of 16 per cent, the company continued the growth of previous years. All four areas - assurance, tax consulting, legal consulting and management consulting - developed positively.

RSM Ebner Stolz in figures

‘We are delighted that we have been able to continue the growth of recent years in 2023 with an outstanding team performance. We would like to thank all our colleagues who have made this success possible with their exceptional commitment. By joining the RSM network in 2023, we have also created an important foundation for the further development of our company, which will open up new opportunities for our clients and employees in the international environment,’ says Prof Dr Holger Jenzen, Partner and spokesperson for the partnership at RSM Ebner Stolz.

New network, new name

With the network change, RSM Ebner Stolz last year responded to the increasing demand for cross-border assurance and advisory services in the German mid-market sector. The strategic move is intended both to further professionalise the company's service portfolio in the interests of its clients and to facilitate international exchange for our employees. As the world's sixth-largest network with a focus on SMEs, RSM's global presence in 120 countries with 820 offices and a 16 per cent increase in revenues to USD 9.4 billion in 2023 provide a strong foundation for achieving this goal.

Stable transaction business in the midmarket supports growth

As in previous years, RSM Ebner Stolz continued to benefit from growing M&A business in the mid-market sector in 2023. With over 500 transactions, the company advised on significantly more company acquisitions and sales than in previous years.

RSM Ebner Stolz's advisory services covered companies of all sizes and sectors, but particularly in the areas of private equity, software & technology, automotive as well as plant and mechanical engineering.

Focus on trending topics: sustainability and digitalisation

RSM Ebner Stolz is expanding the range of digital services it offers its clients across all divisions by developing its own solutions or acquiring external expertise. For example, as part of joining the RSM network last year, the company acquired RSM DE Technology & Management Consulting GmbH, the world's largest implementation partner for NetSuite, an ERP cloud solution from Oracle that is specially tailored to SMEs.

In interdisciplinary terms, the topic of sustainability is also becoming increasingly important for the company. The demand for assurance and consulting services such as ESG due diligence or green tax has recently accelerated once again due to increasing regulatory requirements and geopolitical developments. RSM Ebner Stolz is therefore consistently expanding its expertise in this area, both in terms of content and personnel.

Assurance business booming

At around EUR 162.4 million, assurance contributed the largest share of total sales. The main driver for the growth of 16.4 per cent was the traditional audit of financial statements. The basis for the renewed increase in demand was provided by medium-sized companies and the acquisition of additional non-PIE mandates such as EDEKA and Possehl.

In terms of personnel, the company continued its expansion with further additions and training, particularly in the area of sustainability. The demand for ESG auditing and consulting services, particularly with regard to non-financial reporting and the implementation of the CSRD and EU taxonomy, will affect mid-market companies in particular.

High demand for tax advice

RSM Ebner Stolz's tax consulting services recorded an 18.2 per cent increase in revenues in 2023 and contributed around 37 per cent to total revenues with just under EUR 147 million. The significant growth can be attributed to the consistent strengthening of promising specialisations such as the expansion of succession, transfer pricing and VAT consulting, but also to the significantly increasing demands of mid-market enterprises. In the past year, the firm also succeeded in expanding its cross-border advisory services in both the outbound and inbound areas, which was significantly boosted in particular by the accession of RSM. RSM Ebner Stolz was thus able to further establish itself as one of the strongest providers in the tax market and win numerous mandates in the core area of the upper midmarket.

In the coming years, RSM Ebner Stolz's tax consultancy will focus on the further expansion of advice on international tax law, for example on global minimum tax (Pillar II). In addition, the further development of the Tax Technology division and the development of innovative approaches such as Green Tax, i.e. the development of solutions for a sustainable and at the same time tax-optimised future, will be of great importance.

Legal division continues to grow

RSM Ebner Stolz's legal division also continued to grow last year. The 5.2 per cent increase in revenues to just under EUR 51 million was somewhat more moderate following the high growth rates and considerable increase in personnel in previous years due to further consolidation.

The largest contributions to the turnover of RSM Ebner Stolz's legal division came from a continued very stable M&A business, in particular transactions with PE participation, and increasingly from the litigation area, which focussed primarily on product liability claims. There was also a significant increase in demand for advice on restructuring. RSM Ebner Stolz provided interdisciplinary advice to companies from the automotive, ceramics and plant engineering sectors, among others, under the leadership of the legal department.

RSM Ebner Stolz will continue to invest in the further development of its legal advice in the future. The focus here is on both the strategic expansion of the full-service offering and the targeted strengthening of individual locations and areas of law in terms of personnel. In addition to the established offices in Stuttgart, Cologne and Hamburg, this was achieved last year in particular with the addition of advisory teams in Bonn and Frankfurt.

Management consultancy with record turnover

The management consultancy RSM Ebner Stolz Management Consultants increased its revenues by 21 per cent to EUR 42.3 million, recording its best financial year since it was founded. The management consulting activities focused on providing support for reorganisation and restructuring in critical situations as well as the implementation of transformation programmes, in particular carve-outs. Clients were also assisted with complex M&A deals, strategic alliances and digitalisation initiatives in finance and accounting.

With a significant increase in the number of new employees, RSM Ebner Stolz Management Consultants 2023 also strengthened its workforce and further expanded its restructuring expertise in particular with the addition of a large team in Hamburg.

The positive development of RSM Ebner Stolz's management consultancy was once again confirmed by prestigious awards last year. For example, the management consultants were honoured as ‘Best Consultants’ by the business magazine brand eins. In the ‘Best of Consulting’ competition organised by WirtschaftsWoche, RSM Ebner Stolz won in the ‘Finance’ category with its support for a transaction as part of a strategic alliance in agricultural trade.

The key to success: personnel recruiting

Despite complex global political and economic conditions, RSM Ebner Stolz is once again planning double-digit growth in the 2024 financial year. ‘We can only achieve this goal if we retain our excellently trained employees in the long term, attract new ones and continue to present ourselves as an extremely attractive employer both internally and externally,’ says Holger Jenzen, summarising the most important prerequisites.

Press contact

Henning Marburger
RSM Ebner Stolz
Holzmarkt 1
50676 Cologne
Phone +49 221 20643-628
henning.marburger@ebnerstolz.de

Firm contact

Prof Dr Holger Jenzen
RSM Ebner Stolz
Kronenstraße 30
70174ö Stuttgart
Phone +49 711 2049-1212
holger.jenzen@ebnerstolz.de

About RSM Ebner Stolz

RSM Ebner Stolz is one of the largest independent middle-market assurance and consulting firms in Germany. The company is among the top ten in the industry and has broad expertise in assurance, tax, legal and management consulting. With this multidisciplinary consulting approach and as one of the market leaders in the middle-market sector with more than 2,400 employees at 14 locations, RSM Ebner Stolz serves national and international industrial, commercial and service enterprises in all sectors.

As a member of RSM International, RSM Ebner Stolz offers its clients high-quality assurance and consulting services in 120 countries with 820 offices worldwide.