• RSM’s member firms pledge lasting support to empowering women in the workplace.
• Network announces 70% year-on-year increase in female headcount across region.
• Conference delegates welcome RSM International’s new CEO, E.J. Nedder.

RSM, the leading provider of professional services to middle market businesses, hosted its annual conference in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with a focus on empowerment.

More than 100 RSM leaders from across the region were in attendance in Cairo for RSM’s MENA conference, where delegates explored RSM’s development of its people and the lasting changes the network is bringing to the region.

The three-day conference was attended by RSM International’s CEO E.J. Nedder, who took up his new global role on 1st June 2024 and replaces long-standing CEO Jean Stephens who will remain with RSM as Senior Advisor.

In the MENA region, RSM spans more than 30 offices in 22 countries, with a headcount of more than 1,300 employees. RSM has generated exceptional revenue growth of 30% in MENA, including double digit rises across all service lines.

RSM’s largest Member Firm in the region, RSM Saudi Arabia revealed its exponential increase of women in the workplace; increasing five-fold since 2021. The conference’s host, RSM Egypt, also boasted extraordinary growth in 2023 by more than doubling its 2022 revenues. Highlighting RSM’s focus as an inclusive employer in the region, the conference heard the network’s female headcount in the region has risen by 70% to more than 300 people at all levels.

The conference also revealed that RSM Egypt, RSM Lebanon and RSM United Arab Emirates have each made a lasting commitment to advancing women in the workplace. All three join 39 other RSM member firms around the world by being proud signatories of The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in support of Sustainable Development Goal 5, Gender Equality.

Established by UN Women and the UN Global Compact, the WEPs are informed by international labour and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and a responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment.

RSM’s support of the seven WEPs Principles and the UN’s Gender Equality goal is underlined by 42 RSM member firms having individually signed up to the WEPs, representing 68% of its total global headcount.

E.J. Nedder, CEO of RSM International said:
“It was a privilege to begin building relationships with our outstanding member firms and business leaders through attending my first regional conference.
“Our organisation’s focus is on creating unrivalled opportunity for our clients, our people and the communities we serve. Empowering them all has driven our impressive increase in both our regional revenue and headcount.
“Central to RSM’s success is our emphasis on upskilling, supporting and developing our people to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to growth orientated clients.”

Bassam Dahman, Middle East and North Africa regional leader at RSM International, said:
“The plenary and interactive sessions at this year’s MENA conference have all signified how our member firms are collaborating as a region to support clients as a global provider of compelling, digital solutions and professional services. 
“In addition to our impressive revenue growth across the region our member firms are also actively demonstrating their commitment to leading both lasting and meaningful change regionally through empowering their diverse and regionally unified teams. 
“Our growing headcount in MENA exemplifies the journey we are on, one that is fuelled by curiosity and an unwavering belief that together, we can achieve anything.”

Candy Eaton Gaul, Diversity and Inclusion leader at RSM International, said:
“Our  member firms in MENA are joining many of our other member firms in pledging to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. This commitment adds to our global organisation’s championing of women in the workplace across all regions, with the ultimate aim of playing our part as good corporate citizens in striving for gender equality. 
“The very heart of RSM is our people. As RSM member firms make the commitment to gender equality around the world, it leads to a bigger focus on equality in all areas. This positively impacts the communities in which we operate, our clients, and more importantly it shapes an unrivalled and inclusive talent experience, allowing people to leverage the best of their knowledge and skills.”