When Tom Watson went to college, he thought he was going to be a science major and actually signed up for a degree in chemistry and management, because he was intrigued by the discipline after doing business-oriented work through high school. But after taking his first business class and discovering what accounting entails, he decided that was the field he was going to pursue.
After college, he ended up joining Missouri-based Baird Kurtz and Dobson as an industry leader in the firm's health care practice in a regional position before taking on a managing partner role in the Dallas/Fort Worth practice, and then a regional managing partner role that he held until he was asked to become the firm's CEO last June. Throughout his 32-year career, Watson has worked in advisory and audit while specializing in the health care practice in its "high growth stage."
"Tom has the unique ability to process information quickly, but what makes him a great leader is that he processes that information in a way that considers all possible outcomes and the impact on others," said Kimberly McKay, regional managing partner for the Southwest at Forvis, who's been working with Watson for 30 years. "As I reflect on the first year of Forvis and the integration efforts we undertook, I cannot think of a better person than Tom to have led us through that effort."
After serving his first year as CEO of Forvis, Watson said that while the position was what he expected, he was delighted to see he still learned things every day. Being a new leader means continuing to find ways to influence the firm, finding ways for teams to stay aligned with the board's strategy, and navigating a lot of changes when working in a firm that resulted from a "merger of equals."
Forvis, whose name is a combination of "forward vision," was created last June from the merger between BKD and North Carolina-based Top 100 Firm Dixon Hughes Goodman. According to Watson, one of the most challenging things about bringing two strong entities together is evaluating every policy each has — from their audit methodology to real estate structure — and deciding which one is better. Sometimes, it's even necessary to create a fresh approach for the new firm, and giving up something that you spent years perfecting is not always easy.
"The willingness of our leaders to be vulnerable and consider that what they've done until now might not be the best policy moving forward for our new firm truly reflects an open mind," said Watson. "When you look at how strong our leadership team has been, and how they exhibit this mentality day after day as we're navigating this change, it is all really amazing."
Another challenge in merging two big firms is to create a unique culture, vocabulary and language, which Watson said was important for both legacy firms for employees to truly understand what it means to work at Forvis. So two months after it was created, Watson and other members of his team convened two working groups from across the firm, one to take care of developing Forvis' cultural statements, mission and values, while the other focused on codifying client experience to maintain high net promoter scores, which measure the loyalty of a company's customer base.
The standards those groups developed around client services are reflected in a hardcover book, "Unmatched Client Experience: The Forvis Way in Action," which came out on June 1. His team wrote the book to illustrate the firm's vision. As CEO, Watson said he came to understand the importance of diligent communication when a firm undergoes such significant changes, because he now operates at a scale that impacts the daily operations of a wide array of teams.
"When we look back at the end of the first year, I'm really pleased with how that's gone, and we've been able to maintain phenomenal net promoter scores for both our legacy firms, which is probably the primary benchmark to know how our clients are doing," said Watson. "It indicates that our team is doing a really good job of making sure that we keep our focus on taking care of our clients as we work to create this unique new firm."
A shared foundation
Watson said that when BKD and DHG came together, the firms knew they were structurally different but shared similar cultural norms. Both believed in operating with a one-firm mentality and a strong commitment to integrity and high quality. Starting from there, Watson said it only became a question of how to put that collaboration in motion. The challenge was to make sure the merger fit the current marketplace and brought out the best of both legacy firms.
As a result, the teams worked on creating the firm's "
The two groups started working in August 2022 on a 90-day sprint to get drafts ready for the firm's partners and managing directors, and by November, Watson said the finalized cultural statements were given to the rest of the firm. A few months later, when Forvis leaders told Watson that sayings such as "Integrity trumps economics" effectively influence how employees navigate their responsibilities, he knew the rollout had been a success.
"We were striving for phrases that we could build into our training, the way we serve clients, and the way we evaluate performance," said Watson. "It's been really good to see how almost overnight, the phrases that we worked hard to be part of our cultural language have started to show up all the time."
According to Watson, this process that created the cultural statements goes back to what the firm calls its "edge process" or innovation lab, where individuals with very strong expertise in their respective industries gather to discuss challenges faced by their clients, which sometimes go beyond accounting or tax concerns, and brainstorm solutions to unlock their potential. These solutions often take the form of emerging technologies, but sometimes, the people who might have been able to help are already busy working on audits, tax returns or advisory projects.
Consequently, it's important to make sure their ideas carry forward by refining them through viable products, along with other aspects of potential technology solutions designed by software engineers, project managers and architects. Watson said this allows the firm to put products on the market to respond to client needs in a timely manner, such as when Forvis
Taking people further
"To be a great advisor, you have to be able to identify what's most important to our clients and to think a little bit outside the box," said Watson. "And in order to do that, you do need to focus on a particular industry or two, where you can get really deep and become someone people look up to as someone who understands the drivers of that industry."
As a specialist in the health care sector and a fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, it quickly became clear to Watson that he needed to understand what made the industry operate and what would allow his clients to become leaders in their fields. Watson believes that being a great leader means bringing people further than they originally planned to, and that playing a role in their professional journey is the most exciting part of being a CEO. Leading a firm is also about seeing and drawing potential out of people.
But for staff to realize their full potential, Watson said it's essential to take on the role of a coach and have honest conversations, which prioritize constructive feedback and self-development. People can only become their best selves if their leader respects them enough to tell them what they need to improve, but Watson said in the current talent shortage, leaders are sometimes hesitant to call out their people for fear they might leave the firm. However, this outcome never comes true in a caring environment.
"You have to get past that temptation to not help them get better and go take the approach of: 'I'm coming to you with opportunities that I think will help you achieve great things,'" said Watson. "You also need to talk about the things they're doing great, and let them know that you're going to help them improve every step of the way."
A common mistake that leaders make once they get into a position of power is to believe hard work means taking on everything by themselves and focusing on their goals without consulting others, thinking that's what their role entails. But Watson once learned from a mentor that the best way to guide people is through "exponential leadership," which channels a leader's experience and knowledge into their employees to teach them how to get things done. If the entire team works toward a directive, it will be resolved much better and more quickly, while allowing trust to develop between members.
It was former BKD regional managing partner Steven Warren, now retired, who helped him see leadership as a heart-and-hand relationship. But he wasn't the only role model that Watson benefited from throughout his career. That included former Dixon Hughes Goodman CEO Matt Snow, who currently serves as chairman of Forvis' Governing Board and helped Watson navigate what he considers critical stages of his career with insightful recommendations on day-to-day responsibilities.
"As we considered our merger, Tom and I invested a significant amount of time getting to know one another, accelerating our ability to build trust and to speak openly about our visions for the future of Forvis," said Snow. "Most important is his ability to lead with humility. Successful firms require leaders like Tom who recognize it's not about themselves; rather, it's about the long-term success of the firm. Tom is very self-aware, and he is receptive to feedback from a broad range of people so we arrive at the best strategic answers for our future."
"One characteristic I greatly admired was Tom's focus on the positives and opportunities," added Warren. "In a profession where people tend to spend lots of negative energy focused on things they don't like, Tom would recognize those issues and fix what he could but would keep his focus on the many wonderful opportunities the profession provides us all."
When Watson took over BKD in 2021, he then learned the importance of building consensus from the legacy firm's former CEO, Ted Dickman, who left the profession the same year. Dickman also taught him that slowing down his decision-making process was sometimes necessary to make sure he had every input he needed to make the best choice, and Watson said that being told the truth is a quality that any professional should want when looking for a mentor.
"Tom's unique blend of integrity, passion, high energy and ability to process complex matters and make connections with others are the keys to his leadership success," said Dickman. "Many leaders possess some of these traits, but few possess all of them. These skills enabled him to lead the combination of BKD and DHG into Forvis. The first-year success of this combination is evident given the revenue and people growth of Forvis. [...] He has clearly demonstrated the ability to build great teams and inspire others to pursue a shared vision."
On June 1, Forvis
He also wants to continue developing Forvis' innovative mindset around new services and solutions by executing the board's market growth strategy. When Forvis was created, the goal was to create not only a national firm, but a pathway to creating a global presence, and Watson said there are many exciting projects to come. However, none of this would be possible without the legacy firms' past leaders and their unique contributions, which is why he aspires to be the "best steward" of what he inherited and become someone whose dedication can be remembered as well.
"We need to continue that legacy of being great builders because there's going to be a day that we pass it on to the next generation, and my biggest goal in this role is to leave the industry even better than when I found it," said Watson. "It's a big responsibility, but it's also a lot of fun because you get to be involved in a lot of interesting strategic initiatives, and I intend to make them happen."
At a Glance: Tom Watson
Where did you go to college? Harding University
Where did you grow up? Atlanta, Texas
Where did you begin your career in accounting? Baird Kurtz and Dobson (now Forvis)
Where and when did you first make partner? At BKD, in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 1, 2001, as I was about to turn 31
What are your strongest areas of professional expertise? Being a client services partner.
What is something that people may not know about you? I'm a big runner, and I've run 17 marathons over the last few years.
Who is someone you admire? Winston Churchill
Favorite musician: Post Malone
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