Five Réunion accounting firms unite as EXCO Océan Indien

For the businesses and residents of La Réunion who depend on local accountants, auditors and advisers, the shape of the profession is changing. On Wednesday 30 September 2026, five Réunionnais firms of expertise comptable, audit and consulting formally joined forces under a single banner, EXCO Océan Indien, at a public presentation held at the musée Stella before nearly 300 guests. The stated ambition touches every client of these firms: to grow in size and capability without surrendering the independence that keeps decision-making on the island.

The choice of venue was deliberate. The musée Stella, a former sugar factory turned place of memory, offered the new network a symbolic frame. “In this old factory where cane was transformed, nothing was buried: the island’s industrial heritage was transformed, not erased,” said Laetitia Chane Yan Nam, introducing the evening through the story of the Slip Français, a company that invested without ever compromising on quality or French supply, up to its stock market listing in July 2026.

From that example, three lessons were drawn. Resilience means turning a shock into momentum, whether facing crises, cyclones, the cost of living or insularity. Markets are not waited on but anticipated. And no one succeeds alone, as illustrated by the Slip Français, which gathered its competitors into a single discussion group during the lockdown to produce masks together.

The associates and steering committee of the new network, Naïm Ingar, David Box, Régis Lantin, Fabrice Lucas and Laetitia Chane Yan Nam, were joined by founding members as the name was unveiled. Didier de Launay retraced the paths of the five entrepreneurial entities now uniting. From five histories, five teams, five firms, five cultures and five clientèles emerges a single company with a common story still to be written. What binds them, the firms say, is proximity to their clients and the exacting standard of their work.

The question of independence is where the public stake becomes clearest. As investment funds make a noticeable entry into the accounting profession, EXCO Océan Indien’s leadership has drawn a firm line: the centre of decision must remain in La Réunion. Régis Lantin, an associate of the new firm, called it a red line: no investment funds. The goal is to remain master of its capital, with full knowledge of its work and its clients. EXCO itself is a network of independent firms built on a simple principle, being stronger together while remaining autonomous. The new entity now enters the Top 50 of independent firms in accounting, audit and consulting, strengthening the brand’s presence on the territory.

Philippe Lafargue, president of EXCO France, came to salute a consolidation driven, in his words, by “the diversity of each partner” and a shared heritage. He stressed that the national network’s strength rests on the territorial anchoring of its members and on local figures: “We do not set up just anywhere.”

For the firms’ clients, the promises made on stage will be measured in everyday service. Naïm Ingar pointed to the challenges to be met together: competence, regulation and technology. “Artificial intelligence is an indispensable tool. But be careful how it is used. Having a Ferrari engine and leaving it in the garage is not useful.” David Box insisted that adaptation is no longer enough; the profession must rethink its activity and the missions carried out for clients. Fabrice Lucas closed with five commitments to the island’s businesses: deciding with them; anticipating for them, since “the firm of tomorrow will do meteorology”; giving them back time by helping them adopt artificial intelligence within a clear framework of confidentiality and reliability; protecting them, acting as a first rampart against cash-flow difficulties by spotting weak signals while there is still time to act; and acting locally in the Indian Ocean, with fine knowledge of the market, its constraints and its realities. Commitments, the associates acknowledged, that none of the five firms could have honoured alone.

The full account of the presentation, as published by Imaz Press, can be read at https://imazpress.com/actus-reunion/exco-ocean-indien-cinq-cabinets-reunionnais-unissent-leurs-forces-pour-rester-independants

Facing a new generation of business leaders who will judge the network on the quality of its support and the success of their companies, the associates reaffirmed the shared values of proximity and rigour. “We do not want to be bigger, we want to be stronger in order to be more useful,” the steering committee summed up. Whether that promise holds in daily practice, in responsiveness, accessibility and cost, is what clients will now be watching for.