Nexia Brand Guidelines: S&O International Roots, a Latin Nexus & Carabiner Links

Two firms, two cities and a referral habit.

Nexia traces its history to the 1960s. The network says that two accounting firms, one in London and one in New York, which it describes as top-five firms of their day, began referring clients to each other and formed a network called S&O International. In the 1970s, Nexia says, the group grew on a “one country, one firm” principle, although most of its income still came from the British and American markets.

The present name came later. Nexia says it took the name after a merger with Neville Russell International, and that “Nexia” comes from the Latin nexus, meaning something that binds, connects or links. The British firm Neville Russell was the network’s member in the United Kingdom until 1998: English Wikipedia, citing the European Accounting Bulletin of October 1998, says Neville Russell’s merger with Mazars that year took it out of Nexia International and left the network without a UK firm.

Today the network is coordinated by Nexia International Limited. Its member-firm disclaimer says this company is registered in the Isle of Man and does not provide services to clients. It says Nexia International Limited and each member firm are separate and independent legal entities, each responsible for its own acts, omissions and liabilities and not those of any other member. The same page says the trade marks NEXIA INTERNATIONAL and NEXIA, and the Nexia logo, belong to Nexia International Limited and are used by the member firms under licence.

The network’s website lists an International Board of Directors and regional boards for Africa and the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. It describes the members’ work under four headings — audit, tax, advisory and business services — with pages on areas such as transfer pricing, valuation, payroll and company secretarial work.

Smith & Williamson, Saffery Champness and a UK seat.

The gap in Britain did not last. According to English Wikipedia, citing the European Accounting Bulletin, Smith & Williamson joined Nexia International in 1998 and gave up its own network, S&W International. In October 2002 the firm moved its audit business into a company called Nexia Audit Limited, named after the international network, and in 2006 that company was renamed Nexia Smith & Williamson Audit Limited, the encyclopedia says, citing filings at Companies House.

The next large step was a merger of networks. Accountancy Age reported on 15 August 2007 that Nexia had merged with SC International, the international network of the London firm Saffery Champness, and that the combined group would be the ninth-largest global provider of audit and accounting services. The tie-up was expected to complete by 1 December that year. The magazine said it would add J.H. Cohn in New York and strengthen the network in mainland Europe, South Africa, Mexico and Canada, while the two British firms themselves had no plans to merge.

Membership has kept moving since. English Wikipedia, citing the firm’s 2022 annual report, says that in July 2022 CLA Evelyn Partners, the audit business descended from Smith & Williamson, left Nexia International and joined CLA Global. The UK seat now belongs to Saffery: the Saffery website says Saffery LLP and Saffery Audit (UK) LLP are members of Nexia, and links to the network’s member-firm disclaimer on its homepage.

The network has also collected outside recognition. The Times of Malta reported in March 2013 that Nexia International had been named Rising Star Network of the Year at the International Accounting Bulletin awards in London, with the magazine’s judges citing its “re-entry into the top 10 networks” in the bulletin’s listings. Nexia says it has been a member of the Forum of Firms, the association of international networks linked to the International Federation of Accountants, since 2011.

Design and documentation.

Mid-tier accounting networks are built from independent firms that agree to share a name, standards and referrals. The networks in this guide describe themselves that way: their legal pages typically state that the international body provides no client services and that each member firm is a separate legal entity. The brand therefore has to do a lot of work, because it is often the main thing the member firms have in common.

Their identities tend to be restrained. A plain wordmark, usually set in a sans and paired with one strong colour, carries across dozens of countries and languages, and a short strapline or brand promise often sits beneath it. Many networks have moved from long lists of partners’ surnames to shorter names, initials or a single shared label, and some member firms have dropped their local names to take the network brand.

Their websites follow a common pattern. A global map or country selector leads to member firms; service pages are grouped under audit and assurance, tax and advisory, with industry pages for sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, nonprofits or the public sector. Insight articles on tax changes, regulation and technology fill the news pages, and many networks publish annual revenue figures and awards in press releases.

Two further page types are typical of the profession. Transparency reports, which many audit firms publish, set out governance and quality-control arrangements. Graduate and early-career recruitment pages are prominent too, because recruiting trainees is a constant task for the profession. This guide sets out what can be checked about each brand’s founding, ownership and network, and marks clearly what rests on the firm’s own word.

A name and a symbol built on connection.

The identity is built around the idea in the name. Nexia’s history page says its name and its interlinking “carabiners” symbol both signify connection, and it ties them to the line it uses about choosing a Nexia firm: a “more responsive, more personal, partner-led service across the world.” The website groups its values under three headings — Personal Relationships, Business-Minded and Better Connected — and uses short first-person promises beneath each, such as keeping things easy and straightforward and sharing global insights.

The numbers on the homepage are the network’s own. In November 2026 it listed 118 countries, 207 member firms, 497 offices and 2,009 partners. Its “Find a firm” tool lets visitors pick a country or jurisdiction and then a city, and the insights pages carry articles on subjects such as electronic invoicing in Europe and VAT advice for international e-commerce, alongside industry pages for construction, financial services, manufacturing, mining and renewable energy, real estate, retail and technology.

In March 2024 the network changed shape again without a merger. Nexia says that as of 13 March 2024 it entered a collaborative alliance with AGN International, which it describes as a collaboration of independent equals that shares infrastructure and know-how while keeping AGN’s status as an “association” and Nexia’s as a “network.” It says the two together comprise more than 400 member firms. For member firms, the brand works as a shared name beside their own: Saffery, for example, keeps its own name and states its Nexia membership on its homepage.

For a design guide, Nexia shows how a network of separate firms can hang a whole identity on one idea — connection — carried by a Latin name and a symbol of linked clips. Compare Forvis Mazars, whose Mazars side merged with Neville Russell in 1998, and HLB, another London-run network of independent firms. For this guide we use a navy, a pale mist and a copper with a sans, an unofficial interpretation; no product or logo is reproduced.

Keep Nexia’s identity on hand — save it to a board in the Made Good inspiration library.