Formhals Revisions- und Treuhand GmbH

What Formhals Revisions- und Treuhand GmbH does

Formhals Revisions- und Treuhand GmbH, commercially operating as Fabig Formhals Lehmkühler GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft Steuerberatungsgesellschaft, is a privately held German professional services firm providing integrated tax advisory, statutory auditing, financial statement preparation, accounting and payroll, business and succession consulting, and startup advisory services. The firm was originally founded in 1957 and reorganized around 1986 through the merger of the Formhals and Fabig & Formhals practices; it is now owned and managed in its second generation by the Formhals, Fabig, and Lehmkühler families, with six Geschäftsführer holding combinations of Wirtschaftsprüfer and Steuerberater qualifications. The company is registered as a GmbH at Amtsgericht Köln under HRB 37637 and is a member of the Steuerberaterkammer Köln, the regulatory body for German tax advisors.

The firm operates from three physical offices in North Rhine-Westphalia — Gaulstraße 12 in Wipperfürth (headquarters, recently relocated), Breite Straße 42-46 in Köln, and Kempener Straße 3 in Bergisch Gladbach — and serves clients regionally across the Cologne/Bergisches Land corridor as well as nationwide. Its technology stack is built on DATEV eG's cloud platforms: DATEV Meine Steuern enables private-client tax document exchange with the firm, while DATEV Unternehmen online supports business document, receipt, and data exchange with remote bookable access to evaluations. This DATEV integration is the firm's primary digital infrastructure and underpins its remote-service capability for geographically dispersed clients. No proprietary software, APIs, SDKs, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

The business model is professional-services fee-based, with pricing determined per engagement rather than through publicly disclosed rate cards. Client acquisition is relationship-driven through referrals, professional networks, and industry reputation, supplemented by a website, a LinkedIn company page, and a monthly newsletter (Informationsbriefe) covering current tax law changes. The customer base spans five named segments: mid-sized enterprises (Mittelstand), family businesses (Familienunternehmen), founders and startups (Existenzgründer & Start-ups), capital-market-oriented companies and stock corporations, and financial service institutions. The firm is GDPR-compliant and operates under standard German professional services regulatory frameworks, with no disclosed external investors, parent company, or acquisition activity.

Name

Formhals Revisions- und Treuhand GmbH

Legal name

Fabig Formhals Lehmkühler GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft Steuerberatungsgesellschaft

Website

https://formhals.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Formhals Revisions- und Treuhand GmbH, operating as Fabig Formhals Lehmkühler, is a second-generation German tax advisory and auditing firm founded in 1957, serving Mittelstand enterprises, family businesses, startups, and capital-market-oriented companies across North Rhine-Westphalia through three offices and DATEV-enabled digital workflows.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tax & Audit Professional Services

NAICS

Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (5412), Offices of Certified Public Accountants (541211)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAEAKAE

Trust & Estate Tax Planning & Compliance

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Fiduciary, Trust & Estate Advisory

Keywords

• Tax advisory services
• Statutory auditing services
• Financial statement preparation
• Bookkeeping and payroll
• Business succession consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Wipperfürth

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Tax Advisory: Fee-based tax advisory services including tax declaration, national and international tax law consultation, tax planning, and enforcement of tax matters for individuals, freelancers, businesses, and corporations.
2. Auditing Services: Annual financial statement audits for single and consolidated financial statements of medium-sized and capital-oriented companies, including risk-oriented audit approach and peer reviews.
3. Financial Statement Preparation: Preparation of annual financial statements, diverging tax balance sheets, consolidated financial statements, special balance sheets, supplementary balance sheets, separation balance sheets, IAS financial statements, interim financial statements, and surplus expense calculations.
4. Accounting & Payroll Services: Complete financial and fixed asset accounting as well as invoicing and payroll services with modern digital financial accounting.
5. Business & Succession Consulting: Holistic consulting for small, medium-sized, capital-market-oriented companies, and stock corporations including business analysis, controlling reports, industry benchmarks, sustainable business planning and forecasts, investment and financing analyses, and rating reports.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Formhals is a German tax advisory and audit firm that provides a comprehensive portfolio of professional services including statutory auditing (Wirtschaftsprüfung), tax consulting (Steuerberatung), preparation of annual and consolidated financial statements, bookkeeping and payroll, startup consulting, and business and succession advisory. Services are delivered primarily to medium-sized enterprises, family businesses, and capital-market-oriented companies in Germany through three physical offices in North Rhine-Westphalia and digital platforms powered by DATEV.

Product overview

Fabig Formhals Lehmkühler is an auditing and tax consulting firm offering a unified portfolio of professional services rather than a software product. The core offerings include Wirtschaftsprüfung (auditing), Steuerberatung (tax consulting), Jahresabschlusserstellung (annual statement preparation), Buchhaltung & Lohn (accounting and payroll), Gründungsberatung & Start-up-Beratung (startup consulting), and Unternehmensberatung & Nachfolgeberatung (business and succession consulting). These services are delivered through traditional consulting engagements supported by DATEV-based digital accounting platforms for document exchange and online office management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wirtschaftsprüfung (Auditing) Annual financial statement audits of single and consolidated financial statements for mid-sized and capital-oriented companies, applying risk-oriented audit approaches and peer reviews. Delivered to German Mittelstand and capital market-oriented companies.
• Steuerberatung (Tax Consulting) Tax advisory covering tax planning, tax declaration, national and international tax law, enforcement of tax cases, and inheritance and gift tax for individuals, freelancers, businesses, and corporations.
• Jahresabschlusserstellung (Annual Statement Preparation) Professional preparation of annual financial statements, diverging tax balance sheets, consolidated financial statements, special balance sheets, supplementary balance sheets, separation balance sheets, IAS financial statements, interim financial statements, and income-expenditure (Einnahmen-Überschuss) calculations.
• Buchhaltung & Lohn (Accounting & Payroll) Complete financial and fixed asset accounting, invoicing, and payroll services using modern digital financial accounting. Remote clients can submit documents digitally and access evaluations and source documents online without submitting originals.
• Gründungsberatung & Start-up-Beratung (Founding & Startup Consulting) Business consulting and controlling for founders (Existenzgründer) including bookkeeping, annual statements, taxes, and audit services. Delivered from idea and feasibility analysis through to ongoing business operations.
• Unternehmensberatung & Nachfolgeberatung (Business & Succession Consulting) Holistic consulting for small, mid-sized, and capital market-oriented companies and stock corporations, including business evaluations, controlling reports, industry benchmarks, KPI analysis, sustainable business planning and forecasts, investment and financing analyses, and rating reports. Covers business and succession planning.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DATEV eGcoreTechnology or IntegrationDATEV is a German cooperative providing accounting software and cloud services. Fabig Formhals Lehmkühler uses DATEV Meine Steuern for tax document exchange between private clients and tax advisors, and DATEV Unternehmen online for document and data exchange between businesses and their tax advisors. This partnership enables the firm's digital accounting services and remote client engagement capabilities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ebner Stolz: Ebner Stolz is a leading German mid-tier audit and tax advisory firm headquartered in Stuttgart. Directly comparable as a German Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Steuerberatungsgesellschaft serving mid-sized enterprises with a similar full-service portfolio and partner-led model.
• Rödl & Partner: Rödl & Partner is a German-headquartered mid-tier professional services firm offering tax advisory, audit, and legal services to Mittelstand companies. Comparable as a German-origin, owner-managed multi-disciplinary firm serving mid-market and family-owned businesses across Germany and internationally.
• ETL AG: ETL is a large German tax advisory and audit network with hundreds of regional offices including strong NRW presence. Directly comparable as a multi-office Steuerberatung/Wirtschaftsprüfung firm serving German Mittelstand, family businesses, and SMEs with a similar integrated service model.
• Flick Gocke Schaumburg: Flick Gocke Schaumburg is a top German tax advisory boutique based in Bonn, NRW. Highly comparable as a German Steuerberatung firm specializing in complex tax matters for family businesses, Mittelstand, and capital-oriented companies in the same regional market.
• BDO Germany (BDO AG): BDO is a global mid-tier accounting network with substantial German operations providing audit, tax, and advisory services to Mittelstand and capital-market-oriented companies. Comparable as a Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft competing for the same Mittelstand audit mandates Fabig Formhals Lehmkühler serves.
• Mazars Germany: Mazars operates a German tax, audit, and advisory practice serving mid-market and family-owned businesses. Directly comparable as a multi-disciplinary mid-tier Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft targeting the same Mittelstand client base across German-speaking markets.
• Warth & Klein Grant Thornton: Warth & Klein Grant Thornton is a German mid-tier audit and advisory firm with offices in NRW (Düsseldorf, Cologne). Directly comparable as a regional Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Beratungsgesellschaft serving Mittelstand clients with a similar full-service portfolio.
• Baker Tilly Germany: Baker Tilly's German member firms provide audit, tax, and advisory services to mid-sized German companies. Comparable as a mid-tier audit and tax firm competing for Mittelstand engagements with a similar integrated service offering.
• RSM Germany (RSM International): RSM is a global mid-tier audit and advisory network with active German operations serving mid-market companies. Comparable as a mid-tier Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft targeting Mittelstand clients with audit, tax, and consulting services in Germany.

Others

• DATEV eG: DATEV is the dominant German cooperative providing accounting software and cloud platforms used by virtually all German Steuerberater and Wirtschaftsprüfer. Relevant as the technology infrastructure partner underpinning Fabig Formhals Lehmkühler's digital service delivery and as a strategic ecosystem participant, though not a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/formhals

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Formhals Revisions- und Treuhand GmbH