Accounting firms merge

Accounting firms merge

Plante Moran employees gather to eat together during the firm’s Detroit Tigers “opening day celebration.” Photo via fb.com

A Michigan accounting firm with several offices in the region is joining forces with an out-of-state firm.

Southfield-based Plante Moran said today it will merge with EKS&H out of Denver, effective Oct. 1.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The firms had combined revenue of nearly $626 million in 2017.

The merger will expand both firms’ capabilities to over 3,000 professionals working in 27 offices to serve national and international clients in "the middle market."

By adding offices in Denver and Boulder and Ft. Collins, Colorado and clients throughout the Western U.S., Plante Moran hopes to expand its domestic presence "beyond the Great Lakes region" and strengthen its expertise in energy and other key market segments, as well as collaborate to "create new national practices."

EKS&H shares Plante Moran's "cultural DNA" and is recognized as the largest CPA firm in Denver, with "respected practices" in energy, high tech, transportation and other areas that "complement" Plante Moran's offerings, said Jim Proppe, managing partner, Plante Moran.

Plante Moran was founded in 1924 and has a staff of more than 2,300 professionals in offices throughout Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, as well as in China, Mexico, India and Japan. 

The firm provides a range of services, such as traditional audit, tax, wealth management and consulting, for clients in a range of industries, including manufacturing, health care, real estate, construction, private equity, nonprofit, financial services and the public sector.

“When we began discussions with Plante Moran, we were pleased to find a true consistency of our core values and philosophy and a strong cultural alignment," said Bob Hottman, CEO, EKS&H.

Founded in 1978, EKS&H has more than 300 CPAs, 150 consultants and over 750 staff.