SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco-based accounting and consulting firm Burr Pilger Mayer will merge with Long Beach-based Windes & McClaughry Accountancy Corporation, creating what BPM calls “the largest California-based accounting and consulting firm."
The combined firm will have $100 million in revenue, 73 shareholders, 550 employees and 11 offices, according today's announcement. The group currently involves 410 employees and 55 shareholders.
“This is the first true north-south merger of significant firms in California accounting history,” said BPM managing partner Steve Mayer.
The merger is the first since BPM acquired Andersen & Company, LLP, in Santa Rosa, a move that went into action on Jan. 1, 2009.
"We have been working on this for a year," said Carol O'Hara, managing partner of BPM's North Bay offices. "They are a long-standing firm that are highly regarded within their community."
While the merger will expand BPM's presence geographically, the firm said that the move will also expand its expertise. The announcement cites Windes' reputation in "state and local tax compliance and planning, estate, gift and trust planning and third-party administration of qualified retirement plans," complementing BPM's strengths, including the nation's 12th-largest SEC practice and its international tax practice.
"This will provide more resources for our existing clients, more opportunities for our employees and a better competitive advantage for us in the marketplace," said John Di Carlo, managing partner at Windes.
With an expected merger date of Jan. 1 of next year, the combined firm will continue to be known as BPM in Northern California and BPM Windes in Southern California. Mr. Mayer will continue as CEO and managing partner, and Mr. Di Carlo will manage operations in Southern California.
BPM, founded in 1986, currently has six offices in the Bay Area, including Santa Rosa, and one office in Hong Kong. Windes, with four offices in Southern California, has provided consulting services in California for 85 years.
