EKS&H and Plante Moran Join Forces to Become 11th Largest Accounting Firm

With a shared commitment to client service and strong value of teamwork, EKS&H announced the firm would team up with Plante Moran, joining forces October 1, 2018. The two firms' strong cultural alignment is illustrated in their combined 30-year-history on FORTUNE magazine's "Best Companies to Work For," list. 

"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," says EKS&H CEO Bob Hottman.

When the EKS&H team joins Plante Moran, the firm will become the 11th largest accounting, tax, consulting and wealth management practice in the country, with more than 3,000 professionals working in 27 offices to serve national and international clients in the middle market. Combined revenue for EKS&H in 2018 will be close to $700 million. After October 1, the team will be co-branded for nearly a year, and then EKS&H will operate as the Plante Moran brand name.

The merger allows EKS&H, the largest CPA firm headquartered in the region, to join the 94-year-old Plante Moran and strengthen its expertise in private equity, wealth management, health care, financial services and manufacturing. Founded in 1924, Plante Moran has a staff of more than 2,300 and serves clients in all 50 states as well as 124 countries by providing a broad suite of services, including traditional audit, finance, tax and wealth management services. 

"We are delighted to join forces with EKS&H, a firm that shared our cultural DNA and our passion for providing excellent client service," says Plante Moran Managing Partner Jim Proppe. "The firm is well respected for its practices in energy, high tech and transportation, and other areas that complement our current offerings. We share a strong foundation in the services we provide and industries we serve, which will enable us to better serve our clients while we accelerate our growth. Together, we will have the power to strengthen our client-oriented technology infrastructure to build on our digital premium brand."

Combined, the firm will have offices in Colorado and throughout the Great Lakes region, as well as China, Mexico, India and Japan, along with access to more than 100 markets across the world through Plante Moran's membership in Praxity, a global alliance of independent firms.

"Our professional will face many changes in the coming years," Hottman says. "We will be better and stronger facing them together with our new colleagues in the Midwest."