ACCOUNTING firm WHK Horwath has expanded its market share in Western Australia, revealing plans to buy Osborne Park practice Hayes Knight (WA) with effect from April.
The acquisition brings together Hayes Knight’s four partners and 26 staff with WHK Horwath’s 10 principals and 94 staff.
The combined firm, with 120 staff, will be the seventh largest in WA, according to WA Business News Book of Lists.
It will rank just ahead of PKF and Grant Thornton but will be significantly smaller than the big four (Ernst & Young, PwC, KPMG and Deloitte), RSM Bird Cameron and BDO
Hayes Knight WA, an independent franchise of the Australasian firm, was independently owned by its four principal partners, Alan Thomas, Paul Fazzari, Joe Grazziano and Mark De Luca.
The deal between WHK Horwath and Hayes Knight WA adds to a tumultuous last three years in WA’s accounting industry, with several mergers and name changes occurring since 2007.
The acquisition has major benefits for Hayes Knight (WA) clients and staff, according to Horwath chief executive Geoff Kidd.
“The clients of Hayes Knight (WA) will gain access to a wider range of resources in key areas such as Specialist Tax Consulting, Audit and Corporate Finance,” Mr Kidd said.
“Hayes Knight staff will join WHK Horwath, who are part of the public listed company, WHK Group.
“Being part of a larger group will provide staff with greater opportunities for career development and learning. It’s a win-win situation.”
Mr Kidd said that, other than a name change – Hayes Knight (WA) will change its name to WHK Horwath – and access to a greater range of services, clients of Hayes Knight (WA) would not notice much difference.
“They will still deal with the same people and get the same high-quality advice. We intend to maintain the satellite office in Osborne Park. There are no plans to merge into one office location,” he said.
The WHK Group is ranked the fifth largest accounting firm in the Australian market as shown in last year’s BRW Top 100 accounting firms with revenue of more than $350 million.
Mr Kidd said the WHK Group might be ranked number five in terms of size, but it was focused on being the leading adviser to the SME market.
