By Lee Beall , CPA ,
Finding The Right Fit executive vice president , lee . beall @ reacpa . com
( Dublin office )
Growing through mergers & acquisitions
This section of The Rea Report is dedicated to providing you with more insight into the inner-workings of Rea & Associates . To read past articles in this series , visit www . reacpa . com / business-of-our-business .
ost people don ’ t just walk up to a house , knock on the door and ask to buy the homeowner out . There ’ s typically some planning and preparation that goes in to making such a large purchase . The same goes in the mergers & acquisitions world . Businesses don ’ t approach other businesses about merging or acquiring without extensive preparation and a solid plan .
Back in 2015 , we developed our strategic plan , The Rea Advantage , which set the framework for the future growth of the firm . Specifically , one of our goals is to more than double our number of key clients by the end of 2018 . While organic growth through the acquisition of new clients is great , we knew that it would be important for our firm to merge with others to successfully to hit our growth goals within the designated timeframe .
Know What You ’ re Looking For
Before even approaching another company , it ’ s imperative to know exactly what you ’ re looking for . In our case , we know that we want to consider firms with a similar client base to ours in size and profile . And we also want to consider how many of their clients fit within our definition of a key client . But through numerous merger discussions over the last couple of years , the thing we found most important when considering merger candidates is culture – and whether the candidate ’ s culture is a good fit with our own . If a merger candidate ’ s culture and values don ’ t align with ours , we know it won ’ t be a good fit .
Our Recent Merger With Walthall
Our Nov . 1 merger with Walthall CPAs , based in Cleveland , is the perfect example of how two separate firm cultures came together seamlessly . We spent three years getting to know Walthall , and many of our conversations focused on culture .
Through this careful discovery process , we found even more reasons to pursue a merger with Walthall , including :
• Walthall had offices in two of our existing locations , and it also had two in areas we wanted to be .
• Walthall had a solid client base .
• We have new product and service offerings that benefit Walthall clients . Walthall had offerings that will benefit Rea clients .
• Walthall had a lot of clients in industries where we ’ re looking to grow .
• Walthall had a strong leadership team and employee base that complements our own team and creates opportunities all around .
We couldn ’ t be happier about our merger with Walthall and we look forward to watching the growth of our combined firm as we strive to bring the best service possible to our clients .
In The Market For A Merger ?
Mergers and acquisitions are a leap a faith , but if you have a plan , prepare well and know exactly what you ’ re looking for , you ’ ll find the right fit . If you ’ re considering a growth strategy for your business that includes mergers and acquisitions and are looking for guidance on where to start , contact Rea & Associates . We are happy to share our experiences .
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