Bergman, Schraier & Co., P.C. has agreed to merge into Brown Smith Wallace in Creve Coeur, Mo., effective Jan. 1, 2016.
After the merger, Brown Smith Wallace will have revenue of approximately $40 million entering 2016. The firm ranked 6th on Accounting Today’s 2015 Regional Leaders list for the Midwest, with $32.6 million in annual revenue.
Eighteen former BS&Co. employees will be joining Brown Smith Wallace as a result of the deal. The combined firm plans to 13 new hires, for a total of 280 employees and more than 100 CPAs.
“Our organic growth has been built on a culture of work/life balance so individuals can maintain an enriched personal life, achieve professional success and serve our clients with dedication,” said Brown Smith Wallace managing partner Harvey Wallace in a statement. “We have known the principals of Bergman, Schraier & Co. for more than 25 years and are confident that the firm we have built will provide their staff and clients with vast additional resources.”
Brown Smith Wallace has been serving the St. Louis metropolitan area since 1972, providing audit, tax, accounting, internal audit, benefit plan audit, information technology and security audit, risk management and other professional services to organizations in many industries.
Bergman, Schraier & Co., has been providing tax management, accounting services, audits and outsourced accounting and controllership services since 1982. Its clients include business in a variety of industries, including contractors and developers, manufacturers and wholesale distributors, retail outlets, medical practices, not-for-profit organizations, professional and service businesses, real estate and investors. The firm also serves the compliance and consulting needs of individuals. It has been approached in the past to merge with other firms, but saw a match with Brown Smith Wallace.
“Over the past several years, we have seen increasing demand to provide additional resources for the career development of our staff and the growing needs of our clients,” said managing tax principal Ira Bergman. “During this time we have been approached by nearly every large local firm to consider a merger. We found that Brown Smith Wallace most closely shared our core values.”
