M&A roundup: Forvis and RSM South Africa expand

Forvis, a Top 10 Firm created last year by the merger of BKD and Dixon Hughes Goodman, is acquiring the assets of the software technology and consulting company Thales Consulting, a Marquette, Michigan-based firm that provides financial reporting software for local governments, effective Aug. 1.

Thales, founded in 2002, developed The Reporting Solution, to streamline preparation of financial reports, such as the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. It works with hundreds of public sector clients around the U.S. Forvis has been a certified implementer of The Reporting Solution since 2020.

"Thales Consulting is an established team that brings an impressive skill set to FORVIS," said Denny Ard, partner and national director of Edge, Forvis's innovation lab, in a statement. "Their product, their unique knowledge of the public sector industry, and their focus on excellent client service are some of the many reasons we decided to explore working together."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, nor were revenue figures for Thales Consulting. Thales has eight team members, all of whom are joining Forvis in the deal. Thales president Joe Stimac is joining Forvis as a director. Forvis currently has a total of approximately 6,000 team members and 530 partners and earned approximately $1.686 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2023. It ranked No. 9 on Accounting Today's 2023 list of the Top 100 Firms.

"With a strong relationship already in place here at Forvis, we look forward to joining forces and expanding our ability to serve public sector entities across the country," said Stimac in a statement. "We're especially excited to join the Edge team and seek new ways to leverage technology for clients."

Last fall, Forvis acquired ProBank Austin, a firm that provides education, loan review, regulatory compliance, asset/liability and interest rate risk management, and capital advisory services to financial institutions.

RSM South Africa is adding the professional services firm Ngubane Johannesburg, effective Aug. 1. 

Ngubane dates back to 1995 with Ngubane Johannesburg beginning operations in 2010. As part of the RSM International network, it will be able to expand its accounting services to clients either already trading internationally, or those eager to do so. The merger will also provide access to RSM services including risk advisory, legal, cybersecurity, business transformation and corporate services.

RSM International is not disclosing specific financial terms of the deal. However the new firm's turnover at RSM South Africa will be in excess of 300 million rand (or about $17 million) with around 400 staff.

The combination will increase RSM's expertise in the South African public sector along with other industries including transportation, logistics, mining, natural resources, manufacturing and education.

"RSM International has experienced strong growth across Africa over the last two years," said RSM International CEO Jean Stephens in a statement. "This merger will see two successful businesses with shared ambitions combine, offering scale, innovation and best-in-class talent development."

Ngubane's CEO-designate Noma Ashom will become the new CEO of RSM South Africa, while the current RSM South Africa CEO, Dieter Schulze, will assume the role of regional CEO of the combined firm's Cape Town team and remain head of tax.

"This merger creates a genuine point of difference in the South African marketplace," said Ashom in a statement. "It brings together our deep understanding of the South African trading environment with access to international markets and a range of specialist services that RSM is so well known for."