Eide Bailly to merge in Hawkins Advisors

Eide Bailly LLP, a Top 100 Firm, is expanding its footprint in Utah with plans to add Hawkins Advisors, a firm based in Orem, Utah, effective Oct. 30.

Eide Bailly, based in Fargo, N.D., already has offices in Lehi, Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah, where it currently has 169 partners and staff members. The combination with Hawkins will add eight partners and 58 staff members to the firm when the deal closes. Eide Bailly will become the largest CPA firm in Utah, based on the total number of staff, after the transaction.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Eide Bailly’s revenues for fiscal year 2017 were $263 million, while Hawkins Advisors’ revenues were $9 million. Eide Bailly ranked 19th on Accounting Today’s 2017 list of the Top 100 Firms.

Eide Bailly's office in Tulsa, Oklahoma

The firm has been expanding rapidly in the past year across the West and Midwest. In May, Eide Bailly merged in Roth & Co., a firm based in Des Moines, Iowa. In January, Eide Bailly expanded to Spokane, Wash., by adding Langenhorst & Self-Merritt CPAs P.S. Last November, it merged in Daines Goodwin & Co. in Salt Lake City, and JW Advisors and Bryce Wisan’s CPA practice in Las Vegas. Last October, it added Rauch, Hermanson, Everroad and Rentschler in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“Hawkins Advisors fits perfectly with our culture and our mission to grow our firm to better serve clients,” said Eide Bailly Managing partner and CEO Dave Stende in a statement. “Eide Bailly was one of the first regional firms to enter Utah, and this addition shows our commitment to ensuring our clients have the resources they need to meet their goals.”

Hawkins partners see advantages in the combination. “Joining Eide Bailly brings world-class services to our clients and businesses in Utah County,” said Hawkins managing partner Josh Rowley in a statement. “It also provides our staff new opportunities to grow in the areas of their strengths and interests, as well as boost our continued efforts to recruit and retain Utah’s best talent.”

“One of the questions we get from our clients is ‘can you grow with us?’” said Hawkins partner Eric Nuttall. “Joining Eide Bailly allows us to unequivocally say ‘yes’ to that. As Utah continues to be one of the best states in the nation for business, we can be a trusted advisor for businesses here no matter where they are in their journey.”

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