HintonBurdick CPAs & Advisors is merging in a sole proprietor’s practice, Gardner Tax and Accounting, in St. George, Utah.
The combination, which took effect on Jan. 1, adds accountant Mason Gardner to the firm. It comes on the heels of a merger with another sole practitioner firm in St. George known as Lang & Company, which became effective on Dec. 1 and added five people to the firm.
“Basically they approached us and wanted to join forces with us and be able to tap into some of the resources we provide,” said HintonBurdick managing partner Morris Peacock. “It’s a challenge to be a sole practitioner.”
HintonBurdick did a larger merger last January, Peacock noted, with a firm called Frost Stephens & Company, adding two partners and 10 staffers to the firm in Flagstaff, Ariz. Peacock declined to provide financial details of the various transactions, but said his firm now has approximately $8.5 million in annual revenue.
There is a possibility of doing more acquisitions later this year, and Peacock said he was talking to some other practitioners. But he added that he has turned down a couple of merger offers in the last few years where the combination did not make economic sense or the other firm’s culture did not align with his. The merger with Frost Stephens in Flagstaff made sense, for example, he noted, because his firm was already doing a lot of governmental and not-for-profit auditing work in Arizona.
“That was something we were able to add to their practice, but they were already a great firm,” he said. “There was just a lot of synergy with that merger.”
Besides the St. George and Flagstaff offices, HintonBurdick also has offices in Cedar City, Hurricane, and Richfield, Utah; and Mesquite, Nev.
