Jackson Thornton, a firm based in Montgomery, Alabama, has acquired the Kansas City, Kansas-based CPA practice of Kevin S. Kelso, effective Sept. 1, 2018.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Kelso is the sole shareholder at his practice, but he will be bringing five other staff members with him to Jackson Thornton when he joins the firm. After the acquisition, Jackson Thornton will have 35 partners and more than 170 other professionals and staff in its seven offices across Alabama, Tennessee and Kansas.
Jackson Thornton was founded in 1919 and has been named one of the Top 10 Regional Leaders in the Gulf Coast Region by Accounting Today. Along with accounting services, the firm provides wealth management, strategic planning, business consulting services, technology consulting, and specialized industry services.
“The addition of Kelso to the Jackson Thornton family gives our utilities clients across the nation even greater access to our professionals and services,” said Jackson Thornton president and managing principal Ned Sheffield in a statement. “At the same time, it gives our new clients a depth of experience and resources they haven’t had before. The people they know and trust are now backed by teams of people offering a diverse array of expertise. We’re excited about this expansion and believe that this is a natural fit for both firms.”
The combination aims to give Kelso’s clients greater depth of services while maintaining the personalized service for which his firm is known. Kelso originally joined the firm in 1993 when it was known as R.L. Quint CPA. He eventually purchased it as sole shareholder in 2015, renaming it Kevin S. Kelso CPA PC PA. The firm mainly serves utilities clients across the Midwest and Southwest.
“Joining Jackson Thornton puts us in a strong position to expand and help our clients achieve their goals,” Kelso said in a statement. “Our focus has always been to develop client relationships based on trust and personal attention. Jackson Thornton has the same philosophy and we look forward to growing and enhancing our practice together.”
