Pugh & Company, P.C. , one of the Knoxville region’s largest CPA firms, has acquired the Knoxville and Oak Ridge practices of Bacon Howard & Company, CPAs, another local area accounting firm.
The acquisition is effective on Jan. 1, 2011. The two firms signed the papers Thursday. Financial details were not disclosed.
Bacon Howard partners John Bacon and Calvin Howard and their firm’s professional staff in Knoxville and Oak Ridge will be joining Pugh & Company. The Knoxville Bacon Howard office will be moved to Pugh’s office and the Oak Ridge office will remain at its present location.
Twelve employees will be joining Pugh from Bacon Howard, including seven CPAs. With this acquisition, Pugh will now have approximately 65 total professionals, 50 of whom are CPAs. In addition to accounting, audit, and tax services, Pugh provides estate and retirement planning, business succession, financial forecasting, and fraud, litigation and information technology consulting, plus other related services.
The talks between the two firms began last fall, according to Pugh president Larry Elmore. “We have been ‘friendly competitors’ for many years in the Knoxville metropolitan area,” he said.
“We are excited about merging these two great firms,” he added. “Bacon Howard has great clients and experienced, qualified professionals that service them. This further expands our Knoxville market and gives us a great opportunity to become more involved in the Oak Ridge business community.”
This is the second such acquisition by Pugh, which was founded in 1969. In 2006, the
firm purchased the Knoxville office of Cherry, Bekaert & Holland LLP.
