Eide Bailly Merges in HMWC

Eide Bailly LLP, a Top 25 accounting firm based in Fargo, North Dakota, is expanding in California by adding HMWC CPAs, a firm based in Tustin, effective May 18, 2020.

The deal will provide Eide Bailly with an Orange County office in addition to the 10 offices it already has in California. The firm currently has more than 40 offices across 15 states.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Eide Bailly ranked 21st on Accounting Today’s 2019 list of the Top 100 Firms. The firm reported $385 million in net fees. HMWC will add 13 partners and 80 staff to Eide Bailly. Eide Bailly will have more than 350 partners and 2,500 staff after the merger takes effect in May.

“The addition of HMWC enhances our California team with a strong commitment to client service, talented staff and a culture that matches our own dedication to being a firm of choice for clients and staff,” said Eide Bailly managing partner and CEO Dave Stende in a statement. “We look forward to strengthening our existing relationships in California and building new ones.”

HMWC has been in operation for 52 years, specializing in medical, dental, construction and real estate clients.

“Joining forces with Eide Bailly will help us serve our clients even better by allowing us to offer additional resources and services to our clients that will help them achieve their goals,” said HMWC managing partner Steve Williams in a statement. “We will be able to enhance our ability to serve our clients with additional expertise and talent in areas such as technology consulting, specialized tax services and more that will help them succeed in today’s business environment. Our staff will also benefit with more opportunities for learning and growth in order to pursue their passions, which in turn will enrich our clients’ experiences.”

Koltin Consulting Group and Gary Shamis of Winding River Consulting advised the two firms on the combination.

“Congratulations on this continued expansion in California,” said Koltin Consulting Group CEO Allan Koltin in a statement. “HMWC had opportunities with many regional and national firms, but the culture match with Eide Bailly, as well as the leadership and growth opportunities for both clients and their people, made this a great match between two high performing and well-respected firms.”

Last month, Eide Bailly did another merger in California, with Platinum Consulting in Fullerton. Last fall, it added Las Vegas-based CPA and business advisory firm Wallace Neumann & Verville LLP. It also merged in Top 100 Firm Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co. in July, and acquired Xerva, a provider of data analytics and data warehousing technology in Orem, Utah, and NetSuite provider Tactical Cloud in Southern California earlier in 2019.