Abacus Worldwide and JHI Announce Intent to Merge

Abacus Worldwide and JHI have signed a Letter of Intent to merge as of September 1, 2020.

The merged association will continue as Abacus Worldwide bringing together 125 legal and accounting member firms with 5,600 total staff, 236 offices spanning 56 countries and combined global revenue in excess of $500 Million placing it in 12th position in the current rankings of global accounting associations.

JHI plans to finalize their vote to merge into Abacus Worldwide following their Special General Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal in July 2020.

Abacus Worldwide is a relatively new association but has grown rapidly in just 8 years of development. It is seen as a growing force by many and in 2018, it won the ‘Rising Star Association of the Year’ Award at the IAB annual awards ceremony. Now with the addition of JHI, Abacus is primed to compete with similar sized associations in terms of services and coverage.

Members of both organizations will greatly benefit from the merger, with increased coverage, improved services, enhanced meetings, and more opportunities for potential business. Post-merger, Abacus will be able to push forward on its strategic plan aimed at regional development, and further membership recruitment and engagement initiatives. Together the group aims to focus its efforts on three key services: Business Referrals, Knowledge Exchange and Practice Management Tools.

“JHI is recognized for its long-standing close-knit membership and we see Abacus as a forward-thinking dynamic association with the right leadership at the helm. In addition, merging will offer member firms increased geographic coverage and connections globally to both accounting and law firms through the multi-disciplined approach Abacus has developed. We are confident members will receive greater benefit from this combination and we look forward to a successful union.” stated Brian Pashen, JHI International Chairman

Abacus Worldwide President and CEO Julio Gabay added: “We are excited to welcome JHI members to the Abacus family. In 2012 when Abacus had no more than 5 member firms we implemented a strategy to grow past 100 member firms. This merger will bring our combined membership to 125 engaged and committed firms. Going forward, our strategy will focus on regional efforts and further supporting member needs. We are confident that we will have a great future together.”

Abacus Worldwide is an international association of independently owned and managed accounting and law firms. As a multi-discipline membership association, both law and accounting firms join Abacus to support international business referrals, participate in knowledge exchange and gain access to practice management tools all to better serve their growing clients. Founded in 2012, the association is currently represented by 70 member firms spanning 133 offices in 41 countries. For more information on Abacus Worldwide, visit the association website at www.abacusworldwide.org

JHI is one of the longest-established, most stable and close-knit association of accounting, tax and business advisory professionals in the world. With 54 member firms providing accounting, audit, tax, financial consulting and business advisory services in 100 locations in 36 countries. With a presence in many of the world’s major commercial centers, we are constantly expanding our reach as new economies emerge and grow. For more information on JHI, visit the association website at www.jhi.com