MNP acquires accounting and consulting firm in Kingston, Ontario
Mid-market accounting and consulting firm MNP has merged with Collins Barrow SEO LLP Chartered Accountants, a large Kingston-based professional services firm.
The firm, headed by partners Lennox Rowsell, Karen Sands, and Brent Wilson, was formerly a part of the Collins Barrow network, which rebranded to Baker Tilly in 2019. Collins Barrow features a unique model where each constituent office is an independent firm. This has seen a number of its offices pull away in recent years – with the Toronto and Alberta locations breaking off to form RSM Canada, for example.
Now the Kingston office has joined MNP, which is headquartered in Calgary and is Canada’s largest accounting and consulting firm after the Big Four of Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG. The firm has 5,000 employees and 80 offices in the country, providing a full range of accounting, tax, and business consulting services.
The acquisition is part of the firm’s strategic plans for expansion in Eastern Ontario, and adds 27 professionals to MNP’s Kingston team. The firm entered the Kingston market in 2018 with the acquisition of Collins Blay, the largest independent accountancy in the municipality at the time.
The move solidifies MNP as the largest accounting and consulting firm in Kingston, which has a population of 136,000 and lies midway between Toronto and Montreal.
"Kingston offers a stable and diverse economy that is particularly strong in the agriculture, private enterprise, healthcare, post-secondary education, and tourism sectors; all of which MNP is already intimately serving," Mike Dimitriou, MNP's regional managing partner for Eastern Ontario, said. "We've been delighted to be a part of the Kingston community in the last year and, as we continue to grow our firm to serve the needs of this thriving region, we are excited to welcome a well-established accounting firm that shares our values and client-centric approach."
Rowsell noted that changing market conditions had the Kingston firm looking at new ways to help its clients achieve their goals. “By joining MNP we can add more national resources, more specialized services, and a range of experiences, all of which will help to provide our clients with even greater value in the future," Rowsell said.
The new team of 27 will remain at their current location at 1473 John Counter Blvd, working closely with MNP’s existing team at 27 Princess St in Downtown Kingston.
Founded in 1958, MNP expanded outward from Western Canada and into the Ontario market in 2008, and into Atlantic Canada in 2017. The firm now has more than 25 locations in Eastern Canada.
