Collins Barrow Vancouver merges with two accounting firms
After revealing that it would be expanding its operations in the future, Canadian accounting and consulting network Collins Barrow has unveiled more concrete details. Collins Barrow Vancouver has merged with two accounting firms: Vancouver’s Wolrige Mahon and Toronto’s CW Group. The deal forms one of the network’s largest member firms.
Wolrige Mahon is a leading independent accounting firm that has served clients in Vancouver for more than 50 years. CW Group has, meanwhile, been providing audit, tax, and consulting services to clients from its offices in Toronto for over thirty years. The firms’ merger with Collins Barrow Vancouver creates a firm with the combined resources and expertise of 20 partners and 160 professionals. The new entity will take the name of Wolrige Mahon Collins Barrow (WMCB).
Rather than running a fully integrated national network, Collins Barrow uses a co-operative model wherein member firms and offices remain independently owned and operated. Network member firms maintain their autonomy while still being able to draw on the expertise of over 2,000 professionals across the country. According to the firm, “clients are the true beneficiaries of the model, receiving local market attention, with national support and substance via value-added specialty services.”
Collins Barrow is further a member of Baker Tilly, an international network of accounting and consulting firms uniting 33,600 professionals in 147 countries.
"The addition of WMCB to our network is a significant milestone in our efforts to strategically expand Collins Barrow in key geographies across Canada," said Ken Tammadge, who leads firm recruitment initiatives at Collins Barrow National. "Our newest firm's dedication to transnational collaboration and the ensuing elevation of client access is in keeping with our shared brand philosophy of acting as the true mid-market service providers coast-to-coast."
The creation of WMCB is part of the network’s expansion plans in the aftermath of the loss of several member firms to rival accounting and consulting network RSM Canada. The mid-market competitor launched in Canada with the acquisition of Collins Barrow Toronto, and recently added three Collins Barrow offices in Alberta.
"These mergers were specifically initiated to build and deliver even greater value to our clients," commented Paul Websdale, managing partner of the new Wolrige Mahon Collins Barrow in Vancouver. "Collins Barrow allows us to continue to provide transformational advice and attention to clients, via our entrepreneurially minded and ethically motivated expert advisors, accompanied by the support of national resources, a trusted brand, and international platform."
