EY acquires public sector specialist Halo Management Consulting
Accounting and consulting firm EY Canada has acquired Ottawa-based Halo Management Consulting. The boutique firm’s 14 professionals, including founder Leigh Harris, will bolster the capabilities of EY’s public sector practice in Ottawa.
Founded in 2013, Halo has grown to be one of the fastest growing consultancies in the Ottawa region. The firm was ranked a top 10 fastest-growing firm in a 2016 Ottawa Business Journal ranking, achieving revenue growth of over 340%.
Led by President and Founder Leigh Harris, the management consulting firm provides strategy, transformation, organization design, operations, people & culture, and strategic communications support to primarily public sector clients. As President and Executive Consultant, Harris uses her more than two decades of consulting experience to guide clients towards better outcomes, while also steering the growth of the firm.
Big Four firm EY Canada seemingly took notice of the nimble and successful firm, having announced the acquisition of Halo earlier this month. The consulting firm will now join EY Canada’s Government & Public Sector services team in Ottawa. EY’s public sector practice helps governments and non-profits deliver better public services with a cross-disciplinary team of assurance, tax, and consulting professionals.
"Like most organizations today, the government and public sector is facing pressure to transform," says Kirsten Tisdale, EY Canada's Government & Public Sector leader. "Things like harnessing new technologies, building more resilient infrastructures, and managing macroeconomic and geopolitical shifts all require creative and robust solutions.”
“We couldn't be more excited to combine our trusted EY experience with Halo's proven future-forward approach, to deliver agile teams and uncompromising solutions to help the government and public sector chart the course forward," Tisdale added.
Halo practices the application of ‘systems thinking’ in its consulting engagements – a holistic perspective that incorporated how narrower projects fit into an organization’s larger context. The approach looks beyond silos to understand how projects impact and interrelate with other parts of the organization – both in the present and future.
The transaction adds 14 professionals to the EY public sector team, including Harris. Commenting on the deal, Harris said, "EY has deep knowledge of the government and public sector here in Canada, drawing on a wide net of experience around the globe. Together, we'll work tirelessly with clients, looking at the big picture of the world around them, to achieve real and enduring results."
In other EY M&A news, the company acquired Montreal accounting and consulting firm Nexia Friedman in September. The high-net-worth individual (HNWI), family, and private business advisory specialist was rolled into EY’s Private Client Services practice.
