Our Take:

• National accounting, advisory, and tax firm Cherry Bekaert has acquired Kerr Consulting, a 37-year veteran in Sage solutions. Kerr Consulting, which serves 2,200 customers across all 50 states and 20 countries, will boost Cherry Bekaert’s status as a Sage provider in the U.S.
• Kerr Consulting, generating $20 million annually, strengthens Cherry Bekaert’s Sage offerings.
• This acquisition will help expand its national Outsourced Accounting practice.
• Both firms are Platinum sales level Sage partners

Summary:

Cherry Bekaert has acquired Kerr Consulting, a leading business applications and cloud technology provider, a move they say positions them as one of the largest Sage providers in the United States. This move will expand Cherry Bekaert’s Outsourced Accounting practice, especially in cloud technology solutions. Kerr Consulting, which generates around $20 million in annual revenue with 2,200 customers, has a significant presence in key industries like construction, manufacturing, and healthcare. CEO Michelle Thompson believes the acquisition will enhance Cherry Bekaert’s Sage offerings, providing clients with improved digital and industry-specific solutions.

Both firms are recognized as North American Sage Platinum Club Winners. Dave Kerr, CEO of Kerr Consulting, expressed confidence in the shared values and mission of the two firms, predicting benefits for clients and employees. Sage North America’s Managing Director, Mark Hickman, highlighted the potential of the combined firms to deliver innovative technologies and transformative solutions for small to medium-sized businesses nationwide.

In January 2017, Kerr Consulting was acquired by private equity firm Proviso Capital. Later that year, in March, Kerr Consulting acquired Atlanta-based Software Link, a Diamond Level Sage partner founded in 1996, which brought in customers using Sage X3, 100, 500, HRMS, and BusinessWorks. 

In June 2022, Cherry Bekaert announced a strategic investment from private equity firm Parthenon Capital which they said “will help enhance the Firm’s offerings in its core practices, accelerate the Firm’s growth plans, expand the range of digitally driven, industry-aligned offerings to our clients, and advance the Firm’s commitment to continually improving the experience of our people”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Source: Press Release

Image – By Cherry Bekaert – Cherry Bekaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78660753