Catherine Heigel, left, General Counsel and Corporate Strategies Officer for Elliott Davis, handles merger paperwork as Nick Decosimo, center, and Rick Davis prepare to sign the merger agreement Wednesday at the Chattanooga Convention Center.From its start in 1971 by three local accountants, Joseph Decosimo and Co. grew into Chattanooga’s biggest accounting firm through both internal growth and acquisitions of other CPA firms in other markets.
But after four decades of acquiring other firms and businesses, Decosimo inked a deal Wednesday to merge with a bigger CPA firm in South Carolina to create the fifth biggest accounting firm in the Southeast. On Jan. 1, Decosimo will combine with the Greenville, S.C.-based Elliott Davis to create a combined firm with more than 800 employees working out of 17 offices.
The combined firm, to be known as Elliott Davis Decosimo, will handle more than $100 million a year in accounting and tax work from offices in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio and the Cayman Islands.
“We weren’t looking to merge with anyone, but in talking with the folks at Elliott Davis it became clear that it made a lot of geographic and market sense to come together,” said Nick Decosimo, the managing partner for Decosimo. “Both companies share the same type of work culture and we look forward to building upon our individual successes to create a firm with a more powerful regional focus.”
Decosimo said the merger is not being done to cut costs or to cash in on either of the firm’s successes. The partners for Decosimo voted unanimously to approve the merger and will gain three seats on the combined firm’s new 9-member executive committee.