Blue & Co., LLC, a Top 100 Firm based in Carmel, Indiana, is combining with the consulting firm Professional Practice Management, Inc., based in Worthington, Ohio, effective Jan. 1, 2019, expanding Blue’s client base in the health care sector.
The combined firm will operate under Blue’s name, and PPM’s employees will relocate to Blue’s Central Ohio location. Financial terms were not disclosed. Blue & Co., based in Carmel, Indiana, ranked 59th on Accounting Today's 2018 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $78.77 million in annual revenue.
As part of the deal PPM’s owners, Neil Madsen and David Sproule, will become directors (in other words, partners) in Blue & Co., bringing the total number of directors at Blue to 50. Another PPM owner, James Yerina, will remain a “friend” of the firm and will be working in a CFO capacity with MaternOhio Clinical Associates, Inc. The combined staff of Blue and PPM will amount to more than 430 professionals in 10 offices across Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. There will be two partners and 12 staff members joining the Central Ohio location. Blue recently moved to a much larger space to accommodate the firm’s expected growth in the Columbus market within the next few years.
“As a firm deeply ingrained in the health care industry, we are looking forward to combined expertise that both firms bring to better serve our clients,” said Blue & Co. managing director Brad Shaw in a statement. “We believe the expertise and reputation of both firms complement one another and offer a friendly, client-first culture. Blue & Co. has seen tremendous growth over the last five decades and continues to seek opportunities to bring a first-class experience to its client base. We believe this is another step in that continuous journey.”
PPM focuses on servicing health care clients. The business consulting and accounting firm has mainly worked with physicians, dentists and other health care professionals since 1934. It specializes in practice management and provides monthly accounting, payroll, tax planning, tax return preparation, accounts payable, and other consulting services..
“Professional Practice Management has refined its specialty health care expertise over the last 85 years,” said Madsen. “As we approached the next step in shaping the firm’s future, we realized the time was right to partner with another firm to expand our reach in the market and to offer additional services to our growing client base.”
“The speed of change in today’s business environment presents some challenges for firms of all sizes but more importantly, it creates opportunities to foster growth while remaining agile and attune to shifts in technology and leading practices,” said Sproule. “We feel as though this merger helps us remain competitive as we look ahead to the coming changes in the accounting industry.”
