Top 100 Firm RSM US has acquired Explore Consulting, an Oracle NetSuite solution provider located in Bellevue, Wash. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but the deal will close July 1.
Explore Consulting will add 60 professionals to RSM’s U.S.-based team. The acquired firm will remain in Bellevue. Its co-founders, CEO Steve Jones and COO Jeremy DeSpain, will take on the titles of principals at RSM. They will be in charge of RSM’s regional business in the West and will also take industry leadership roles.
Explore Consulting has a strong presence in the e-commerce and retail industry, markets which RSM has been seeking to enter, Brian Becker, national consulting leader for RSM US, told Accounting Today. He added that Explore has a strong team of software developers, another attractive prospect for RSM.
“Most of the time, software in the cloud or out of the box can set 95 percent of a [client] company’s needs,” Becker said. “But you need strong IP and developers that can finish that last 5 to 10 percent and customize it to all the needs of our clients.”
Late last year, RSM UK acquired First Hosted Limited, also an Oracle NetSuite provider. Becker said RSM views NetSuite as a very important cloud platform, and to that end the firm is building its NetSuite network in both the U.S. and internationally.
“NetSuite has the capabilities of solving the new ASC 606 rev rec standard for our clients,” Becker added. “That’s another reason we wanted to beef up this NetSuite team.”
RSM already has a strong NetSuite services offering, consistently ranking among the top providers in the U.S., along with Explore Consulting.
“Our customer-focused philosophy and our expertise and service offerings represent a perfect fit for RSM’s growing technology and management consulting practice,” Explore Consulting’s Jones said in a statement. “We especially look forward to continuing to serve our client base and offering a broader array of services to meet their business needs across tax, audit and other consulting services, while at the same time helping RSM’s clients take advantage of expanded e-commerce, retail and digital marketing offerings.”
