The U.S. and Dutch member firms of Grant Thornton, a professional services network with $8 billion in annual revenue, are merging.

The deal is expected to close by year’s end.

Until recently, Grant Thornton had a single member firm in the U.S. with about 10,000 staffers. That member firm split into two entities last year after raising capital from an investor consortium. The first entity that was formed through the transaction, Grant Thornton LLP, is a CPA firm focused on helping companies verify the reliability of their accounting records and financial reporting processes. The other entity is called Grant Thornton Advisors. It comprises all the other business units of Grant Thornton’s original U.S. member firm. Those units include, among others, the tax advisory and business consulting practices.

Grant Thornton Advisors is the firm that is merging with Grant Thornton Netherlands. The deal isn’t the first time that the former firm is expanding outside the U.S. Grant Thornton Advisors first became an international operation this past January, when it merged with Grant Thornton Ireland. The combined company created through that transaction had about 12,000 professionals across more than 50 offices.

The merger with Grant Thornton Netherlands adds nearly 800 professionals in eight Dutch offices to the business. Grant Thornton Netherlands will split in two to more closely align with the structure of its new U.S. parent organization. As a result, the Dutch firm’s audit practice will operate as a separate entity. This arrangement is known as an alternative practice structure in the accounting industry. 

Grant Thornton Netherlands chairman of the board Marcel Blöte told Boardroom Insight that the merger with Grant Thornton Advisors is expected to provide multiple benefits for the Dutch firm. One of them is improved technology infrastructure. “Greater scale allows us to invest in the development of smarter methodologies, apply AI and advanced analytics, and accelerate the digital transformation of our services, all of which result in more efficient, consistent and forward-looking advice for our clients,” the executive explained.

Grant Thornton Advisors has a sizable IT practice that assists clients with, among others, AI and analytics projects. A case study on its website describes an initiative in which it used machine learning to help a manufacturer process contracts faster. Another project saw Grant Thornton Advisors revamp a tech firm’s ERP system. The consultancy also takes on other projects such as cloud migrations.

Beyond the IT-related benefits, Grant Thornton Netherlands expects that the merger with its U.S. counterpart will enable it to support international clients more effectively. “We are expanding our sector specialisations and deepening our expertise, allowing us to serve increasingly complex client needs in both national and international contexts,” Blöte detailed. “By leveraging the strength of the platform, we facilitate seamless collaboration and knowledge sharing. This means clients benefit from integrated, scalable solutions that combine local expertise with multinational reach.”

Photo courtesy of Grant Thornton

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