KELOWNA – MNP, one of Canada’s largest national professional services firms, will join forces with Kerr & Company, effective January 16, 2023.
Based in Kelowna, BC, Kerr & Company is led by partners Chris Kerr, who will join MNP as a partner, as part of the merger. The firm includes a further eleven team members and provides a range of professional services (including accounting and tax services) to organizations throughout the Okanagan, with specialisms in working with Real Estate, Construction and Trades and Professionals.
Trina Warren, MNP’s Regional Managing Partner for Okanagan, said that the merger reflects MNP’s continued commitment to investing in the region:
“The Okanagan is a prosperous and diverse economy with many vibrant communities stretching across a wide geography,” said Warren. “We constantly looked for opportunities to further our commitment to the area and are delighted to add Kerr & Company – a firm that shares our values and client-centric approach – into the fast-growing MNP fold.
“Like MNP, Kerr & Company helps clients of all shapes and sizes to achieve their goals; We’re excited to be joining forces at a time when we believe we can help businesses across the region to navigate in an uncertain environment.”
Unprecedented and dynamic market conditions are impacting the way all businesses operate. Kerr said the merger will strengthen his team’s ability to support their clients against this challenging backdrop:
“I have been thinking about how I can best support my clients as they face the challenges and opportunities created by this historically unusual environment. I am also focused on ways to strengthen the experience and expertise that our team offers,” said Kerr. “MNP has terrific experience in all the areas we work in, and their team will complement and enhance our current service offerings. They will bring greater bench strength to service our clients across the Kelowna area, while also helping the continued growth and development of our team members.”
Founded in 1958, MNP has grown to more than 125 locations across Canada and delivers a wide range of services and specialized expertise in every sector and area of business. In addition to tax and accounting, MNP offers a diverse range of consulting and advisory services, including succession planning, estate planning, enterprise risk, corporate finance, valuation and litigation support, insolvency and restructuring, digital strategies, cross-border taxation, and much more.
While becoming the largest of the mid-market focused firms in Canada, MNP has continued to maintain its Canadian roots, helping Canadian businesses both at home and abroad.
“We have grown quickly but, first and foremost, we are absolutely committed to maintaining our culture and so have always been very strategic about who we invite to join our team,” said Darren Turchansky, MNP’s Executive Vice President for British Columbia. “We are known across the communities we work with as being one of Canada’s most-trusted accounting, tax and business consulting firms, so we are excited to welcome a very well-respected practice in Kerr & Company into the MNP family. Our cultures and values are well-aligned, and we share the same entrepreneurial, trusted approach to doing business.”
Kerr emphasized that one of the deciding factors in their decision to join MNP was the culture:
“Although MNP is a large national firm, it’s best known across Canada for being local in focus and having a small-firm culture and commitment to supporting the communities that its teams live and work in,” added Kerr. “This is something that has always been very important to me; when you’re making a move as significant as this the ‘fit’ has to be right for everyone – your people, clients and community. I couldn’t be more excited about joining forces with MNP.”
Kerr and his team will be moving to MNP Kelowna office at Landmark 7 and will work closely with MNP’s existing teams in the Okanagan to provide greater resources and services to business across the region.
“As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, organizations across all industries are now facing new challenges in the shape of inflationary pressures and the possibility of a potential recessionary period,” added Warren. “As a result, we’re experiencing growing demand from businesses who are looking for help navigating in this difficult environment.
“This merger truly is a win-win for both our firms and the Okanagan marketplace, as we will be able to reach and support more of those organizations with their journey. We’re thrilled to welcome Chris and the Kerr & Company professionals into the MNP team.”