The accounting and consulting firms of Petty & Landis, PC and Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC have agreed to merge their practices effective Oct. 1.
“The merger of Petty & Landis and LBMC is a strategic move for both firms,” says Buddy Landis, principal of Petty & Landis. “It enables us to expand and enhance the resources of our firm and provide additional services to the clients we currently serve. Both firms experience many benefits as a result of the merger - our clients will benefit with the expansion of services and resources and LBMC, the largest regional firm in Tennessee, will gain a physical presence in the Chattanooga market.”
Steve Lewis, principal at Petty & Landis, added, “The business community will have access to resources and services from an integrated solution provider. This merger will be a strategic win for all of us: our clients, our community and our firms.”
Petty & Landis was formed in 1966 offering traditional audit and tax services. Today, the firm has broadened its offerings to a comprehensive range of management and accounting services. Their business clients range in size from small startup companies to very large national operations.
“We are very excited about Chattanooga,” said David Morgan, Managing Partner of Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain, PC. “The people at Petty & Landis share our vision for growth and outstanding client service. Together, we will be able to offer Chattanooga businesses and individuals a variety of services and resources that will help them reach their goals. The merger will also give us a very strong presence in all major cities in east and middle Tennessee”
LBMC was formed in Nashville in 1984 and has offices in Nashville and Knoxville. The firm is among the Top 100 firms in the U.S. by Inside Public Accounting Report and currently holds the ranking of 45th in the U.S. and 7th largest in the Southeast by Practical Accountant magazine.
In addition to the traditional audit and tax services provided to the middle market companies that it serves, LBMC also provides a wide range of non-traditional services to both middle markets and to over 50 public companies. These services include financial (litigation support, business valuation, merger and acquisition services, Sarbanes-Oxley services, internal audit outsourcing, state and local tax and transfer pricing services), investment advisory services, human resources (staffing, PEO services, payroll outsourcing, HR consulting, benefits administration), technology (business systems, software development, network engineering, IT assurance and security services), healthcare consulting, and planning services.
Overall, LBMC will employ more than 400 people in three offices in Knoxville, Nashville and Chattanooga.