A plan that has been in the works for the last year is coming to fruition as partners from top five U.S. accounting firm RSM US and partners from RSM UK cast near-unanimous votes recently in favor of forming a new transatlantic partnership structure between the two units that will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Under the new structure, 23,000 professionals will operate across the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, India, and El Salvador, generating aggregate annual revenues of $5 billion, according to an announcement on Oct. 23.

RSM US and RSM UK both stressed that each firm will continue to be independent members of RSM International, the sixth-largest network of assurance, tax, and consulting firms globally.

Viewed as an alternative to receiving outside capital from a private equity group, the partnership will allow greater cross-border investment and help the firms mount a stronger challenge to their competitors, RSM US CEO Brian Becker and RSM UK CEO Rob Donaldson told the Financial Times last week.

The transatlantic agreement falls short of the full financial merger originally floated last year but will create a new leadership structure covering the U.S. and U.K. firms and dictating partner pay, with Becker as chief executive, FT reported.

Brian Becker

In a statement last week about the partnership, Becker, who has led RSM US for the past three years, said, “We are excited to create a new transatlantic partnership with shared values, enhanced reach, and connected resources. The nearly unanimous vote in favor shows that partners from the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Ireland are excited to join forces to build a future where we are in an even stronger position to serve the evolving needs of clients and cement our position as the preeminent provider of services designed for the middle market.

“This bold step builds on the momentum of our other recent investments—including in artificial intelligence and our digital core, new service offerings, and integrated solutions—to stay ahead of clients’ evolving needs,” he added. “It also positions us for accelerated growth, with a scalable structure designed to support a $10 billion multinational partner-owned platform in the future. Together, we look forward to driving enhanced value for our clients, partners, and talented employees around the world.”

Rob Donaldson

Donaldson, CEO of RSM UK for the past five years, wrote about the partnership on LinkedIn last week: “A year ago, we shared an idea. This month our partners backed our plan wholeheartedly in a near unanimous vote.

“RSM partners across the UK, Ireland, US and Canada have agreed to establish a new transatlantic partnership. We’re bringing together 23,000 professionals across six countries, with combined revenues of almost £4bn.

“For us in the UK, this continues a transformation we’ve been working on for five years growing our ability to compete with the largest firms while better supporting clients, globally. This feels like a defining moment.

“Brian and I were convinced of the opportunity from the start. Our partners have agreed, clients need something different. They’re asking for seamless solutions that work across borders. For advisers who truly behave as one team. And in a fast-changing market, we needed a structure that would let us move quickly.

“The response has been encouraging. Over the last 12 months we’ve won work that neither firm could have secured alone. Our clients are telling us this matters to them. I think it’s just the beginning.

“For our people, this creates new opportunities to collaborate with colleagues they wouldn’t otherwise meet, new learning opportunities, and the chance to be part of something unique in our industry.

“We’re not losing what makes RSM distinctive in this. Our focus on the middle market, our culture, our commitment to clients—that stays. But we’re building something bigger around it.

“I’m genuinely excited about where we’re headed. A journalist yesterday asked me is this going to be good? I said no, this is going to be great.”

According to the Financial Times, the structure of the transatlantic partnership was designed to allow other RSM member firms in the global network to join.

“We don’t want them to think this is some closed arrangement that they can’t participate in if they wish,” Donaldson told FT. “The door is open. It is an alternative to outside investment.”

Grant Thornton US, one of RSM’s main competitors in the middle market and a top 10 accounting firm in the U.S. by revenue, made a similar arrangement with its sister firm in Ireland earlier this year—but their arrangement is backed by private equity. The two units formed a multinational platform that now includes Grant Thornton firms in 10 countries: U.S., Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, France, Spain, and Belgium. Grant Thornton member firms in the Cayman Islands and the Channel Islands have also joined the platform.

Grant Thornton US had set international consolidation as a priority after selling a majority stake to a group led by private equity firm New Mountain Capital in a deal that closed at the end of May 2024.

Through this expanded multinational platform, clients will have access to enhanced cross-border services, which are underpinned by investments in technology, people, and quality, Grant Thornton US said earlier this year.

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