BerryDunn merges with Conn. firm to expand health care offerings, geographic footprint
Courtesy / BerryDunn
BerryDunn has merged with Connecticut-based health care compliance, consulting and credentialing firm VantagePoint Healthcare Advisors, effective Jan. 1. Pictured here are John Chandler, president and managing partner of Berry Dunn, and Vantage Point founder and CEO Helen Hadley.
Portland-based accounting firm BerryDunn on Tuesday said it has merged with Hamden, Conn.-based VantagePoint Healthcare Advisors to expand its health care industry offerings and its geographic footprint in southern New England. The merger took effect Jan. 1.
Already Maine's largest accounting firm with more than $100 million in 2019 revenue, BerryDunn has had an office in the Hartford area since 2017, and added a Boston presence through its July 2019 merger with Rodman CPAs.
With the merger and other new hires, the enlarged BerryDunn will have nearly 550 employees in more than 30 states, including 20 from VantagePoint.
A spokesperson told Mainebiz that the management team at VantagePoint will be retained under the new owner, and that its team of vice presidents will join BerryDunn's health care and not-for-profit practice group led by Renee Bishop.
The move comes after BerryDunn received a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan of close to $8.14 million in 2020 via TD Bank. It was the fourth-largest PPP loan for a Maine borrower, according to U.S. Small Business Administration data.
It also comes as the accounting firm, led by President and Managing Principal John Chandler since 1999, prepares to open a new headquarters building in 87,906 square feet of space leased from Unum Group, in Portland.
The BerryDunn spokesperson told Mainebiz that while renovations are scheduled to be done by mid-February, the firm will assess the move-in plan based on the COVID-19 situation at that time.
Chandler told Mainebiz in a 2017 interview that BerryDunn takes a selective approach to acquisitions.
"There are people who do mergers to get revenue,” he said at that time. “What we do is mergers to fill needs in terms of staffing, in terms of talent, in terms of people who would be very accretive to our overall plan and our goal.”
VantagePoint merger rationale
BerryDunn and Vantage Point said they have a history of working together to serve health care clients.
BerryDunn said the merger will give its clients access to VantagePoint's expertise in health care compliance, credentialing, operations and due diligence, while VantagePoint's clients will have BerryDunn's suite of tax, financial, assurance, business consulting and IT services as an integrated resources. VantagePoint will operate under the Berry Dunn name.
"We have known and respected the VantagePoint owners ... and their talented team of consultants for many years," said Jeff Walla, principal at BerryDunn, in Tuesday's news release. He added that VantagePoint "is on the leading edge of an evolving health care landscape,” and that the merger will benefit clients of both firms.
Helen Hadley, founder and CEO of VantagePoint, said, "To be able to grow and offer our existing clients additional services and expertise via this merger is very exciting."
Susan Prior, president of VantagePoint, added, “Joining the BerryDunn team is part of a long-term strategic vision that ensures our clients have access to a deep bench of talent and blended health care and financial services. As we began working collaboratively on projects, we gained a better understanding that the firm’s culture aligned perfectly with our culture at VantagePoint. This was essential for us as we considered BerryDunn as a partner.”
BerryDunn is a full-service assurance, tax and consulting firm providing financial and business expertise to diverse industries, including financial services, health care, education and government.
Besides Maine and Connecticut, BerryDunn has offices in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, West Virginia and Arizona.
VantagePoint is a team of experts with experience in compliance, credentialing, revenue cycle, executive management, operations and due diligence.
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