EY expands its private company footprint to bring Quebec businesses the innovative solutions they need to succeed
With over 150 years of experience working with entrepreneurs and Quebec businesses, Ernst & Young LLP (EY) has long been established as a leading business adviser to private companies in Montreal. By adding the 80 partners and staff from Friedman & Friedman, the Montreal-based boutique firm established in 1960 who are renowned for their dedication to private companies for almost 60 years, EY is now poised to become one of the largest private company practices, providing Montreal businesses with a unique blend of top talent, hands-on service and a robust service offering.
The breadth and depth of services and experience spans all aspects of private company needs — from assurance, personal and corporate tax and transaction advisory services, digital and cyber. By offering all of these services from one practice, EY private business advisers will be able to proactively guide Montreal companies and entrepreneurs through the current challenges they face in the Quebec market, while optimizing their market position and growth plans for the future.
“To say the market here is transforming quickly would be an understatement,” said Anne-Marie Hubert, EY Quebec’s managing partner. “Every day, new ideas, fresh thinking and leading-edge technology are creating new opportunities across the board.”
In fact, the evolving business climate in Quebec is what prompted the two storied firms to join forces in the first place.
“To thrive in today’s reality and tomorrow’s market, businesses are evolving and ours is no exception,” Hubert said. “Adding this new talent pool, approach and experience empowers us to change the way we serve existing and future private company clients right here in Quebec, and that’s something I’m really thrilled about.”
As every entrepreneur and business owner knows, when it comes to business solutions, customization is key. A critical component of the services provided by both firms is their distinguished ability to deliver personalized solutions to each client. By combining their networks and capabilities through EY’s Private Client Services practice, it’s expected that this tailored approach will continue to reign supreme as the defining characteristic of the quality work delivered by their advisers across the board.
“Like us, EY brings the best talent to the table for a consistent client experience, and truly believes in the important role private companies play in our economy,” said Jonathan Bicher, business adviser to private companies. “We’re so proud to have joined a firm that embraces innovation and digital to better serve evolving client needs.”
At the heart of this transaction, which closed October 1, is both firms’ collective goal to provide clients with the game-changing services that have become essential to navigate the evolving technology, macroeconomic and geopolitical shifts that are commonplace in today’s economy.
“The challenges facing private companies and entrepreneurs are more complex than ever,” Hubert said. “They need more from their business advisers, and we’re ready to answer that call.”
The combined firms are set to improve their clients’ experience by not just expanding the scope of their services, but also amalgamating their resources in order to deliver a full range of tailored advisory solutions under one roof.
“This move is transformational,” Bicher said. “Together, we are now able to offer clients our signature approach to personalized service, bolstered by access to a bigger, bolder service platform than ever before. This is going to shake up what gold standard service means for Quebec’s private businesses.”
The newly combined EY team is also united in their firm beliefs about corporate social responsibility and, as such, are looking forward to serving the Montreal community in ways that extend well beyond the business world.
“By joining EY, we’re able to do even more for not just our clients, but the communities where we work and live, and the amazingly talented people who make our firm what it is today,” Bicher said.
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