EY Advisory acquires Centre Consulting and CFORS

EY has in the Netherlands expanded its EPM consulting services to the financial sector with the acquisition of two companies: Centre Consulting and CFORS. Approximately 30 employees will transfer to EY Advisory. Financial details have not been disclosed, closing is expected within the next couple of months.

Centre Consulting, founded in 2005, supports large international clients with Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), including services focused on financial consolidation, budgeting, planning, and forecasting. CFORS, established in 2012, develops software solutions for banks and insurers to meet new reporting guidelines, such as Solvency II, CRD IV and IFRS 4.

In line with EY’s ambition to further expand its Advisory business, the accounting and consulting firm has decided to buy Centre Consulting and CFORS. The acquisition will give a large boost to its Benelux EPM service – in total 30 professionals will move to EY – with a focus on the financial sector. “It will boost our position as market leader in this sector,” says Rob Lelieveld, Country Lead Partner Financial Services at EY in The Netherlands. Centre Consulting and CFORS will, after closing, be integrated within the Advisory practice of EY.

According to Klaas van de Geest, CEO of Centre Consulting and CFORS, the integration with EY Advisory will provide opportunities for the service portfolio as well as for the employees. “Through the acquisition, Centre Consulting and CFORS will gain access to a bigger, international customer base, which will enable faster growth. Furthermore, our employees will have more career opportunities in a bigger organisation such as EY, also on the international level. In addition, we are in agreement with the culture at EY: a professional firm, where proactivity and entrepreneurship is appreciated.”

EY Advisory
EY has lately been on a worldwide expansion spree of its Advisory practice. Between 2008 and 2014, its Advisory grew with as much as 71%, making it by far the fastest growing service line of the Big 4 firm. In the last fiscal year, Advisory grew with 13.5%, driven by both organic growth and by a number of acquisitions, including the likes of among others Greenwich Consulting, global strategy consultancy The Parthenon Group, Net Balance, Sweeney Research and Corporate Quality Consulting.