Ahmedabad-based audit and accounting firm Manubhai & Co has merged with Mumbai-based audit and corporate advisory firm Shah & Co. Following the merger, the new entity has been renamed as Manubhai & Shah.
Prior to this merger, while Manubhai & Co was into providing audit services to listed companies with main focus on Gujarat, Shah & Co had expertise in corporate practice, M&A, convergence in US GAPS, audit services and valuation.
With the merger, the combined unit aims to build strength in newer areas like International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Direct Tax Code (DTC) and Goods & Service Tax (GST).
In the last fiscal, Manubhai & Co and Shah & Co posted turnover of Rs 30 crore and Rs 7 crore, respectively and post merger the combined firm is eyeing a top-line of around Rs 50 crore this year.
The merged entity has 17 partners, with staff strength of nearly 700 people, client base of 20 listed companies, about 100 privately held industrial houses and about 50 government assignments. At present, the company has four combined branches in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Mumbai.
Manubhai & Co was established 1975 by Manubhai G Patel, and Shah & Co was founded in 1936 by Narandas M Shah. In 1945, Shah & Co was converted into a partnership firm, now led by P N Shah, who is also former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
An email query to Kshitij Patel, managing partner at Manubhai & Shah, for more information on the merger, did not immediately elicit a response.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
