In the News

Peterson and Squar Milner Join Forces
By Michael Kinsman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 5, 2006

One of San Diego's oldest locally grown accounting firms has merged with a Newport Beach firm to become what they say is the largest accounting and financial advisory firm based in Southern California.

Peterson & Co., founded in 1951, and Squar Milner have completed their merger and are now operating under the name Squar, Milner, Peterson, Miranda & Williamson. The new firm will be based in Newport Beach.

No money changed hands as part of the merger. The five partners of Peterson & Co. joined 11 partners of Squar Milner in the new ownership.

Richard Evans, managing partner of Peterson & Co., said the San Diego firm has grown by 35 percent to 40 percent over the past three years and in recent months has been turning away clients because it lacked resources to serve them.

“The advent of Sarbanes-Oxley (the 2002 accounting reform and investor protection act that grew out of corporate accounting scandals) and the demise of the Arthur Andersen firm really generated a lot more business for local and regional accounting firms, particularly those like us that do public audits,” Evans said.

“The demand for our services has superseded the supply of resources to handle it.”
The 40-person Peterson & Co. will maintain its Golden Triangle office, where it serves 11 public companies, including Aldila, a Poway-based golf club manufacturer, and Modtech, a Riverside County designer and manufacturer of modular buildings.

Squar Milner represents about 30 public companies and has 170 employees.

Evans, who will continue to supervise the San Diego office, said the company expects a growth rate of 15 percent to 20 percent in the year ahead.

Squar Milner Merges with San Diego Firm
Squar Milner, the largest Orange County-based accounting firm, has merged with Peterson & Co., one of San Diego’s biggest CPA firms. The new firm, called Squar, Milner, Peterson, Miranda & Williamson, will have more than 170 employees and combined revenue of more than $30 million. Together the firms will audit more than 30 public companies. Steve Milner, managing partner, said the merger provides an opportunity to serve smaller public and private companies that have been shed by the international accounting firms that are focusing on major clients.