OC Business Journal

Baker Tilly names new OC exec following Squar Milner acquisition

Steve Milner Heads Western US Market

• By MARK MUELLER

Baker Tilly US LLP has tweaked its local management structure, its first significant reported operational move in Orange County since the Chicago-based firm teamed up with Irvine’s Squar Milner LLP.

OC’s seventh-largest accounting firm by local headcount announced in late May the appointment of Thomas Bennett as managing partner for the firm’s Orange County and San Diego markets, effective this month.

Bennett succeeds Steve Milner, now leading the firm’s entire Western U.S. market, and Michael Green, who now heads the firm’s life sciences practice. Milner and Green previously served as managing partners of Orange County and San Diego, respectively

Bennet’s “exceptional blend of technical know-how and business development skills make him the right leader at the right time,” Milner said.

In his new role, Bennett will have responsibility for providing leadership, management and strategic direction for the firm’s San Diego and Orange County markets, including client service delivery, business development, talent recruitment, and retention and profitability, the firm said.

He will continue serving clients, providing audit and assurance services to publicly and privately held middle-market companies serving in the technology, manufacturing and life science industries, the firm said.

“Having spent my entire career in Southern California, I’m honored to lead our professionals in these markets as we help our clients navigate today’s challenges and prepare for what’s next,” Bennett said in a statement at the time of the appointment.

Bennett had been with Squar Milner since 2006. He counts over 15 years of public accounting experience, and has extensive experience working with startups, as well as public and private companies ranging from development stage to over $450 million in revenue.

2020 Deal

Squar Milner—which provides audit, tax, consulting, wealth management and other services to public and private businesses, and nonprofit organizations, in a variety of industries—was the largest accounting firm headquartered in Orange County until its 2020 combination with Baker Tilly.

The combined companies, which operate under the Baker Tilly name, have about 4,600 employees.

They said they had combined annual revenue of around $1 billion at the time the deal closed, with Squar Milner expected to do about $135 million as a stand-alone company in 2020.

The combined firm’s local employee count totals 211 in this week’s list, up slightly from the time of the combination.

As head of West Coast operations for the combined firm, Milner has about 650 employees reporting to him. He said at the time of the deal that the bigger scale of the two firms will allow it to win larger clients.

“We know we will be invited to parties that we previously weren’t,” Milner said. •

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