PKF expands to Darwin through addition of Merit Partners

Professional services firm PKF has expanded to Darwin, with long-standing local accountancy Merit Partners and its team of more than 40 advisers joining the network from this month.

Merit Partners emerged out of Ernst & Young’s former Northern Territory office closure in 2004, and is led by managing director Matthew Kennon together with fellow directors Steven Lai, Sandrina Disney, and MunLi Chee.

The addition of Merit Partners brings PKF’s Australian office count up to 16, now covering every state and territory capital along with regional outlets scattered across New South Wales and Queensland as far north as Townsville.

“With Merit Partners as part of our team, we gain valuable skills, knowledge, and diversity of thinking, as we celebrate PKF’s physical presence in every state and territory of Australia,” said PKF chairman Steve Meyn. “The collaboration has been easy given our mutually shared values, and I’m a firm believer that shared values underpin any successful partnership.”

Based out of 9 Cavenagh Street in the city, Merit Partners provides a range of services to clients across industries covering audit and assurance, tax, superannuation, and business advisory, including performance improvement and modelling. The firm previously maintained a relationship with EY, which returned to the Territory in 2016 after a decade-long absence.

“Like PKF, Merit Partners has grown significantly over recent years,” Kennon said. “Joining the PKF network provides us with access to national and global experts, ensuring that we continue to meet our clients’ ever-expanding needs. And like other PKF member firms of Australia, PKF Merit remains a locally owned and operated business, so our clients can expect the same level of care.”

Kennon brings thirty years of professional public and private sector advisory experience to PKF, including the best part of a decade spent at EY between Australia and the UK prior to Merit taking over its local branch.

Kennon’s fellow directors also add more than eight decades worth of collective experience, with each having spent time at a Big Four firm including KPMG.