Twenty years ago, BDO Hasselt was born. Today, the growth is being accelerated thanks to the strategic acquisition of Cynex. The team and local client base are growing by 50%. And the financial and tax-legal expertise in Limburg is being strengthened. In addition, the merger of the two ‘guides in growth’ offers both clients and employees additional opportunities to develop further.

“Cynex is a team of experienced entrepreneurs, financial experts, accountants, tax specialists and lawyers who are ready for entrepreneurs and business leaders with questions regarding the growth of their business – and this in the broadest sense of the word.” The boilerplate of the rapidly growing Hasselt consultancy firm is very much in line with BDO’s profile.

It is therefore no coincidence that both players are bringing together each other’s activities. “In recent years, we have been approached several times by various players in the market, but the discussions with BDO immediately felt right for us. BDO’s warm environment and our shared values and ambitions have been decisive in entering into a partnership with BDO,” Kris Verhees and Wesley Clemens, Partners of Cynex, explain their decision. “We don’t see the takeover as an end, but as the next step in Cynex’s growth story. Thanks to the integration into the bigger entity of BDO, both our clients and our colleagues are being given extra opportunities to further develop themselves. Clients can expect additional support and advice on more complex and even international issues. Colleagues have the opportunity to sample other financial disciplines and take control of their personal development even more than they used to.”

For many years, Cynex has been working as a digital predecessor from its office in Hasselt for clients throughout Flanders, but it has a particularly strong presence and roots in Limburg. With its fresh approach, the consultancy has gone through a steep, organic growth curve in recent years, rising from six employees in 2013 to about forty employees today. What started as a financial consultancy, focused on drawing up business plans, bank files and budgets, evolved ten years later into a multidisciplinary financial advisory firm with broad expertise in financial advice, accounting and tax and legal issues.

This is the ideal match for BDO Hasselt, which in the past year has consciously been looking for a strong partner to continue to grow in Limburg. There is still a huge potential in this region for financial consultants who want to evolve along with the companies they support. Cynex’s Partners therefore decided to expand their capacity by working together rather than by making a new quantum leap on their own and to bring their ‘clients and expertise together with an organisation that upgrades our business and service and moves it forward with the same level of quality and in a future-oriented manner’.

According to Dirk Vandendaele, Managing Partner Accounting & Reporting BDO Belgium, it is essential that such a merger is based on our own DNA: close and authentic. “Two values that closely match the values of Cynex. These shared warm and human values have been the deciding factor to join forces. We are convinced that everyone at Cynex will find the warm familial atmosphere of our company in the new structure.”

Strategically, the acquisition of Cynex is a logical step in the Limburg growth story of BDO Belgium. “With Cynex, we are bringing a close-knit and dynamic team and a strong brand on board that is valued by entrepreneurial Limburg. Together we can establish ourselves even more firmly in the Limburg business community,” explain Gert Maris and Alexi Vangerven, Partners BDO Hasselt. “In order to elaborate on this ambition together with us, Kris and Wesley will come on board as additional Partners at BDO Belgium. In doing so, they will emphasise their belief in further joint growth in the coming years.”

“As two ‘guides in growth’ we will increase our footprint in the area of accountancy & tax and in the coming years we can become one of the strongest growers in the Limburg accountancy landscape,” says Peter Van Laer, CEO of BDO Belgium. “Not just because of our warm and personal guidance, our loyal employees and familial atmosphere, but also due to the strong financial and tax-legal expertise of each of our employees.”

Thanks to the strategic acquisition of Cynex: