JULY 5, 2023 (Chicago, IL) – Apple Growth Partners (AGP), an award-winning accounting and business advisory firm with offices in Ohio, Illinois, and North Carolina, has merged in Burton Partners LLC, a CPA firm in Schaumburg, Illinois effective July 1. The strategic merger expands Apple Growth Partners’ presence in Chicago with the addition of 17 additional team members, including five principals. Apple Growth Partners will maintain two offices in the Chicago market: downtown in the Loop and now in Schaumburg.
Apple Growth Partners expanded beyond Northeast Ohio by first entering the Chicago market in 2021. Founded in 1973, Burton Partners LLC was an innovative CPA firm that offers a wide array of tax, accounting, assurance, and advisory services.
“Burton Partners’ commitment to delivering personalized service to their clients, coupled with their 50-year history, makes them a strong fit as we seek to grow sustainably within the Great Lakes Region,” said Chuck Mullen, Apple Growth Partners’ Chairman.
“There is a natural, cultural alignment between our two firms. This combination brings together two strong businesses with caring, talented people, into one single, stronger business with an effective strategy to support the growth of our people, and our clients,” added Erica Ishida, President of Apple Growth Partners.
Cathleen McClendon, Burton Partners Principal, expressed enthusiasm for the merger: “We were attracted to AGP’s people-first culture, and we are equally excited by the expanded services that our clients can receive.” Burton Partners’ clients will now benefit from expanded assurance, tax, and advisory services and comprehensive business and financial solutions spanning specialized areas like transaction advisory, valuation and litigation support services, and ESOP services, among others.
About Apple Growth Partners
Apple Growth Partners (AGP) is an award-winning accounting and business advisory firm with more than 80 years of creative solutions that deliver healthy, sustainable growth. AGP offers a full range of services for privately held businesses, including tax planning and compliance, audit and assurance, business valuation, litigation consulting, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), fraud prevention and detection, family office services for high-net-worth individuals, and transaction advisory. With more than 130 employees, AGP collaborates with business owners and partners across Ohio and beyond, extending client services through a remote workforce in 2020 while maintaining office locations in Akron, Canton, Charlotte (AGPN, PLLC), Chicago, and Cleveland. AGP’s professionals provide expertise in additional industries and services, such as employee benefit plans, bookkeeping, auto dealerships, manufacturing, construction and real estate, car washes, restaurants, and not-for-profits. AGP’s mission is to champion the Healthy Growth® of our people, our clients, and our communities through authenticity, exceptional service, and taking care of each other.