Size does matter. Mark Fong, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, is subsuming his firm into Grant Thornton.
The move highlights the difficulties small and medium-sized accounting firms face to survive in the highly competitive industry.
Industry insiders said Mr Fong's company, Moores Rowland Mazars, would restructure soon. As the first step in the process, the company will split into two. One hundred staff will operate under the Mazars brand while the remaining 80 to 90 staff, including Mr Fong, will join Grant Thornton.
This will end a three-year marriage between Moores Rowland and Mazars.
A source at the firm told White Collar that while Mazars' strength was in serving French clients, partners tied to Moores Rowland wanted to focus more on the mainland.
The source said Mr Fong and the Moores Rowland team wanted to join Grant Thornton because of the attraction of its international network as well as its major expansion plans on the mainland to serve clients in mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and taxation.