GHENT, 1 October 2024. PIA Group welcomes yet another new accountancy firm to the fold. With the accession of FiduPlan from Antwerp, Belgium’s 3rd largest accountancy and advisory group once again strengthens its ranks with a solid local brand. “Organic growth and growing at a fast rate by taking over high-quality agencies remains the backbone of our strategy”, says PIA Group chairman Steven Brouckaert. FiduPlan is PIA Group’s twelfth agency in the province of Antwerp. The group’s Belgian component now consists of 48 branches in all, scattered across Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia.
Comprehensive individual approach
Located on Bisschoppenhoflaan in Antwerp, FiduPlan is an accountancy firm with 20 employees. More than 20 years ago, Ivan Budts decided to team up with his then partner and Fiduciaire Cornelis & Budts was founded. The agency attracted a fast-expanding clientele of SMEs, doctors, pharmacists, management companies, asset management companies, liberal professions and bakers. Over time, Rudi Van Stappen, Wim Pets, Patrick Fonteyn, Charlotte De Meersman, Yasmin Budts, Eline Claes and Karen Peeters joined as partners. In 2021 the agency was renamed FiduPlan, a name that refers to the agency’s philosophy: accountancy with an extensive personalised service that makes a tangible contribution to the plans of the client entrepreneurs.
Preserving its DNA
“It was that vision and comprehensive approach that made us so eager to have FiduPlan join our group”, Steven Brouckaert explains. “PIA Group preserves the DNA of the agencies it acquires and fosters the entrepreneurship of its partners by providing support in the areas of HR & Recruitment, IT & Digitalisation, Operations, Finance and Sales & Marketing. The FiduPlan team harbours a wealth of entrepreneurship in the form of a new generation that is given ample room to grow as Ivan and Rudi are taking a step back. We are ready to guide that young dynamism in its ambitions.”
Ideal partner
Yasmine Budts is one of the faces of that new generation. “By joining PIA Group we are better prepared for the future”, says Yasmin. “Nowadays an independent agency faces a host of challenges: constantly changing legislation, the fiscal and accounting impact of ESG and sustainability, the advancing digitalisation, ... and then I haven’t even mentioned the difficulty in finding fresh staff. FiduPlan aims to be at the forefront in servicing customers and PIA Group is the ideal partner to help us realise that ambition.”
Customer-first approach
Nathalie Calle, CEO of PIA Group Belgium, feels that FiduPlan has clearly grasped the added value of working with PIA Group. “Offering customers an even more comprehensive service was clearly one of the motivations of the FiduPlan partners to take the plunge”, she says. “The agency’s customers will quickly experience the added value PIA Group brings to the table. FiduPlan remains FiduPlan but our support services create more room to offer a more comprehensive service. And where customer needs require it, we complement the existing service range, for instance through the expertise of PIA Advisory.”
More branches in the pipeline
Meanwhile Steven Brouckaert emphasises that FiduPlan is definitely not the last accountancy firm to swell the ranks of PIA Group this calendar year. “Our proposition that an accountancy firm within PIA Group can benefit from economies of scale while retaining its identity remains unique in the market today. Around the turn of the year we will definitely have some new names for you.”
About PIA Group
In a market of scale-ups PIA Group aims to develop into a leading player in accountancy and advisory services while preserving the personal connection between employee and customer. That is why our growth is based on a continuously expanding group of enterprising partners. Thanks to the mutual interaction between these partners and our teams of experts, entrepreneurs benefit from an individual up-to-date service in every PIA branch, as well as know-how that makes a genuine contribution to their professional success and personal happiness. PIA Group was founded in Belgium by Steven Brouckaert in 2012. The group is active in Belgium and the Netherlands and boasts more than 60 branches and close to 1,700 employees, realising a turnover across both countries of more than €250 million at the end of 2024.
For more details on this press release feel free to contact Stefan Knecht, stefan.k@pia.be, +32 495 54 60 82.
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