PIA Group continues to grow in Germany

“Germany is a key market in Europe. Following our market entry earlier this year, we are delighted to welcome WSB as another renowned partner within PIA Germany. We are an established international audit and tax advisory group that has consistently invested in technology, knowledge and people for more than ten years. We remain committed to our ambition of growing to more than 1,000 employees across Germany by 2027,” says Steven Brouckaert, Founder and Chairman of PIA Group.

With WSB, PIA Group gains an established partner in one of Germany’s strongest economic regions. The Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region around Heidelberg, together with the Berlin office, ideally complements the group’s existing German footprint. The partnership forms part of PIA Group’s international growth strategy, which focuses on sustainable expansion by combining local entrepreneurship with international scale.

WSB remains WSB, powered by PIA Group

For more than 70 years, WSB has been active in tax advisory, auditing and business consulting, primarily supporting medium-sized companies. The firm is known for its personal approach and strong regional roots. By joining PIA Group, WSB aims to accelerate its further development while preserving its regional identity.

“With PIA Group, we have found a partner that shares our values: close relationships with our clients and employees, as well as the importance of strong regional roots. Together, we can further expand our service offering and provide our clients with additional expertise, technological investments and international reach,” says Jochen Hummel, Partner at WSB.

WSB will also benefit from group-wide resources and cross-border knowledge sharing. This creates additional opportunities to expand its service offering, deepen specialist expertise and bring innovative solutions into day-to-day advisory work more quickly.

The partnership also opens up new opportunities for employees, including additional training programmes, international career prospects, greater possibilities for specialisation and more extensive knowledge sharing across the international group.

An international group with a strong focus on medium-sized businesses

PIA Group was founded in 2012 and has grown significantly ever since. Today, more than 3,900 employees across more than 75 local firms support their clients, many of which are medium-sized and family-owned businesses. Firms joining PIA Group retain their local identity while benefiting from the group’s extensive investments in technology, knowledge and people.

“We only welcome firms that value this balance between the advantages of being part of a larger group and preserving their regional DNA and entrepreneurial spirit,” says Steven Brouckaert.

He and Ewout Brouwers founded the group and continue to lead it today. Both bring extensive experience as tax advisers, auditors and managing partners of their own medium-sized family-owned firms in Belgium and the Netherlands. Since 2019, PIA Group has been supported by Baltisse, the family office of the Balcaen entrepreneurial family, which focuses on long-term investments and sustainable growth.

Responding to structural challenges in the industry

The audit and tax advisory sector is undergoing significant change. Increasing investment in digitalisation, data analytics and artificial intelligence, combined with growing regulatory requirements and talent shortages, is reshaping the market.

PIA Group addresses these challenges through international collaboration, shared data and technology platforms, and group-wide training programmes designed to support local firms. At the same time, partner firms retain their entrepreneurial independence and continue to operate in the market under their own name.

“Scale will become increasingly important for the future of our industry. At the same time, we must not lose sight of the medium-sized character of our clients,” says Ewout Brouwers.

“We see ourselves as a fleet of speedboats: each firm has its own entrepreneurial responsibility, while the group as a whole follows a shared course.”

About PIA Group

PIA Group combines the advantages of international scale with strong regional roots and an entrepreneurial culture. Since its foundation in 2012 by Steven Brouckaert, the group has developed into an international organisation with activities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany.

Today, PIA Group comprises more than 75 local firms with more than 3,900 employees. The group provides a broad range of services in audit, tax and legal advisory.

PIA Group is owned by its local partners together with Baltisse, the family office of the Balcaen entrepreneurial family. The group follows a long-term investment strategy. Under its “Local Lead” model, firms retain their name, autonomy and local management, while benefiting from central expertise, technology investments and international economies of scale.

For further information regarding this press release, please contact media@piagroup.company or Felix Sehardt by phone at +49 151 1758 8686.