PIA Deutschland welcomes another established firm with GTK

“Germany is a key market in Europe. Following our market entry at the start of the year, we are very pleased to welcome another renowned partner to PIA Deutschland with GTK. 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 staff across Germany by 2027,” says Steven Brouckaert, founder and Chairman of PIA Group.

With GTK, PIA Group is adding an experienced partner in one of Germany’s strongest economic regions. The Cologne/Bonn region, including the Rhein-Erft and Rhein-Sieg districts, together with the locations in Berlin and Hamburg, is an ideal addition to the group’s German presence. GTK’s strong expertise in international tax advisory also fits perfectly with the group’s cross-border focus. The combination is fully aligned with PIA Group’s international growth strategy, which is based on sustainable expansion by combining local entrepreneurship with international scale.

GTK remains GTK, powered by PIA Group

With around 80 staff, including 15 qualified professionals, GTK advises clients from six locations in Brühl, Bornheim, Bonn, Cologne, Berlin and Hamburg in the areas of domestic and international tax advisory, audit and business advisory. Through its own country desks, including for the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Turkey and Brazil, GTK also supports clients with cross-border matters while maintaining a strong focus on personal service and regional roots. By joining PIA Group, GTK aims to continue its development while preserving its regional identity.

“We are delighted to now be part of PIA Group. This step marks another milestone in the successful development of our firm. We are looking forward with great energy to working together, to intensive knowledge sharing and to the many exciting projects ahead,” says Frank Ginster, founding partner of GTK.

GTK will also benefit from group-wide resources and cross-border professional exchange. This creates additional opportunities to expand its service offering, deepen specialisms – for example in international tax law – and bring innovative solutions into advisory practice more quickly.

The combination also creates new opportunities for staff: additional training, international career opportunities, more scope for specialisation and closer professional exchange across the international group.

An international group with a focus on mid-sized businesses

PIA Group was founded in 2012 and has grown strongly ever since. Today, more than 3,900 staff across more than 75 local firms serve the group’s clients, many of which are mid-sized and family-owned businesses. Firms joining PIA Group retain their local identity while benefiting from the group’s substantial investments in technology, knowledge and people. “We only welcome firms that value this balance between the advantages of a large group and preserving their regional DNA and entrepreneurial spirit,” says Steven Brouckaert.

Together with Ewout Brouwers, he founded the group and continues to lead it today. Both have many years of experience as tax advisers and auditors as well as managing directors of their own mid-sized family firms in Belgium and the Netherlands. Since 2019, PIA Group has been supported by Baltisse, the single family office of the entrepreneurial Balcaen family, which focuses on long-term investment and sustainable growth.

Responding to structural challenges in the sector

The audit and tax advisory sector is undergoing profound change. Increasing investment in digitalisation, data analytics and artificial intelligence, rising regulatory requirements and a shortage of skilled professionals are shaping the market. PIA Group relies on international collaboration, shared data and technology platforms and group-wide training programmes to support local firms in addressing these challenges. At the same time, partner firms retain their entrepreneurial independence and continue to operate in the market under their own names.

“Scale is becoming increasingly important for the future of our sector. At the same time, we must not lose sight of the mid-market nature of our clients,” says Ewout Brouwers. “We see ourselves as a fleet of speedboats – each firm with its own entrepreneurial responsibility, but all following a common course as a group.”

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 80 local firms with more than 4,000 staff. PIA Group offers comprehensive services in audit, tax advisory and legal advisory.

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

For more information about this press release, please contact presse@piagroupgermany.de.