Spokane accounting firm Heiskell MacGillivray & Associates PS has merged into its operations the firm of Engel & Associates PS, says Kevin Sell, a shareholder and certified public accountant with Heiskell MacGillivray.

The merger, which was completed Nov. 1, added CPAs Rich Engel and Jenifer Foote to Heiskell McGillivray, which is located at 1516 W. Riverside, west of downtown. Engel & Associates had been located in the Lincoln Building, at 818 W. Riverside.

The firm now employs 15 people here, Sell says. Before the merger, Heiskell MacGillivray had 13 employees.

With the combined staff, Sell says, the firm has been able to offer more services to its clients. Now, in addition to general tax and accounting services, it offers forensic accounting, fraud investigations, estate planning, and litigation support services, Sell says.

"We wanted to expand our services into new areas with new clients," Sell says. "For current clients, the merger means expanded coverage into new industries, as well as more support for the Engel & Associates clients."

Sell says that Engel was known casually to those at Heiskell MacGillivray before the merger.

"After a careful analysis, we decided it was a good fit culturally and client-wise for our firm," he says.

Heiskell MacGillivray was founded here in 1981, Sell says, and has grown from a two-employee firm to its current staff. A majority of the firm's business is preparing financial statements for audits and tax returns for mid-sized businesses and business owners, Sell says.