Moss Adams Creates a ‘Culture of the Possible’

Earlier this year, Moss Adams LLP, one of the largest accounting, consulting and wealth management firms in the U.S., refreshed its brand with a new website, a new logo and a new theme: “We bring more West to business.”

The sleek, modern logo combines an “M” and an “A” in the shape of two mountains, a nod to the firm’s extensive presence throughout the western states, with 29 offices spanning from headquarters in Seattle to eastern Kansas.

The term West, meanwhile, communicates a “culture of the possible,” unbound opportunities and embracing change on new frontiers.

A History of Leadership

Moss Adams dates to 1913, when Seattle accountant John G. McIntosh opened a small firm to serve the region's lumber industry. Six years later, McIntosh partnered with Albert Moss and Edwin Adams. Moss Adams, as the firm became known, expanded beyond the Pacific Northwest in the 1960s, when it opened several offices in California.

It later expanded to Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, and, most recently, Texas. At the same time, Moss Adams has served global organizations for more than 70 years, 100-plus countries and territories across its main service lines of assurance, consulting and tax.

Notably, Moss Adams was among the first major accounting firms to organize by industry. Its professionals are trained in issues specific to more than two dozen industries, from manufacturing, retail and technology to media, higher education and food and beverage.

Growing organically and through acquisitions, Moss Adams today has approximately 2,600 employees and approximately $600 million in annual revenue, offering services that have progressively expanded over the years and position the firm to advise clients at all intervals of development, from startup, rapid growth and expansion, to transition.

Moss Adams’ leadership is well recognized. It’s been on the Vault Accounting 50 list of the best U.S. accounting firms for eight consecutive years. The firm rose to No. 8 in 2017 based on employee surveys conducted by Vault.com, a career guidance website, that measures such factors as prestige, satisfaction, compensation and work-life balance.

The firm has also won acclaim for leadership on diversity and women’s issues, including its Forum W, which for over a decade has helped create a more inclusive environment focused on diversity in leadership and developing talented women. Its many awards include the 100 Best Companies list by Working Mother magazine, the Top Companies for Executive Women list by the National Association for Female Executives, and the Best Accounting Firms for Women list by the American Society of Women Accountants.

A New Cloud ERP Practice

Moss Adams’ most recent strategic initiative is the launch of a new technology consulting practice to offer NetSuite implementations to clients, with a team headed by Labi Rabiu, an accomplished ERP leader who’s worked in strategy, selection and deployment of enterprise systems across multiple industries since 1997.

As a new NetSuite Solution Provider, Moss Adams addresses growing client demand for cloud-based financials/ERP systems. The firm also builds on its alliance with NetSuite as a member of the NetSuite Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) program, offering outsourced accounting services on the NetSuite platform.

Rabiu, the Managing Director of Moss Adams’ Enterprise Systems Practice, said partnering with NetSuite equips Moss Adams to help mid-market clients scale rapidly without the costly overhead of on-premise IT systems while improving business agility.

Moss Adams provides market development, consulting and implementation services for NetSuite financials/ERP, CRM, ecommerce, HR and PSA across high technology, biotech, apparel, beverage and other industries. The firm is also leveraging its deep expertise in industries to develop vertical solutions, aligning with NetSuite’s industry-oriented SuiteSuccess customer engagement methodology.

“NetSuite provides best-in-class cloud ERP that allows us to better serve customers with a scalable solution that meets the need for business efficiency, visibility and agility,” Rabiu said. “Building on our existing NetSuite BPO relationship, we are fully prepared to bring vertical solutions to market.”

That also aligns with Moss Adams’ focus on creating “a culture of the possible,” with clients able to innovate and scale to degrees not possible with outdated on-premise applications.