GHENT, 12 February 2025 - PIA Group, Belgium’s fastest-growing accountancy and advisory group, announces the next in a string of acquisitions. Today, Steven Brouckaert, Executive Chairman of PIA Group, is proud to announce the accession of MLA Accountancy. For PIA Group, this new acquisition is the third agency within the Brussels Ring. The addition of this highly reputed accountancy firm from Uccle further expands the service offering to French-speaking entrepreneurs in the nation’s capital and well beyond.
PIA Group: local strength x benefits of scale
The fact that MLA Accountancy opts for PIA Group has everything to do with the unique proposition the Ghent-based group offers to accountancy firms. This approach combines local strength with benefits of scale. “Agencies that join the PIA Group retain their DNA”, Steven Brouckaert explains. “Customers make a conscious choice for an accountancy firm’s name and reputation, their individual approach and specialities. That is why we leave those strengths intact. More even, we amplify them through ancillary services from PIA Support in Ghent, among others in HR and IT. This leaves our agency teams free to focus on what truly matters: their customers. In turn, this generates organic growth.”
The best of two worlds
“Many large accountancy groups have knocked on our door over the years”, confirms Marc Lelièvre, certified accountant and founder of the Uccle-based agency. “Joining any one of them would have meant being gobbled up by a much larger player and we didn’t feel like turning into something we’re not. We take great pride in what MLA Accountancy is today. In our heads, we have long known that joining a group is the best choice for an accountancy firm in these challenging times. It’s just that in our hearts we were never convinced. Until PIA Group outlined their approach. They truly offer the best of two worlds, with respect for our identity. That was the main thing for us - even more than money. That is why we did say ‘yes’ to Steven.”
Entrepreneurial drive
Marc Lelièvre, who had previously gained extensive experience in an audit firm working for large international clients, set up his own accounting firm in the late 1990s. He could easily have built a career with the big four but in the end his entrepreneurial drive was simply too strong. He just had to start his own accountancy firm. Before long Marc had built an interesting customer portfolio that kept growing at a fast pace. One of those customers was a real estate business, where Calogera Venti worked in accounting. The collaboration with Marc kindled in her a profound interest in the profession of accountant. Shortly after, she made the switch to his office to work as an intern. After obtaining her ITAA title, they jointly founded MLA Accountancy. Today, Calogera and Marc are the partners of a thriving accountancy firm with 18 staff and 500 customers of all sizes and from a variety of industries.
MLA Accountancy: a triple quality check
When asked to what MLA owes its excellent reputation and impressive growth, Calogera Venti resolutely answers: “Our pursuit of perfection. A triple check is standard here. Nothing goes outside without a four-eye check between junior and senior. Then Marc and I see if we can add another dimension to the file with our expertise. Our customers deserve such a meticulous approach. They rely on us for things that are absolutely crucial for their enterprise or their financial future.” The result of that pursuit of perfection is high customer loyalty. Staff turnover is exceptionally low as well. “That’s another aspect we take pride in”, says Marc Lelièvre. “Most of our 18 staff started here as juniors, whom we trained ourselves. We count no fewer than three juniors who have earned their ITAA titles in recent years. And two more will be added soon. Not just our accountancy firm is growing, we are also committed to helping our people grow alongside us. The result is a team that is more like a family than anything else.”
The importance of a personal approach
Marc and Calogera primarily put the finger on digitalisation as one of the areas in which the support of PIA Group will be more than welcome. Nathalie Calle, CEO of PIA Group, readily confirms that the team of PIA Support can provide valuable support in this area. “All industries are digitalising at an increasing pace but the challenge for the accountancy sector is just that little bit bigger. Just think of the advent of Peppol, the e-invoicing platform that becomes mandatory on 1 January 2026. With PIA Group we have a clear strategy to help our agencies and their customers take those steps towards automation. Still, we never lose sight of the personal aspect. In that sense MLA Accountancy and PIA Group are also on the same page.”
Continued growth in French-speaking Belgium
MLA Accountancy is the 8th agency already to join PIA Group since the start of 2025. The fact that this is once again a French-speaking agency is proof positive for reference shareholder Baltisse, the family office of entrepreneur Filip Balcaen, that the southern part of the country has also discovered the combination of local strength and benefits of scale. “In terms of accountancy firms, French-speaking Belgium is a very different market than Flanders”, says senior investment manager Benjamin Biesmans of Baltisse. “But there are also important similarities. The belief in one’s own brand of entrepreneurship and the importance of a personalised approach are chief among them. PIA Group puts great stock in both, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by enterprising accountants south of the linguistic divide. We are convinced that before the year is out, we will make further important strides in Brussels and Wallonia.”
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 70 branches and close to 2,000 employees, realising a turnover across both countries of more than €250 million in 2024.
www.pia.be
www.ml-a.be
For more details on this press release feel free to contact Stefan Knecht, stefan.k@pia.be, +32 495 54 60 82.
