Leading accounting and advisory firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (Baker Tilly) has expanded its transaction services capabilities with Baker Tilly Capital’s strategic addition of Wright Johnson’s EB-5 consulting practice effective January 3, 2017.

Wright Johnson is recognized as one of the most successful providers of comprehensive consulting services for EB-5, also known as the Immigrant Investor Program.

Baker Tilly Capital is a nationally recognized, wholly owned FINRA broker-dealer that is approved to offer EB-5 investments. The strategic addition allows Baker Tilly Capital to leverage Wright Johnson’s high-quality EB-5 consulting services and makes Baker Tilly Capital a preeminent partner for EB-5 projects.

“This is an excellent strategic and cultural fit with Baker Tilly and Baker Tilly Capital,” Baker Tilly Chairman and CEO Alan Whitman said. “WJ is recognized as one of the most successful providers of comprehensive consulting services for EB-5 projects and this addition gives Baker Tilly Capital a great competitive advantage as a one-stop shop for EB-5 financing.”

The addition augments Baker Tilly’s growing position as a foremost provider of comprehensive project finance solutions, including New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), Historic Tax Credits and negotiated incentives services and reinforces the firm’s goal of facilitating client access to alternative and flexible sources of capital.

For WJ’s consulting practice, joining Baker Tilly is an opportunity to utilize additional resources to create more value for existing clients and scale its services to meet complex and ever-changing market conditions.

Aaron Goforth, Wright Johnson president and recognized industry expert, will join Baker Tilly as partner. Goforth is a leader in the EB-5 area having served over 600 unique EB-5 clients, conducted over 600 EB-5 economic analyses and executed over 700 EB-5 related business plans.

“Our team is very pleased to join Baker Tilly,” Goforth said. “Becoming part of this exceptional firm will expand our capabilities to help existing clients and leverage additional resources to scale our services to bring more value to our clients.”

Five other professionals in various locations will also join Baker Tilly. Kevin Wright, principal at Wright Johnson, will collaborate with Baker Tilly Capital’s EB-5 team under a consulting agreement. The arrangement will give Baker Tilly Capital access to Wright’s expertise and he will lead broker-dealer education and relationship building efforts with migration agents.

The EB-5 program is administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). It is a program intended to promote economic growth in the United States by enabling foreign-born investors to apply for permanent residence if they make a qualified investment in a commercial enterprise within the U.S. to create or preserve 10 permanent, full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.

About Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (bakertilly.com)
Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (Baker Tilly) is a nationally recognized, full-service accounting and advisory firm whose specialized professionals connect with clients and their businesses through refreshing candor and clear industry insight. With approximately 2,700 employees across the United States, Baker Tilly is ranked as one of the 15 largest accounting and advisory firms in the country. Headquartered in Chicago, Baker Tilly is an independent member of Baker Tilly International, a worldwide network of independent accounting and business advisory firms in 141 countries, with 28,000 professionals. The combined worldwide revenue of independent member firms is $3.8 billion.