BDO picks Columbus for shared service center

BDO USA, LLP will open a 400-employee shared business services center in Columbus after the Ohio Tax Credit Authority this week approved a Job Creation Tax Credit for the project.

The authority on Monday approved a 1.66 percent, eight-year Job Creation Tax Credit on withholding taxes for an estimated $13.6 million in payroll when the office is fully staffed. If the company creates all of the pledged jobs by the end of 2021 and meets other terms of the agreement, it could save a combined $1.6 million.

The location for the 33,000-square-foot center is yet to be determined, but it will be a shared services center for billing, invoicing, and basic audit and tax preparation procedures. Columbus was reportedly chosen from among eight cities in North America.

Chicago-based BDO entered the Ohio market in 2015, when it acquired most divisions of Cleveland-based SS&G Inc., including a Columbus office.