Accountants Grant Thornton, which officially completed its merger with RSM Robson Rhodes on 1 July, has become the first firm to audit 200 AIM listed companies. BDO Stoy Hayward is second with 149. Grant Thornton is also the number one reporting accountant for new AIM listings, with 17 in the six months to 30 June. Corporate finance partner David Grundy said the recent merger with RSM Robson Rhodes had given a significant boost to both client numbers and the firm's skill base, and in the second half of 2007 the added capabilities and synergies created post-merger were set to generate further growth. In the US, meanwhile, Grant Thornton LLP admitted 38 new partners and principals to the firm, as of 1 August, who are spread across the 51 offices nationwide. They include: two state and local tax practitioners, Dan Bartholet in Minneapolis and Kelli Knoble in the Carolinas; two international tax practitioners, Brian Dill in Dallas and Randy Free in Southern California; two Strategic Federal Tax Services practitioners, Cedar Robinson in Kansas City and Ken Schuckers in Atlanta; and one general Tax practitioner, Alan Herrmann in Southern California.