Accountant Grant Thornton, the US member firm of Grant Thornton International, has opened a new Californian office in San Diego. Based in Del Mar, the new office is part of the firm's strategic growth plan for the Southern California region. Grant Thornton has been serving San Diego-based clients from its Orange County office, but expansion plans call for a San Diego headcount of over 100 by the end of 2009. Currently staffed with 24 employees, the firm plans to have 35 employees in San Diego by the end of the year. The new offfice will provide audit, tax and business advisory services, as well as forensic accounting, investigative services, transfer pricing and international tax. Grant Thornton has 52 offices in the US and, through Grant Thornton International member firms, serves clients in more than 500 offices in over 100 countries.