Scudder Resigns as McGladrey MP

McGladrey & Pullen managing partner Dave Scudder has decided to resign at the end of April, the firm announced Tuesday.

No successor has yet been named for Scudder, who has managed the firm for four years. The firm is forming a special committee to identify a successor, and Scudder is expected to help in the transition through at least the end of June. No specific reason was given for Scudder’s retirement, but the firm said, “After four years as managing partner, Dave felt the time was right to transition this role and to pursue other opportunities.” They added that the "decision to resign was a personal one for Dave,"

“I believe the firm is well positioned to continue its success in serving our target markets including private equity groups and their portfolio companies along with our public and international companies practice,” Scudder said in a statement.

McGladrey & Pullen has operated in an alternative practice structure arrangement with H&R Block subsidiary RSM McGladrey since 1999 when Block bought a considerable part of M&P’s practice. Under the agreement, M&P provides audit and attest services, while RSM provides other types of accounting services.

Block & M&P had a legal dispute in 2009 over the terms of the extension of their administrative services agreement, but the M&P partners and Block eventually agreed to a deal extending the agreement until May 1, 2015 (see McGladrey & Pullen Partners Vote to Reconcile with Block). Since that time, McGladrey & Pullen and RSM McGladrey, which is managed by president C.E. Andrews, have agreed to more closely align their identities by marketing themselves as simply McGladrey, even though they continue to legally exist as separate entities (see McGladrey Rebrands Itself).

Scudder will continue to represent M&P in various professional and industry organizations during the transition, and at the regulatory level, according to the firm. He became McGladrey & Pullen’s managing partner in 2007. Scudder originally joined McGladrey & Pullen in 1986 as a staff accountant in the firm’s Schaumburg, Ill., office, and became a partner in 1995. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and serves on the Center for Audit Quality’s Governing Board.

Scudder informed the board of his decision on February 16, and they mutually agreed on the timing of the transition. “Dave is highly respected by the partners and has led the firm through significant change,” McGladrey & Pullen chairman Jerry Bourassa said in a statement. “He has contributed tremendously to the success of the firm and has been an exemplary leader.”