M&A roundup: BDO, RubinBrown, Wessel and Hancock Askew expand

June 30, 2020 3:00 PM

BDO USA is adding CFO Advisors and MorganFranklin Consulting’s public sector practice; RubinBrown Advisors combines with Wealth Management Advisors; Wessel & Company merges in Perry & Company; and CA P.A. joins Hancock Askew & Co.

BDO merges in CFO Advisors and MorganFranklin Consulting’s public sector practice

The New York offices of Top 10 Firm BDO USA

BDO New York offices

Photo: Richard Falco

Details: BDO USA LLP has added six partners and professionals from CFO Advisors LLC, a national professional services firm that offers outsourced CFO and chief data officer services to restaurant and retail groups across the country. The deal is expected to be completed July 15. BDO plans to maintain CFO Advisors’ office in Detroit.

“Our clients look to us as a key member of their team and appreciate our breadth of experience, depth of knowledge, and strong network,” said Gregg Thomas, partner and founder of CFO Advisors, in a statement Tuesday. “Combining with BDO will allow us to extend our reach and transform services for our clients across the country, bringing direct access to the services they need now, and will need in the future."

CFO Advisors has $1.4 million in annual revenue and six employees.

BDO has also brought in MorganFranklin Consulting’s public sector practice, which works with government agencies, such as the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Labor, and various civilian and defense agencies and commands in the greater Washington D.C. area, along with several state and local government entities.

Financial terms of both deals were not disclosed.

“As our public sector team prepares to transition to BDO, we are grateful for their client work as well their contributions to our strong culture, which aligns well with BDO’s dedication to helping people thrive,” said MorganFranklin managing partner and CEO Chris Mann in a statement. “This divestiture helps MorganFranklin sharpen our focus on the continued expansion of our core commercial consulting business.”

MorganFranklin Consulting's public sector practice earns $14 million in annual revenue and will add a total of 72 people to BDO, including two partners.

By divesting the public sector practice, MorganFranklin will now focus on expanding its commercial consulting business as Vaco’s global consulting platform. The deal is expected to be completed July 16.

“MorganFranklin Consulting’s strong relationships, distinguished reputation and proud service history in the public sector have made them the top choice for federal and state and local government agencies,” said BDO USA CEO Wayne Berson in a statement Tuesday. “Their trusted public sector leadership team and demonstrated quality and consistency of work bolsters our practice and enhances our offerings for current and future clients in the D.C. market and beyond. We look forward to welcoming the talented professionals from MorganFranklin Consulting’s public sector practice to BDO.”

BDO ranked 7th on Accounting Today’s 2020 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $1.64 billion in annual revenue. The firm has over 600 partners and 7,000 employees. Earlier this month, BDO added Piercy Bowler Taylor & Kern, CPAs, a firm based in Las Vegas, expanding BDO’s presence in Nevada and Utah. At the beginning of the year, BDO added Biegel Waller Investment Advisory Services and Biegel Waller Tax Advisory Services in Columbia, Maryland.

RubinBrown Advisors combines with Wealth Management Advisors

Outside RubinBrown Office; Sunny; Building; Clouds

Details: RubinBrown Advisors, a wholly owned investment advisory affiliate of Top 100 Firm RubinBrown LLP, is adding Wealth Management Advisors Inc., a firm based in Leawood, Kansas.

Wealth Management Advisors has been a registered investment advisory firm since 1993. It has over 300 clients and oversees approximately $470 million of assets under management. The combined firm will operate as RubinBrown Advisors and will maintain its office location in Leawood.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but RubinBrown Advisors will have approximately $1.7 billion of assets under management after the combination. RubinBrown ranked 47th on Accounting Today’s 2020 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $116 million in annual revenue. RubinBrown dates back to 1952 and launched its RubinBrown Advisors subsidiary in 2002 to provide investment advisory and financial planning services to clients.

“We are thrilled to join with RubinBrown Advisors,” said Wealth Management Advisors president Kevin S. McGrew in a statement. “We have received multiple offers to join other firms over the years, but with RubinBrown Advisors, all of the boxes were checked. I have been a client of RubinBrown for many years. Our investment and client service philosophies match up and our team is able to stay together in the same location.”

The combination took effect May 1, 2020, but was announced last week.

Wessel & Co. merges in Perry & Co.

Details: Perry & Co. PC, a firm based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, is joining Wessel & Co., a firm in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, effective July 1. The combined firm will operate under Wessel’s name.

Perry & Co. managing partner Dominic Perry founded his firm over a decade ago after acquiring an accounting practice from a group of retiring partners. His firm’s three offices are located in Cranberry, Greensburg and Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. “We are excited to join Wessel & Company as both of our firms have similar missions of helping clients grow and thrive,” Perry said in a statement last week. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Wessel & Co. dates back over 60 years and belongs to the BDO Alliance USA. “The merger strengthens our regional reach and furthers our goal of providing the best possible service to our clients,” said Wessel & Co. CEO Joel Valentine in a statement. “This will also allow us to streamline our processes and further strengthens the firm’s reputation in Pennsylvania.”

CA P.A. joins Hancock Askew & Co.

Details: Hancock Askew & Co., a tax, audit, accounting and advisory firm in Georgia and Florida, is adding Craig Armstrong and his team at CA P.A. (also known as CAPA), a local Miami tax and accounting practice.

Armstrong will join the leadership team of Hancock Askew’s Miami office along with tax partner Patricia Siles and audit principal Alfredo Reynoso.

Through the merger, Hancock Askew will expand its Miami office, which opened in 2016. Armstrong and his team members will be moving into Hancock Askew’s Coral Gables office. Hancock Askew and CAPA serve similar client bases and plan to further expand their tax, audit, accounting and advisory services to the Greater South Florida area and to international markets.

Hancock Askew, based in Savannah, Georgia, ranked 19th on Accounting Today’s 2020 Regional Leaders list for the Top Firms in the Southeast, with $19.05 million in annual revenue.

CAPA specializes in tax, accounting and consulting services for clients such as high-net-worth individuals, businesses and international clients. The firms view their services as aligning well with each other.

“CAPA holds similar values and practices to ours,” said Hancock Askew managing partner Michael McCarthy in a statement Monday. “We are excited to have them become a part of the Hancock Askew family in Miami. This merger allows us to strengthen our South Florida practice and develop new service offerings with a larger team."

“We are excited for the opportunity to provide additional services to our clients and work with other professionals in various specialties,” said Armstrong in a statement. “As we join Hancock Askew, we are committed to maintaining excellence in client service and quality of work.”