BDO USA has added the six partners and more than 60 staff members of the San Antonio-based accounting firm Carneiro, Chumney & Co., effectively merging in the firm and expanding BDO’s presence in Texas.
Carneiro’s San Antonio office will join BDO’s other Texas offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston. “We view Texas as a great growth area for us,” said Steve Ferrara, regional business line leader of BDO’s central region and assurance services business line leader. “They were previously part of our BDO Alliance network. Their firm had some expertise in the nonprofit arena, so we could take that expertise and leverage it locally. Joining BDO will help them expand their business in other industry groups where we have expertise.”
The merger took effect on Tuesday, November 1. Bob McAdams, the former managing partner of Carneiro, is joining BDO on Tuesday along with the rest of his firm. He said that Carneiro Chumney would continue to exist as a legal entity temporarily in order to collect any receivables and bill for any work in process up through Monday, but afterward the old firm will terminate upon liquidation of its collectable accounts.
He has known BDO well over the years since his firm joined the BDO Seidman Alliance in 1999.
“We were very comfortable with them and their resources,” said McAdams. “Our strategic planning for Carneiro Chumney & Co. was to bring in more opportunity and more resources, including technologically, all the things that successful CPA firms look for. BDO approached us. They look at the Texas market as being a vibrant and growing one, with their offices in Texas, Austin, and Houston, the Texas triangle.”
Both firms spent several months doing due diligence, and the partners at Carneiro felt that the best way to accomplish the firm’s strategic goals was to join BDO.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. BDO ranked seventh on Accounting Today’s 2011 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $585 million in annual revenue. McAdams declined to provide Carneiro’s revenue, but he noted that his firm ranked as the third largest firm in San Antonio based on staff size.
