CALIFORNIA
Clifton Gunderson acquires LA forensic practice
Details: National firm Clifton Gunderson has acquired Durkin Forensic, a Los Angeles-based forensic accounting firm. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. Ronald Durkin will join Clifton as a partner and national practice leader of fraud and misconduct investigations.
FLORIDA
St. Petersburg firms merge
Details: Gregory, Sharer & Stuart PA and Hevia Beagles & Co. PA have combined forces under the GSS name. Dan Hevia became the newest shareholder in GSS, and with his staff will be moving into GSS's offices in downtown St. Petersburg.
Gilman Ciocia acquires Hoffman Levy
Details: Gilman Ciocia has acquired Hoffman, Levy, Bengio & Co. PL, a Hollywood, Fla., firm. HLB has relocated its operations into Gilman Ciocia's office in Aventura, Fla. Financial details were not disclosed. As part of the transaction, KGC Associates CPAs PC acquired the attest business of HLB. KGC is a CPA firm that is associated with Gilman Ciocia under an alternative practice structure.
CBH folds in staff of shuttering firm
Details: Regional firm Cherry, Bekaert & Holland is adding 14 partners and 100 associates from Berenfeld Spritzer Shechter & Sheer, a firm based in Coral Gables, Fla., that is liquidating. The firm, founded in 1971, had been fighting a $160 million investor lawsuit stemming from a client's $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. Berenfeld partners sent e-mails to professional contacts throughout South Florida in December, saying the firm was filing for liquidation.
GEORGIA
Atlanta firms combine
Details: Atlanta firms Windham Brannon and Tarpley & Underwood have agreed to combine under the Windham Brannon name. They will keep both office locations open in Atlanta through at least the end of tax season. Financial details of the merger were not disclosed.
MASSACHUSETTS
BlumShapiro merges in Needel Welch
Details: West Hartford, Conn.-based BlumShapiro has merged in Rockland, Mass.-based accounting, tax and business consulting firm Needel, Welch & Stone, expanding the firm's presence in Massachusetts. The merger is expected to increase BlumShapiro's revenue by nearly 8 percent.
NEVADA
Gallina merges in Zanoni
Details: Regional firm Gallina LLP has expanded to Las Vegas by merging in Zanoni & Co. LLP, adding a new territory to the West Coast practice of the Roseville, Calif.-based firm. Financial terms of the deal with Zanoni were not disclosed. Zanoni's Las Vegas office will add 10team members to bring Gallina's staff to over 200. Zanoni MP John Zanoni was formerly a team member at Gallina.
NEW JERSEY
Wiss merges in local N.J. firm
Details: Regional firm Wiss & Co. has merged with Flemington, N.J.-based Cust, Dori & Benick. Terms of the union were not disclosed. Four CDB partners and 10 staff members have joined Wiss. CDB will do business as Cust, Dori & Benick, a Division of Wiss & Co.
Schwendt joins Bartolomei Pucciarelli
Details: Bartolomei Pucciarelli has merged in the accounting practice of Joseph H. Schwendt, CPA, expanding the firm's client base in New Jersey. Bartolomei Pucciarelli managing partner James Bartolomei was a student of Schwendt's when he taught at Rider University. Schwendt will be joining as a principal at his former student's firm.
NEW MEXICO
Clifton Gunderson acquires Meyners
Details: Clifton Gunderson has expanded its presence in New Mexico, acquiring Albuquerque-based Meyners + Co., for an undisclosed sum. This is the seventh acquisition for Milwaukee-based Clifton Gunderson since last May, and adds 58 staff members and five partners, with the exception of managing partner Bruce Malott, who will be starting his own practice with a small list of clients. The acquisition is expected to add $9 million in revenue to Clifton's Albuquerque office. The two firms were in talks for only about 60 days.
NEW YORK
Morrison Brown merges in ERE
Details: Miami-based firm Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra LLC has combined with ERE LLP to create MBAF-ERE CPAs LLC, a Division of MBAF, creating one of the 40 largest firms in the U.S., with more than $85 million in annual revenue. Morrison Brown had $64.2 million in revenues in 2009, while ERE had $21 million. Financial terms were not disclosed.
VDD&W merges in downstate firm
Details: Newburgh, N.Y.-based Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni & Weddell has merged in Lesnick and Paradie, a Tarrytown, N.Y.-based practice. Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed.
WTP Advisors acquires consultancy
Details: Tax and business advisory firm WTP Advisors, in White Plains, N.Y., has acquired New York-based hedge fund consultancy Sala Associates.Terms were not disclosed. Going forward, Sala Associates will do business as WTP Capital Markets. Louis J. Sala, principal and founder of Sala, will come aboard as chief executive of WTP Capital Markets.
RSSM merges in Kahn Hoffman
Details: Rosen Seymour Shapss Martin & Co. LLP has merged Kahn, Hoffman & Hochman LLP CPAs into its practice. KH&H will operate under the name Kahn Hoffman & Hochman LLC, a Division of RSSM LLP. The merger adds 40 accountants to RSSM, including four partners. Michael Hochman will be the partner-in-charge of operations in the New City office. Financial terms were not disclosed.
OHIO
Howard Wershbale merges in Cummins Krasik & Hohl
Details: Howard, Wershbale & Co. has merged in Cummins Krasik & Hohl.Financial terms were not disclosed.CKH partner Bert Cummins will join HW, along with five staff members. Howard Wershbale, which has 18 partners, has offices in Columbus and Cleveland.
ONTARIO
Deloitte merges in Managerial Design
Details: Managerial Design, a management process consulting firm based in Oakville, Ont., has merged with Deloitte.
SOUTHEAST
Dixon Hughes merges with Goodman
Details: Dixon Hughes PLLC and Goodman & Co. LLP announced plans to merge on March 1, to create Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, the largest CPA firm based in the South and the 13th largest in the country. The new firm will be headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., and will have 1,700 people in 30 offices in 11 states and Washington, D.C. Terms were not disclosed. Goodman MP Thomas Wilson will become deputy chairman and COO; Dixon Hughes chair Charles Edgar Sams Jr. will continue to serve as chair; and Dixon Hughes CEO Kenneth Hughes will also remain in his position.
M&Jmerges in two firms
Details: Atlanta-based Mauldin & Jenkins has merged in two accounting firms in the South: CPA Associates in Bradenton, Fla., and Evers & Fox in Atlanta.
Financial terms of the mergers were not disclosed. Following the completion of the deals, Mauldin & Jenkins is expected to have revenues of $41 million, 43 partners and 240 staff.
TENNESSEE
Pugh acquires Bacon Howard
Details: Pugh & Co. PC has acquired the Knoxville and Oak Ridge practices of Bacon Howard & Co. CPAs. Financial details were not disclosed. Twelve employees will be joining Pugh from Bacon Howard, including seven CPAs. Pugh will now have approximately 65 total professionals, 50 of whom are CPAs.
TEXAS
Jaynes Reitmeier merges in Popejoy
Details: Jaynes, Reitmeier, Boyd & Therrell PC has merged in the accounting practice of Dan L. Popejoy & Associates PC, in Austin. Financial terms were not disclosed. Popejoy established his CPA practice in 2006. JRB&T has offices in Austin, Huntsville and Waco.
Weaver merges in L.T. Hawthorne
Details: CPA firm Weaver has merged with L.T. Hawthorne & Associates Inc., expanding the firm's services for the petroleum and renewable fuel industries. The Houston-based Hawthorne team will be joining Weaver's Renewable and Energy Compliance Practice.
WASHINGTON
LarsonAllen acquires Washington firm
Details: LarsonAllen has acquired Kennewick, Wash.-based Hansen NvO, following the sudden death of founder and CEO Scott Hansen. Terms were not disclosed. The deal adds two partners, six employees, and Hansen's two offices in Kennewick and Yakima.
