CALIFORNIA
KENNEDY AND COE AND MATSON AND ISOM TO MERGE
Details: Top 100 Firm Kennedy and Coe LLC plans to combine with Chico, Calif.-based firm Matson and Isom. The meger, which is pending final approvals, is scheduled to close on Jan. 1, 2015.
The new addition will give Kennedy and Coe's revenues a boost from $36 million to approximately $60 million, and its staff will increase from 250 to roughly 375. Jeff Wald will continue as CEO.
The two firms work with businesses throughout the food-supply chain, including input suppliers, processors, packagers, storage and distributors. Both firms help producers handle wildly fluctuating conditions - weather, commodity volatility, land values and economic pressures.
The firms are currently working on a name change, which the newly combined firm will reveal once rebranding efforts are complete.
MINNESOTA
BOYUM & BARENSCHEER ACQUIRES PETERSON, PETERSON & ASSOCIATES
Details: Boyum & Barenscheer CPAs has acquired Peterson, Peterson & Associates CPAs. Boyum & Barenscheer will now employ nearly 60 accounting professionals in offices located in Bloomington and White Bear Lake.
NEW JERSEY
KPMG, ROTHSTEIN KASS MERGER OFFICIAL
Details: KPMG LLP and Rothstein Kass, a Top 100 Firm with a strong focus on the hedge fund industry, have entered into an agreement to merge.
Most of the principals and employees of Rothstein Kass will join KPMG, giving the firm a solid position as a leading provider for the U.S. hedge fund market.
The deal will also boost KPMG's presences in the alternative investments industry and capital markets, which includes the private equity, real estate and infrastructure industry.
"Combining the strength of KPMG and its global reach with Rothstein Kass' leading market position will create the pre-eminent professional services provider in the hedge fund market," KPMG global chairman John Veihmeyer said in a statement.
The accounting profession had been anticipating the team-up, but official discussions didn't start until earlier this year. "Deals of this size take time to come to agreement on," said Scott Ozanus, deputy chairman and chief operating officer of KPMG. "To be quite honest, we didn't literally start talking to the principals of [Rothstein Kass] until January 2014."
"This is a game changer, and we are truly excited by the expanded global opportunities that this combination will present for our clients and our people," Steven Kass, CEO of Rothstein Kass, said in a statement.
In light of the merger, a vast majority of Rothstein Kass principals will be joining KPMG to assist in serving hedge fund clients. In March, an industry observer said that there were a number of respectable accounting firms receiving resumes from Rothstein Kass, most of which came from the alternative investment side of the firm.
MASSACHUSETTS
COHNREZNICK LLP AND ERCOLINI & CO. MERGE
Details: Top 100 Firm CohnReznick LLP and Boston-based Ercolini & Co. have signed a letter of intent to combine practices. The deal was set to close on June 30. The combination more than doubles the size of CohnReznick's Boston practice, which places the firm among the top 15 in the Boston market.
Ercolini & Company will change its name to CohnReznick, and within the next year, all of its employees will move to CohnReznick's office at One Boston Place.
Ercolini & Company was founded in 1974, and currently has 54 employees and nine partners. The firm will enhance CohnReznick's national affordable housing and commercial real estate industry practices. With additional expertise in higher education, hospitality, and other industry sectors, the combination brings new diversification to CohnReznick's Boston practice.
CohnReznick, which has had a presence in Boston since 2008, has 38 employees and six partners in the local office. Its firm-wide resources include dedicated industry practices, specialized assurance, tax, and advisory services, and global reach through Nexia International.
The firm is also an award-winning workplace for its women's program, flexibility, dedicated learning and development department, and community service initiatives.
NEW YORK
WEISERMAZARS COMPLETES ICS CONSULTING PARTNERS ACQUISITION
Details: Top 100 Firm WeiserMazars LLP has completed its merger with ICS Consulting Partners, a boutique internal audit, regulatory compliance and credit risk management consulting firm catering to the banking industry.
ICS's co-founders, John White and John Palmer, are now principals at WeiserMazars, where they will lead the banking internal audit practice along with their ICS professional team.
Long Island accounting firms merge
Details: Mario Conde, formerly a partner at Ambrico Conde CPA LLC, and Joseph Boyce, whose consulting practice specialized in outsourced CFO services for hedge funds, has come together to create CondeBoyce LLP.
Conde specializes in startup firms as well as tax planning, preparation and consulting for small to midsized privately held businesses. Boyce specializes in CFO outsourced services for hedge funds, and high-net-worth individuals.
NORTH CAROLINA
DHG adds Cohen, Rutherford + Knight
Details: Top 100 Firm Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP has added Cohen Rutherford + Knight PC to its national health care practice, DHG Healthcare. The CR+K team brings significant health care assurance and advisory experience to DHG's Mid-Atlantic market.
OHIO
Schoonover Boyer + Associates joins Clark Schaefer Hackett
Details: Top 100 Firm Clark Schaefer Hackett has added the Columbus-based firm Schoonover Boyer + Associates to its firm. The new addition gives CSH's Columbus office 87 associates, which brings the total staff to 394.
CSH is augmenting its bench strength in its affordable housing, nonprofit industry, benefits services and other areas.
The affordable housing industry comprises the largest percentage of SB+A's client base.
PENNSYLVANIA
Stephen Mankowski and Edward Caine agree to merge
Details: Stephen Mankowski CPA of Hatboro, and Edward Caine of Bryn Mawr, Pa., have agreed to merge their practices after becoming friends through their respective leadership positions in the National Conference of CPA Practitioners. Caine is the current president, and Mankowski chairs the Tax Policy Committee and serves as NCCPAP's national secretary. The firm will take on the name EP Caine & Associates CPA LLC.
TEXAS
Ryan acquires Altus International
Details: Ryan, a Dallas-based global tax services firm, has acquired Altus International, a Netherlands-based consulting firm providing transfer pricing, business restructuring, and valuation expertise to multinational companies around the world. The acquisition complements Ryan's international tax expertise with additional global transfer pricing and valuation services.
It also adds an experienced team of professionals to support expansion across Europe. Altus International founders Michel Sijmonsbergen and Roderick Veldhuizen will join the firm's international tax leadership team and will play a significant role in the continued growth of the practice.
WASHINGTON
Eide Bailly adds McDirmid, Mikkelsen & Secrest
Details: Top 100 Firm Eide Bailly has expanded its offering into Washington with the addition of McDirmid, Mikkelsen & Secrest. The combination will bring Eide Bailly's total staff to approximatley 1,350, including 202 partners.
"Moving into the state of Washington continues our strategy west of the Mississippi River and into the Intermountain Region to fully serve mid-market clients," Eide Bailly managing partner and CEO Dave Stende said in a statement. "This growth allows us to continue to build our industry and service specialty to better serve our clients and provide new opportunities for our staff."
MMS partner Andrew McDirmid will serve as the partner-in-charge of the Spokane office. In addition to McDirmid, the following MMS professionals will also be joining Eide Bailly as partners: Curt Andersen, Scott LaPlant, Keith Schmidt, Bill Simer, Leonard Sweet and Shayna Wood.
