CALIFORNIA
K*Coe Isom debuts
Details: The merger of Top 100 Firm Kennedy and Coe, and the Chico, Calif.-based firm Matson and Isom is officially complete. The combined firm, which primarily serves the food and agriculture industry, now operates under the name K*Coe Isom. It has approximately $56.3 million in revenue and 360 people, who provide services in the U.S. and abroad.
The two initially announced plans to merge in June 2014. "We first explored merging because Kennedy and Coe and Matson and Isom both originated in rural communities in Kansas and Northern California, respectively, where agriculture and food production were, and still are, predominant," explained Jeff Wald, K*Coe Isom's CEO.
Ramirez JimenezInternationalandRobertCasillas combine
Details: Ramirez Jimenez International has completed its merger with Robert J. Casillas Accountancy Corp. of Riverside. Robert J. Casillas Accountancy Corp. has been providing income tax preparation, payroll reporting, bookkeeping and financial statement assurance services to the Inland Empire for over 25 years.
VLS merges in Frankeberger Vausher
Details: Vicenti, Lloyd & Stutzman LLP has merged in Frankeberger Vausher + Co. CPAs. According to VLS co-managing partner Linda Saddlemire, "As one of the largest CPA firms in Los Angeles County, VLS is always looking for ways to broaden our abilities to serve existing clients and to reach out to new markets. Frankeberger Vausher has large client bases in the automotive dealership and restaurant industries, which are a great fit for VLS."
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut firms pair up
Details: Beers, Hamerman & Co., of New Haven, and Cohen, Burger, Schwartz & Sax LLC, of Fairfield, have merged. The combined firm will operate under the name Beers, Hamerman, Cohen & Burger PC. The firm will keep offices at 234 Church St. in New Haven, and 2228 Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield, and will serve clients in Connecticut and New York. The combined firm now has 46 employees.
Stamford firms come together
Details: Dylewsky, Goldberg & Brenner LLC, of Stamford, has merged with Susan L. Neville CPA. The combined firm will continue to operate as Dylewsky, Goldberg & Brenner. Neville will maintain her office in its current Westport location, and will become a partner in the firm.
FLORIDA
South Florida firms merge
Details: Mallah, Furman & Co. PA and Levin, Silvey, Zelko & Mackey PA have merged. Both firms serve a broad-based clientele, which includes high-net-worth individuals, as well as domestic and international privately held family-owned companies and publicly owned companies. All Levin, Silvey, Zelko & Mackey personnel have been retained and the firm will operate out of Mallah Furman's Fort Lauderdale location.
MASSACHUSETTS
KLR and Freshman & Ferraro merge
Details: Top 100 Firm KLR has merged with Freshman & Ferraro PC. The merger is part of KLR's strategic plan to strengthen its international tax practice in Boston.
Ken Freshman and Joann Ferraro will join KLR as principals and five additional staff members will join the firm as part of the merger. The firm will expand its Boston office and remain on Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay area.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Baker Newman Noyes completes merger
Details: Baker Newman Noyes announced that the merger between Manchester-based accounting firm William Steele & Associates PC and BNN is complete. The combined team will operate from BNN's downtown Manchester office.
NEW YORK
O'Connor Davies acquires Daniel J. McMahon Co.
Details: Top 100 Firm O'Connor Davies makes its first acquisition of the year with the addition of Daniel J. McMahon Co. This addition is part of O'Connor Davies' growth over the past 24 months, in which it has increased its employee base from 399 to 550 across a variety of specialty practices. O'Connor Davies now employs 90 partners throughout the Northeast.
Nussbaum Yates Berg Klein & Wolpow adds Want & Ender
Details: Nussbaum Yates Berg Klein & Wolpow LLP and Want & Ender CPA PC have merged. The combined firm will operate as Nussbaum Yates Berg Klein & Wolpow. Long Island-based Nussbaum Yates specializes in accounting, auditing, tax and business advisory services. The merger with Want & Ender, a boutique New York City firm, will further its reputation in service to high-net-worth individuals and family groups.
Smolen Bonghi and David J. Fleischmann merge
Details: Smolen Bonghi CPAs has agreed to merge with David J. Fleischmann CPA PC of Clarence, N.Y. The combined firm will take on the name Smolen Bonghi Fleischmann LLP, and employ about 10 people full-time.
Lougen Valenti Bookbinder & Weintraub adds Amherst firm
Details: Lougen Valenti Bookbinder & Weintraub LLP has merged with Amherst, N.Y.-based Borelli & LiPuma LLP. The new addition has increased Lougen Valenti Bookbinder & Weintraub's staff to 28. Borelli & LiPuma's founders, Gerald Borelli and Michele LiPuma, have joined Lougen Valenti as principals.
Southern Tier firms combine
Details: Johnson, Lauder & Savidge LLP and Esserman & Pelter LLP have merged their practices, effective January 1. The combined firm, which will practice under the Johnson, Lauder & Savidge name, will continue operations in its current locations of Binghamton and Endicott, N.Y., and Montrose, Pa.
Johnson, Lauder & Savidge, founded in 1945, has five partners and 14 staff members. Esserman & Pelter, which has an office in Endicott, has been in business for more than 35 years. The firm has two partners and four staff members.
NORTH CAROLINA
Cherry Bekaert expands in Raleigh
Details: Top 100 Firm Cherry Bekaert has acquired Thomas, Knight, Trent, King and Co. The addition has approximately 17 professionals in the Raleigh-Durham market, boosting Cherry Bekaert's practice there to 105 employees.
Former Thomas, Knight, Trent, King shareholders Pamela Brinkley, Ronnie Eubanks and Steve Hancock will join Cherry Bekaert as partners.
ONTARIO
BDO Canada merges in Dube & Cuttini
Details: Dube & Cuttini Chartered Accountants, of Kitchener, Ont., has merged with BDO Canada. The combination took effect January 1, and Dube & Cuttini will operate under the BDO name. Dube & Cuttini's two partners -- George Dube and Peter Cuttini - and 15 staff will join BDO's team in Kitchener and Waterloo. BDO said it will benefit from Dube & Cuttini's strong presence in the real estate, technology, medical, media and entertainment sectors. After the merger, BDO will have 11 partners and 89 accountants and other staff in Kitchener and Waterloo.
TEXAS
Ryan adds to tax technology practice
Details: Ryan, a global tax services firm, has acquired Taxaccord, a tax automation services firm supporting multinational corporations worldwide with complex tax software implementation and process improvement solutions.
The acquisition complements Ryan's tax technology practice and brings an additional team of global tax technology professionals with systems integration expertise and knowledge in supply chain, finance, tax and information technology. Taxaccord founders Angela Myers, Mike Reigle and Geoff Peck will join the firm's tax technology leadership team and play a significant role in the continued growth of the practice.
VIRGINIA
Gross Mendelsohn pairs with Vogel, Dean & Lill
Details: Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates has merged with Vogel, Dean & Lill PLLC, of Fairfax. The merger gives Gross Mendelsohn an opportunity to expand its presence into Northern Virginia.
Partners Mark Vogel and Taylor Dean joined Gross Mendelsohn along with seven employees. Vogel, Dean & Lill is known for its litigation support, business valuation and government contracting expertise. This merger, the second in two years for Gross Mendelsohn, brings the firm's total personnel count to about 120. Two years ago the firm acquired Cox Ferber & Associates, adding one partner and six employees to the Baltimore office.
WASHINGTON
Yakima Valley firms merge
Details: Prosser-based Newhouse & Associates merged its practice with Yakima-based Alegria & Co. The merged firms will operate under the Alegria & Co. name. The firm will have more than 30 employees with the merger, including six partners. Newhouse & Associates has served clients in the Lower Yakima Valley for more than 20 years, focusing mainly on closely held businesses and agricultural clients. Alegria & Co. will retain all of Newhouse's staff as well as its Prosser location. Accountants will work out of both the Yakima and the Prosser locations.
WISCONSIN
Wipfli acquires two firms
Details: Top 100 Firm Wipfli LLP has acquired two firms -- Philadelphia-based Elko & Associates Ltd., and Helena, Mont.-based Galusha, Higgins & Galusha. "We've been searching for an exceptional firm to merge with in the Northeastern United States to expand our firm into that area of the country, and found Elko," said Rick Dreher, managing partner of Wipfli LLP.
"We are excited to join a firm with a similar client service philosophy and similar values. This combination with Wipfli is a positive development for our clients and our associates," Michael Pozielli, managing director of Elko, said in a statement. As part of this combination, 81 Elko professionals, including 12 partners, have joined Wipfli.
Its second addition, GHG, will strengthen and expand Wipfli's physical presence in the Northwestern United States, building a more diverse set of services to complement Wipfli's existing Spokane, Wash., office, Dreher explained.
As part of this combination, the nearly 140 GHG professionals, including 22 partners, have joined Wipfli. Founded in 1919, GHG is one of the largest privately owned accounting firms in Southeast Idaho and Montana. The firm has six full-service offices located in Montana, a full-service office in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and multiple day-offices located throughout Montana.
The combination of Elko and GHG increased Wipfli's staff to approximately 1,400 associates and 170 partners, with 31 office locations.
