The Global Alliance and Moore Stephens North America Inc. will merge to create one of the largest CPA firm associations. To be known as Moore Stephens North America, the association is represented by 35 firms with gross revenues of over $600 million.
Though the Global Alliance consists of larger firms, Moore Stephens is a more established name in the accounting industry and the new organization will remain a part of Moore Stephens International Ltd. According to the new association, its revenue base will place it within the top 10 of all U.S. CPA firms.
MSNA has a large firm group comprising 17 firms each with gross fees in excess of $15 million, while the worldwide network consists of over 330 leading independent accounting and consulting firms with more than 500 offices in over 90 countries, with total worldwide revenues of almost $1.25 billion.
Mark Garten, managing partner of New York-based Mahoney Cohen & Co. and chair of the Global Alliance, worked with Thomas Rosenbach, managing partner of Beene Garter in Grand Rapids and chair of Moore Stephens North America, to review the mutual benefits of bringing both groups together.
"We see this combination with Moore Stephens as a way not only to broaden our members' geographical service reach in North America, but also to serve the diverse needs of international clients who are a growing part of our service portfolios," said Garten, in a statement. He will become the chair of the merged association.
CPA Steven Sacks, who will serve as executive director of the merged association, said that with the Big Four firms shedding audit work to regional and midsized firms, the merger will allow members the opportunity to deliver a broader array of value-added services.MSNA's operations will be relocated from Bethesda, Md., to New York City. The association will continue to foster collaboration on client engagements both domestically and internationally, provide business referrals, and operate special interest groups for the generation of ideas and information exchange. Other member benefits will include continuing education, conferences, workshops, alliances with strategic partners and a Web site for conducting research and sharing information.
