Public accounting firm Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra LLC combined Tuesday with ERE LLP to create MBAF-ERE CPAs LLC, a division of MBAF.
The merger between Miami-based MBAF and New York City-based ERE creates one of the 40 largest accounting and consulting firms in the U.S., with more than $85 million in annual revenue. The combined firm will focus on tax and accounting, audit, technology consulting, litigation support, business valuation, fiscal and infrastructure consulting, trusts and estates, and private wealth services. Morrison Brown ranked 41st on Accounting Today’s 2010 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $64.2 million. ERE's annual revenues were $21 million in 2009. However, the exact terms of the financial transaction were not disclosed.
With more than 400 employees, the firm has offices in Miami, New York; Baltimore; Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla.; Boulder, Colo.; Chicago; Valhalla, N.Y.; and India.
“We were looking to strategically expand and found a mutually beneficial opportunity with ERE, a strong and valued firm in its markets,” said MBAF CEO and managing partner Tony Argiz in a statement. “With this combination, we are further strengthening our high level of commitment to client service across multiple markets and industries.”
Argiz noted that ERE’s team of professionals complemented his firm’s core practices and corporate culture.
“We decided to grow our practice because we believe that a larger organization will provide our clients with a greater selection of services and an unmatched professional staff,” said ERE managing partner Ira Rubenstein. “MBAF and ERE share many common goals, and at the top is our commitment to client service. Our shared culture of being an employer of choice means our staff will seamlessly integrate to make our expanded services available quickly.”
The combination of the firms also offers expansion opportunities for affiliate consulting firms, Fiscal Management Associates and Solutions@MBAF LLC. FMA, an affiliate of ERE, focuses on business consulting services to the nonprofit sector and has offices in Chicago and New York.
The combination will provide synergy to MBAF’s extensive nonprofit accounting and auditing practice. In addition, Solutions@MBAF offers technology consulting services to organizations on a local and international level in networking and communications, software development and integration, business process automation, computer assurance and customer service solutions.
The firms have prepared a video to share the news with clients
