PKF O'Connor Davies acquires Topping Kessler

PKF O'Connor Davies, a Top 25 Firm based in New York, is expanding its presence in the Sunshine State by buying Topping, Kessler & Co. in Hollywood, Florida, the latest in a series of M&A deals since PKFOD received private equity funding in 2024.

This is PKFOD's first acquisition in Florida, although the firm has previously established an office in Fort Lauderdale as well as an investment banking group in Palm Beach Gardens. 

"We're really excited about that because it adds some density and capabilities and skills — some critical mass — that we were really looking for down there," said PKFOD managing partner Jonathan Moore. 

The deal stemmed from "good old-fashioned networking" by PKFOD's partners in Florida, he added. "Their ongoing professional collaborations surfaced it," said Moore. "They said it would be a great fit. They got to know the people, and they were right."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. PKFOD ranked No. 25 on Accounting Today's 2025 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $410 million in annual revenue, over 200 partners, more than 1,850 employees, 220 partners and 25 offices. The deal with Topping Kessler will add four more partners, over 30 team members and a single office in Hollywood, Florida, that PKFOD plans to maintain. Some of Topping Kessler's employees may decide to relocate to the Fort Lauderdale office to shorten their commutes, according to Moore.

"Joining PKF O'Connor Davies is an exciting opportunity for both our team and clients," said Topping Kessler partner Elliot Kessler in a statement. "By working together, we'll enhance the resources and expertise available to our clients while continuing to deliver the personalized service they rely on."

Topping Kessler, founded in 1981, primarily specializes in clients in the financial services industry, as well as some clients in sports and entertainment. It also provides private client services to high net worth individuals. Its main specialty is taxes.

"We're excited to welcome the talented professionals at Topping Kessler to the PKF O'Connor Davies team," said PKFOD CEO Kevin Keane in a statement. "Their deep expertise and longstanding client relationships complement our firm's strengths and reinforce our ability to meet the evolving needs of clients across Florida and beyond."

In 2024, PKFOD announced that it had received funding from Investcorp, a global alternative investment firm, and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, one of Canada's largest pension investment managers. The extra funding has enabled the firm to continue its long history of M&A transactions.

Earlier this month, PKFOD added Bowman & Co., a firm with three offices in Southern New Jersey and a specialty in municipal and governmental accounting. Last month, PKFOD acquired Wolf Maryles & Associates in New York City. In June, it merged in Rainer & Co. in Philadelphia. In 2024, PKFOD merged in Robert Philipson & Co. in Silver Spring, Maryland. In 2023, PKF O'Connor Davies merged in Archambault & Associates in Wakefield, Massachusetts. In 2022, PKFOD added Judelson, Giordano and Siegel in Middletown and Poughkeepsie, New York, and Simon, Tapper, Edelman & Wilner in Hackensack, New Jersey. In 2021, it acquired LB Goodman & Co. in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and DGC LLP in Boston.

The outside investment has enabled the firm to continue that growth.

"We've integrated 24 firms since 2011, so we've always had M&A as part of our growth strategy, and organic growth," said Moore. "That investment has helped us now to accelerate our ability to do these types of investments, especially as the marketplace has evolved in terms of how these investments are structured, where more firms are looking for cash upfront. ... It's also added a different lens in terms of how we evaluate investment opportunities or acquisition of firms, which has really been a positive for us."

"As a firm, PKF O'Connor Davies has a 130-plus year history, and so it became a deliberate decision for us to look for outside capital in terms of some objectives that we had," Moore added. "That selection process was very intentional and methodical. It took over a year."

While it's not unusual anymore for accounting firms to have PE investors, PKFOD is unusual in having a pension fund investor. "Because they're a pension fund, they have a longer time horizon in terms of their ability to invest in companies and continue to back companies, so it gives us a unique blend where we don't feel like we necessarily have that same pressure if we just had a private equity fund in here who needed to make a return in the next four to five years and get out," Moore said. "We think we have investors that have more of a patient capital mindset, so that helps us feel we can continue to be very intentional about the investments we're making and how we're spending our time. When we look at that, we feel that we've really been able to preserve our independence and our culture while essentially adding scale and resources."

Moore has long experience in working with private equity firms as clients over his 30-year career and seen firsthand how they have been able to transform different professions and industries while working with founders and helping them to enhance investments they're making in their business and continue to grow. 

He foresees making further acquisitions later this year, expanding further on the East Coast, especially in Florida and the Washington, D.C., area, and possibly expanding into California, Tennessee and Texas.

"When we have venture capital, private equity and financial services clients, it does help to have a beachhead on the West Coast, but be highly selective," said Moore. "Once we get a little further outside of our geography, it has to be of a certain size that makes sense strategically."