Stephano Slack, a firm based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, added Morgenstern Waxman Ellershaw LLC, headquartered in Marlton, New Jersey, effective Jan. 1, 2024.
MWE's origins date back nearly a century, 98 years, and it specializes in serving privately owned businesses and high-net-worth individuals with accounting, auditing and tax services; business valuation aid; accounting software selection and implementation support; financial planning; and management advisory services and business planning. The firm is led by partners Richard Morgenstern, Gary Waxman and Robert Ellershaw. MWE will bring 15 new people to Stephano Slack's 35 CPAs and 75 total employees. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Optimum Strategies CEO Ira Rosenbloom acted as strategic advisor to the parties for the transaction.
The two firms see their partnership as driven by aligned cultures and similar firm values of dedication to quality, client service, community involvement and staff well-being.
"Distinguishing our footprint in New Jersey was a logical next step for Stephano Slack as it complements our Wayne, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware, offices by giving us a strategic advantage to serve the market east of Philadelphia," said Stephano Slack founder and managing partner Michael Stephano in a statement. "We're excited to welcome such a strong, capable team to the firm and look forward to supporting them in efficiently and effectively serving their clients."
MWE serves similar industries as Stephano Slack, including distribution and wholesale, manufacturing and production, not-for-profit organizations, real estate, retail and food.
"We are really excited by the partnership with Mike and the Stephano Slack team and the positive impact it will have on our staff and our clientele," said MWE managing partner Rick Morgenstern in a statement. "We greatly value all of these relationships. Our firm has a long history of expert and deeply attentive client service that we look forward to continuing long into the future."
