The 259th Largest Accounting Firm Just Skipped the Line to Number 20 With Wipfli Merger
Milwaukee’s Wipfli — one of the only top 25 firms on Accounting Today’s 2023 Top 100 to have lost partners — announced on Monday it has entered into a merger agreement with Clayton & McKervey, the itty bitty Southfield, MI firm we mentioned in January for their partnership with Adrian College to help unlicensed staff […]
Baker Tilly Will Be Making Moves
A couple months ago I guessed that Baker Tilly was working on a big merger — to which a merger expert I pester from time to time asked incredulously “with who?” (paraphrased) — and then suddenly CEO Alan Whitman up and left making me think maybe I was wrong. Whitman’s sudden departure was a little […]
Berdon Got a Lot of Dates But Ultimately Chose to Hook Up With Citrin Cooperman
Thanks to the commenter who brought this to our attention. Accounting firm merger madness continues, this time the union of Citrin Cooperman and Berdon announced on the 1st. We should have seen it coming as Citrin Cooperman has been busy the last 15 months, growing revenue by $200 million and completing several mergers since private […]
Don’t Be Surprised to See Accounting Firms Aggressively Merging in the Next Year or Two
Have you heard? There’s an accountant shortage! This is probably coming as a shock to you but it’s true. Firms are trying all sorts of tricks to find and retain talent but the problem may be deeper than not having the right set of perks but rather an actual shortage of qualified talent. This issue […]
Rumor: BKD Is Going to Merge With Either DHG, Moss Adams, or Plante Moran Today (CONFIRMED: BKD and DHG)
[Updated below with information about BKD and DHG merger.] This came through the tipline a little bit ago: To be announced later today, two top 20 firms will merge and create a new top 10 firm. Our tipster proceeded to give us a hint that narrowed the field down a bit: It’s two praxity alliance […]
CBIZ CEO Slaps Everyone On the Back For a Job Well Done On Acquisition of Marks Paneth
A fairly big public accounting firm acquisition was announced earlier today, as top 11 firm CBIZ went shopping and picked up a Marks Paneth, ranked No. 43 in INSIDE Public Accounting’s top 100 firms list for 2021, reportedly for $81 million. With the acquisition, CBIZ is expected to gain an additional $138 million of revenue […]
Private Equity Is Now Dipping Its Toes In Public Accounting Firms
In early August, EisnerAmper announced a “strategic investment” in the firm courtesy of investment management firm TowerBrook Capital Partners, the first of its kind for a firm of that size. The door is now wide open for private equity to get a piece of the accounting pie. Per the press release: TowerBrook’s significant capital infusion […]
Apparently BDO and Moore Stephens Are Gonna Hook Up
The days of Grant Thornton being the fifth-largest accounting firm in the United Kingdom appear to be numbered, as Moore Stephens, a top 10 firm in the U.K., is reportedly getting into bed with BDO, the sixth-largest U.K. firm. The Times in London wrote yesterday: BDO, the accountancy and business advisory firm, has confirmed that […]
Why a Top 50 CPA Firm Just Acquired a Cloud Accounting Firm
The march toward proliferation of cloud accounting across the industry has taken another step. To meet the growing demand by global clients for anytime, anywhere access to financial information, Aprio, LLP, a full-service, CPA-led business advisory firm, has entered into an agreement to acquire HPC, a technology-driven, cloud-based accounting firm with a global footprint. We […]
Aprio Itchin’ to Close Deal on Acquisition of Cloud Accounting Firm HPC
Aprio LLP’s proposed acquisition of HPC seems like a match made in cloud accounting heaven. The closing of the deal between Aprio, the fifth-largest accounting firm in Atlanta, and HPC, a cloud-based accounting practice that services it clients online, is still subject to certain contingencies, officials from both firms said. Financial terms of the agreement […]
Oh Great, Public Accounting Discovered the Selfie Stick
The New York Times reported the arrival of the selfie stick in January of 2015. Then it stated that selfie sticks were mainstream in March. Then in July, it received the satirical Q&A treatment. Finally, in August there was the think piece. Yes, the selfie stick think piece. In other words, the rise and fall […]
A Guide for Single Accountants Looking for Love This Valentine’s Day
It's February and you know what that means. No, we don't mean you're just getting into the swing of busy season. Valentine's Day is upon us, which means another reminder that your work life doesn't allow the luxury of a relationship or women at the bar who are not impressed when you tell them "I'm […]
Now That Ryan Has Acquired WTP Advisors, What Happens to the Unlimited Vacation Policy?
First, the news. Ryan has acquired WTP Advisors. We didn't get the scoop on this like we do many acquisitions because apparently no one cares. From the press release: Ryan, a leading global tax services firm with the largest indirect and property tax practices in North America, today announced that the Firm has signed an […]
McGladrey Boldly Declares They Now Own the Middle Market in Ohio
While no one else was paying attention, McGladrey quietly gobbled up a Cincinnati accounting firm, completely dominating the middle market for the fine state of Ohio. First Ohio; next, the world. According to Cincinnati Business Courier: Battelle Rippe Kingston has reached a definitive agreement with Chicago-based McGladrey LLP in which McGladrey will acquire "substantially all […]
Ex-Employee Chronicles Grant Thornton’s Gutting of CCR After Acquisition
A few Accounting News Roundups ago, Colin linked to a story about Grant Thornton's new tax hub in Bangalore. In that article, GT CEO Stephen Chipman enthusiastically declared his own tax return is prepared by Indians in Bangalore, which is fine for him. What Colin didn't highlight was this quote, in which Chipman declares hiring […]
Congress Sketched Out by Ticketmaster’s Luring of Live Nation to the Dark Side
Congress isn’t so sure that Ticketmaster inviting Live Nation into its tentacles is a good idea. Lawmakers think that the deal would remove our only hope to defeat the Dark Side of the live entertainment industry.
Senator Herb Kohl, D-WI, who chairs the antitrust subcommittee, has said that the merged company “would enjoy a virtual stranglehold over the live entertainment industry.” Translation: Help us DOJ. You’re our only hope.
We get Congress’s desire to ask the DOJ to scrutinize the deal but if they really wanted to do something to help concert-goers, they need to have Ticketmaster explain how the “Convenience Charge” is actually convenient and why it is usually somewhere between 15 and 25% of the actual cost of the ticket. Oh, and why processing fees, handling fees, and venue fees are all ness. K, thanks. And may the force be with you.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation Merger Raises Concerns [DealBook]
Yahoo and Microsoft Partnership Talk Continues to Annoy Us
In a follow-up to the most annoying potential corporate partnership in recent memory, Yahoo’s directors actually met with one another yesterday, after just yapping on the phone about it, to decide if they like Microsoft. Microsoft has been putting the moves on the search engine company for over a year now and some directors still aren’t sure they’re ready to put out.
Some directors are still grossed out and think that Microsoft will do naughty things like, “paying Yahoo for selling ads next to its search results”. GROSS. Other directors also don’t think that regulators would like the two companies getting together because it wouldn’t look very good.
No doubt we’ll be hearing more about these two flirting which will continue to make us nauseous.
Yahoo Board to Meet on Microsoft Search Deal [WSJ]
Microsoft and Yahoo Return to Shamelessly Flirting in Front of Everyone
In rumored merger talk news, apparently Microsoft and Yahoo have started playing footsie again which annoys the living crap out of us. According to Bits Blog:
A handful of top Microsoft executives are in Silicon Valley meeting with their Yahoo counterparts to try to iron out remaining wrinkles in a proposed partnership, according to people briefed on the talks who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are confidential.
Get it over with you two! T. Boone Pickens isn’t cock-blocking anymore so you don’t have any excuses. We’d all really prefer if you just got down to biznass instead of flirting in front of everyone and then saying that you’re not interested in each other. Nobody is buying it.
Yahoo and Microsoft Said to Be Closer to Search Deal [Bits via DealBook]