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Happy (Belated) Birthday Grover Norquist!

The Godfather of Tax Policy turned 55 yesterday and since I was traveling, I wasn’t able to send out the well wishes on the day of. Sorry, GGN.

Thankfully, there were plenty of people that weren’t so careless:


You’ve got to think that Grove was expecting something from the ATR scamps. He counts their bagel and coffee consumption, after all. No way they’re missing a birthday. Got any birthday wishes for my fellow Swedish influencer? Leave them below.

Promotion Watch ’10: McGladrey Names 21 to Partner/Managing Director

Cake and punch all around, natch. And if you’re lucky, pictures with your McGladrey-sponsored golfer of choice.

Oct 01, 2010 – MINNEAPOLIS (October 1, 2010) — RSM McGladrey, Inc., and McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, leading providers of assurance, tax and consulting services under the McGladrey brand, recently announced the promotion of 21 employees to partner/managing director roles, effective Oct. 1.

“Our new partners and managing directors have demonstrated the power of truly understanding our clients’ needs and proactively contributing to their success,” said C.E. Andrews, president and COO for RSM McGladrey. “They display the firm’s core values of relationships, excellence and integrity every day in their interactions with clients, potential clients and with one another. It’s a pleasure to recognize their significant contributions.”

“These employees have consistently proven their ability to gain a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses, aspirations and challenges,” said Dave Scudder, managing partner and CEO of McGladrey & Pullen, LLP. “They have used this understanding to develop innovative insights and expertise unique to each client and industry that we serve.”

The complete 2010 class of partners and managing directors includes:
Name Line of Business Location
Donnovan Maginley Assurance Florida
Doug O’Connor Assurance Illinois
Linda Dehner Assurance California
Steve Gradl Assurance Minnesota
Tasha Kostick Assurance California
Wes Getman Assurance Atlanta
Allison Egbert Assurance Boston
Kevin Vannucci Consulting Connecticut
Brian Holmes Consulting Illinois
Lawrence Levine Consulting Illinois
Dean Nelson Consulting Boston
Diego Rosenfeld Consulting Boston
Rob Frattasio Consulting Boston
Greg DeVino Tax Florida
John Majer Tax Florida
Tay Reeder Tax Georgia
Phil Wasserman Tax New York
Brian Blacklaw Tax Illinois
Mindy Cozewith Tax Georgia
Rebecca Sheridan Tax Texas
Jim St. Germain Tax Boston

McGladrey Announces New Partners and Managing Directors [PRLog]

McGladrey’s Andrews: ‘We’re Doing Pretty Well’

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune recently did a sit-down with McGladrey President C.E. Andrews and from the sounds of it, C.E. is pret-tay, pret-tay, pret-tay pleased with how things have gone at Mickey G’s since he’e been on board saying, “We’re doing pretty well.”

Now the particular context of this statement could be taken a number of waerring to the recent acquisition of Caturno & Co. or he could be talking about the firm’s recent rebranding that involved plenty of refreshments, or he’s just pumped to get regular photo-ops with Natalie Gulbis OR it could be that he’s subtly referring to how good McGladrey is at layoffs.


Based on what we read, it’s most likely the handing out of sugar stimulants:

“Big companies tend to be inwardly focused. You drink your own Kool-Aid,” said Andrews, who knows something about large companies. He’s a former partner at Arthur Andersen and had a front-row seat for the demise of the consulting firm in the wake of the Enron debacle, then went on to run Sallie Mae before joining McGladrey.

The restructured McGladrey has just five people overseeing the revenue side of the business, and a system that rewards managers who improve client service and produce growth “rather than for internal things,” Andrews said. “We’ve gone from a local measurement system to a national measurement system.”

No real room for misinterpretation there. As you all know, drinking Kool-Aid isn’t something that McGladrey takes lightly.

But then again, maybe he is referring to the recent acquisition of Caturno. C.E. is thinking that it’s been a pretty solid move and there is more where that came from:

“This thing has the appearance of being as good a fit as anything I’ve ever been a part of,” Andrews said. He said each firm had strengths that the other lacked in the New England region. It’s a model for the kinds of acquisitions McGladrey is looking to make, he said.

That includes San Francisco — though Andrews said nothing’s teed up yet.

This rhetoric is strange if you consider the aforementioned layoffs, some employees considering dumping Mickey G’s for Mickey D’s and a disappointing year where the firm saw a 39% drop in its pre-tax income.

But despite all that, C to the E has big plans for McG and they don’t include keeping things local:

McGladrey offers prospective targets connections to RSM International, the sixth-largest network of independent accounting, tax and consulting firms, Andrews said. That’s becoming more important in today’s economy when even midmarket firms — which he called McGladrey’s “sweet spot” — now have operations in far-flung places like China or India.

“The attractiveness of truly local providers is diminishing,” Andrews said.

BUT! Don’t you go thinking that McGladrey will be like one of those firms, “We have the same kind of capabilities as the Big Four [accounting firms] … but delivered with an outstanding local touch.”

So, he backhands the local firms but then casually embraces their ‘delivery’ to take a jab at the Big 4. So, if we understand this correctly, McGladrey is a big firm, but isn’t like a big firm, and that’s their advantage. Got it.

McGladrey seeking more acquisitions [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]

(UPDATE 3) McGladrey’s Giant Putting Green Cake Will Ensure That Everyone Gets to Celebrate Their Rebranding

Webcam chat at Ustream

In the best example that we’ve seen of accounting firm make-up sex, today the RSM McGladrey and McGladrey & Pullen announced that they will now be branded under one name…McGladrey. Since the deciders on the name checked imagination at the door, the firms make it up to all of us with the best possible solution – building a giant putting green cake.


One of the duffers sponsored by McGladrey, Chris DiMarco, will attempt to chip in on the green later today and with any luck you’ll be able to watch it above as it happens.

As exciting as that is, it isn’t entirely clear whether or not this also serves as a tasty distraction from the layoffs and restructuring that is going on McGladrey. Kick that around if you like but also consider the fact that Natalie Gulbis doesn’t seem to be jumping out of this thing at any point in time, and that is a travesty that cannot go unnoticed.

UPDATE: We’ve been assured that the cake’s tastiness or lack thereof will be communicated to us later today. Whether or not there will be pre-cake jays, gallons of Vitamin D milk to wash it down or couches to pass out on has not been determined. Discuss and keep us updated. Spare no details – flavor, frosting, texture, etc.

UPDATE 2: Okay you guys – who witnessed this sorry-ass display? Natalie wouldn’t have disappointed the crowd like these losers. And then someone skulls one right into the camera? Video is completely gone right now. Unbelievable. Get back to us on this cake.

UPDATE 3: The report on the cake is in:

1) The cake is, actually, pretty big. And, it’s all cake, except for the part of the logo, which is made of rice krispie treats.
2) As for a slice of that cake…quite good, actually. The cake part is marble, and very soft and tasty. I nabbed what might be a corner piece with the “rough” frosting. It’s a lot of frosting. A lot.

I’d give the cake a solid A-. There will be a lot to save in the next few days!

Two minutes later we got his follow-up:

I had to stop eating it halfway through — I think I’d go into diabetic shock if I ate any more of it. The grade gets downgraded to a B+.

RSM McGladrey and McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, Launch New “McGladrey” Brand [McGladrey]