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WeiserMazars Moves into Chicago as Part of Acquisition of LECG Units

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Earlier this week, we told you about the fire sale that was going down at LECG Corp. LECG was selling off various units to FTI Consulting, Grant Thornton and WeiserMazars to try and pay down a portion of the $27 or so million that they owed on their credit facility. After speaking with Doug Phillips, the managing partner at WeiserMazars, we have learned that the deal has officially closed and few more details about the units they acquired in the deal, including their move into the Chicago market.


As we reported on Monday, WM is picking up five partners and approximately 40 staff from LECG. Mr Phillips told us that “we are very excited” about the transaction and these professionals will join the commercial and insurance audit practices as well as business advisory services. The majority of the new professionals will be located in the firm’s Horsham, PA location while one partner and approximately ten staff will be located in Chicago.

Mr Phillips told GC that this acquisition strengthens WeiserMazars’s “insurance, commercial and business advisory services, as well as solidifies our presence in the Philadelphia market.” Perhaps more importantly, however, is that “[WeiserMazars] now has a presence in the Chicago marketplace,” Mr Phillips aid. This will mark the 9th location for the firm in a key market for a firm that appears to have some wind in its sails after last year’s combination of Weiser and Mazars. We’ll be keeping an eye on them as things progress after this latest move.

UPDATE:
Check out the WeiserMazars press release for more details.

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Chipman, Andrews, Goelzer All New to Accounting Today’s 100 Most Influential List

Continuing on with “list season” Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting launched late last week and while there are plenty of new names, it’s still a bit of a snoozer since this particular list isn’t a ranking like say, the Vanity Fair 100. See, the VF100 establishes a pecking order that can be antagonized over for days and weeks and just about when everyone is done giving a shit (or long after), the new edition comes out and people can rage on how last year’s list was so much better.

No, the AT100 is more like People’s 50 Most Beautiful issue. Not in the sense that you want to see these 100 accountants, politicians, professors, etc. etc. in the buff (or do you?) but that the influence (or the beauty) is subject to your own, er, tastes. Anyhoo, enough with the fluffing, let’s get on with it.


Some notables:

Rick Anderson, Chairman and CEO, Moss Adams (new to list in 2010)
C.E. Andrews, President, RSM McGladrey (new to list in 2010)
Bob Bunting, President, IFAC
Paul Caron, Dean of Faculty and Charles Hartsock Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law
Stephen Chipman, CEO, Grant Thornton (new to list in 2010) – All the blogging paid off!
Dan Goelzer, Acting Chair, PCAOB (new to list in 2010)
Michelle Golden, Founder, Golden Practices Blog
Tom Hood, CEO and Executive Director, Maryland Association of CPAs
Jack Weisbaum, CEO, BDO (new to list in 2010)

Dropped from last year’s list:
Ben Bernanke
Charlie Rangel
Bernie Madoff

The list has its usual suspects including all the big dogs from all of the Big 4, Tim Geithner (get over it AG), Doug Shulman, Barney Frank, etc. etc. but there were some interesting honorable mentions (so to speak) on page 11 right next to Dennis Nally’s picture. Just so you know.

Accounting Today 100 Most Influential People In Accounting [Digital Version (registration required)]

AICPA Practically Begging the Financial Accounting Foundation to Develop Private Company GAAP

Were you aware that over 2,500 letters have been sent to the Financial Accounting Foundation “demanding” the development of private company GAAP as well as a separate independent board to oversee the standards? If no, why not? If yes, why aren’t you feigning rage, issuing press releases with impatient statements by various bigwigs? If you’re the AICPA, that’s exactly what you’re doing:

For almost 40 years, the pleas of private companies to set standards for financial reporting that are more relevant too often have been ignored. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) believes that it is time for the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) to listen to the constituents who have written to FAF demanding differential financial reporting standards for private companies and a separate independent board to oversee those standards. There are approximately 28 million privately held U.S. companies, accounting for more than 50 percent of our economy.

“Ninety nine percent of the letters from the privately held company constituency demanded that the Financial Accounting Foundation create differential standards for privately held companies,” said Barry Melancon, AICPA president and CEO. “We’ve studied this problem for far too long.”

Pick up the pace, FAF. People are getting antsy.

[via AICPA]