E&Y Holds Largest Share of Benefit Plan Audits
Ernst & Young holds the largest share of benefit plan audits according to ANR's benefit plan auditor analysis , compiled by AuditAnalytics.com.
The firm audits 229 total benefit plans, good for an overall share of 15.2%. Deloitte holds the second-largest total of benefit plans with 11.9% or 180. KPMG rounds out the top three with 171 total benefit plans audited, good for an 11.3% share. PwC placed No. 4 in the total number of benefit plans audited with 132.
CBIZ MHM Organizes Forensic and Financial Services Under One Umbrella
CBIZ MHM aligned its experts in forensic and litigation support, corporate recovery and valuation services from offices around the country into one national practice: The Forensic and Financial Services Group.
Consulting Practices Drive Big Four FY10 Revenue
The composite FY10 percentage change in revenue for the Big Four was still in the red, but there are signs revenue for the largest firms is on the upswing, according to ANR’s FY10 Big Four Analysis.
The composite percentage change in revenue figure for FY10 came in at -2.1%, up from FY09’s -4.9%. It is hard to get all excited about a composite percentage change in revenue figure that starts with a minus, but it is a positive sign and not the only one.
Leading SEC Registrant Auditors
Ernst & Young audits the most SEC registrants with 1,177, according to ANR's 2011 analysis of leading SEC audit firms.
The Big Four firms hold 43.5% of the total registrant clients in the analysis.
Jim Smart is Back in the Game
If a rose by any other name is still a rose, then it seems logical that any accounting firm run by Jim Smart, no matter what the “go-to-market moniker,” is still “a smart firm.”
Jim Smart, the founder of Smart and Assoc /Devon, Pa., said he is “energized” and “glad to be back in the game.”
Smart and Assoc./Devon, Pa., was a mainstay on any ranking of the fastest growing accounting firms from its inception in 1988 until 2007 when an 80% stake in his firm was sold to a private equity firm, Great Hill Partners/Boston.
“I love this business,” Smart told ANR. “I wasn’t looking to retire or looking to get out of the business.”
Smart legally got the right to re-enter the accounting profession last year and didn’t waste time.
He went back to Nihill & Riedley/Philadelphia, a firm he had twice tried to reach a deal with when he was CEO at Smart and Assoc.
The third time was the charm.
Since the mid-2010 deal he has built the firm’s headcount to 50 total staff and $10 million in revenue at the close of 2010.
“Nihill & Riedly is the best forensic firm in the city in my opinion and they have a solid audit capability,” Smart told ANR. “I look at this as a great foundation to build on. My job will be to build out the audit and tax capabilities and augment the consulting piece.”
In building the new firm, Smart said he plans to employ the same tactics he used in building Smart and Assoc.
“We are looking for tuck-in acquisitions in the Delaware Valley,” he said.
While acquisitions will play a role in “filling out” Smart’s new venture, as was the case at Smart and Assoc. the plan isn’t predicated on an accounting firm acquisition spree.
“That is a misconception a lot of people had about Smart and Assoc.,” he said. “We weren’t bashful about acquisitions, but where we really grew was when we brought in talent and expertise in targeted hires.”
The “surgical strike” strategy is already at work. Smart said he is currently in discussions with several key consultants about joining the new firm.
“My long standing mantra has always been to hire the best player in the draft whenever the draft is open,” he told ANR.
Smart said he is currently looking at a rebranding strategy but is “approaching it carefully.”
This is an excerpt of the story published in the March 13, 2011 issue of Accounting News Report
For more information on Accounting News Report: contact Jonathan Hamilton 702-283-9985.
Email: jonathan.hamilton@accountingnewsreport.com