Citrin Cooperman has entered the Boston region by merging in Kirkland Albrecht & Fredrickson on Monday.
KAF’s 10 partners and 40 other staff members in its Braintree and Woburn, Mass., offices are joining Citrin as a result of the merger, which took effect on August 1. Citrin Cooperman ranked 22nd on Accounting Today’s 2016 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $195 million in annual revenue. The combination with KAF is expected to increase Citrin’s annual revenues to $200 million. The addition of KAF’s two offices will give New York City-based Citrin nine offices on the East Coast.
“We are delighted that we have been able to join together with the KAF partners and staff,” said Citrin Cooperman CEO Joel Cooperman in a statement. “We have been looking in the Boston marketplace for several years, and we have finally found a firm that matches our commitment to service and quality. We are excited to enter into the Boston marketplace. We feel that, with KAF, we are better positioned to help our clients meet the demands of their business needs and goals.”
KAF has been providing accounting, tax and advisory services in the Boston area for 25 years, focusing on construction, manufacturing and distribution, not-for-profit, professional services, real estate and technology clients. Its client base includes both high net worth individuals and privately owned and closely held businesses.
Citrin Cooperman has approximately 800 employees, with offices in New York, N.Y.; White Plains, N.Y.; Plainview, N.Y.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Livingston, N.J; Norwalk, Conn.; Bethesda, Md.; and now the Boston, Mass., area.
“It was important to the KAF team to find a firm that has the depth and resources to service our larger clientele, while also providing world-class client service to the individuals and small businesses that have been clients of our firm for years,” said KAF managing partner Kenneth Kirkland in a statement. “We found that balance with Citrin Cooperman and look forward to introducing our clients to their expanded services.”
Citrin was searching for a firm like KAF to expand into Massachusetts. “Citrin Cooperman had been focused on coming into the Boston market for several years but ultimately passed on every firm they looked at,” said Allan D. Koltin, CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, who advised both firms on the merger. “They didn’t want a firm ‘out of gas’ but rather one that was highly entrepreneurial and had ‘a lot of game,’ great leadership and young talent available. In KAF they found the perfect firm.”
Meanwhile, KAF had also been looking to combine with a larger firm. “As part of KAF’s strategic planning process last year we explored what the firm of the future would look like and chose to explore merging with a larger firm, but only if it could accelerate the advancement and growth of their associates and partners and also provide additional services and expertise to their clients,” said Koltin in an email. “In addition it had to be an entrepreneurial and growth-oriented firm like KAF, and lastly, KAF had to be in the ‘driver’s seat’ of leading the Boston office’s strategy and growth. In Citrin Cooperman they also found the perfect marriage.”
Leaders of the two firms met to see if their businesses would be a good fit. “You could see the chemistry in the first meeting with both founders, Joel Cooperman (Citrin Cooperman) and Ken Kirkland (KAF), as well as KAF Executive Committee members Joe Fabiano and Ed Berardi,” said Koltin. “At that meeting a common trust, respect and bond was formed and it carried throughout the six months of discussions leading into the merger. KAF had been approached by many other exceptional national firms but felt for the above reasons Citrin Cooperman was the perfect fit.”
Koltin expects to see more mergers at Citrin in the near future. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see another deal by Citrin Cooperman in the greater New England region this year as they are really committed to growing this area right now,” he said.
