Beverly Hills accounting firm Laffer & Gottlieb has joined Top 100 Firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, effective May 1, 2018.
Laffer & Gottlieb has provided accounting and other financial services since 1982, with a focus on helping tax and business law firms with civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, and tax controversy cases.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. CliftonLarsonAllen ranked No. 8 on Accounting Today’s 2018 list of the Top 100 Firms, with annual revenue of $850 million, while Laffer & Gottlieb had $1.6 million in revenue. CLA has more than 5,400 employees, including over 700 principals, while Laffer & Gottlieb has a team of four people, including two principals, Martin G. Laffer and Barbara J. Gottlieb.
“The issues our clients face are complex,” Laffer said in a statement. “We understand what it takes to be successful, and we constantly develop our capabilities in order to help clients meet challenges head on. It’s not a job, it’s a purpose. We expect that our past successes as a niche practice will continue as we join forces with CLA. The breadth and depth of our resources will be multiplied by the CLA team’s talent. We look forward to this new chapter in our professional careers.”
Gottlieb sees advantages in the combination with CLA: “Aligning with a firm that shares our commitment to know and understand our clients is critical to our success,” she said in a statement. “We’re not a ‘check the box’ organization. We take care to understand the person across the table from us, and put together a plan to move forward and resolve issues.”
Over the past several years CLA has been a serial acquirer of accounting firms, adding two in California last year, including
“We’re driven to create opportunities,” said Larry Taylor, CLA chief practice officer for the Southwest region, in a statement. “We uncover personal, financial, and business goals, and work together to bring those goals to life. Barbara and Marty’s team deepens our experience and strengthens our ability to make a difference for our clients.”
