RKL LLP, a Top 100 Firm, is expanding its presence in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley region by adding Stoudt Associates, based in Allentown, effective Nov. 1.
As a result of the deal, Michael Stoudt and 10 professionals from his firm will join RKL’s 506 team members, who serve clients in all 50 states. Stoudt will become a partner in RKL’s Small Business Services Group and lead the firm’s operations in the Lehigh Valley. He has over three decades of experience in public accounting and finance. His other team members will bring their own decades of experience providing tax, accounting and consulting services to construction, real estate, retail and professional services businesses in the Lehigh Valley.
RKL has 50 partners and 456 staff members, while Stoudt has one partner and 10 staffers.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. RKL, formerly known as Reinsel Kuntz Lesher, ranked No. 57 on Accounting Today’s 2021 list of the Top 100 Firms. RKL earned $88.6 million in annual revenue last year, while Stoudt generated $1.3 million in 2020 revenue.
Accounting firms are seeing a wave of mergers and acquisitions as the economy continues to recover this year, even firms that rarely do mergers. “This merger with Stoudt Associates brings us closer to our valued clients in the Lehigh Valley and allows us to build new relationships within the business community,” said RKL CEO Ed Monborne in a statement Wednesday. “We’re proud to welcome the talented professionals from Stoudt to RKL and ready to introduce our diverse solutions to even more organizations.”
Stoudt Associates’ existing offices in Allentown and Bath will become the seventh and eighth locations for RKL, which also has offices in Lancaster, York, Reading, Exton, Harrisburg and Mechanicsburg. The firm has more offices across the U.S. through its IT consulting subsidiary, RKL eSolutions.
“Becoming part of RKL means we can offer our clients a wider range of advisory and accounting capabilities and meet their needs in a comprehensive and collaborative manner,” Stoudt said in a statement. “We’re inspired by the opportunity to join one of PA’s leading firms and contribute to its continued growth and success.”
