PROVIDENCE – Blum Shapiro & Co. PC will “join forces” with a Minneapolis-based accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP in a deal slated to close Jan. 1, the company announced on Thursday.
Blum Shapiro CEO Joseph Kask declined to specify the legal nature of the agreement – an acquisition, merger, or other – but emphasized that the agreement will have little effect on existing clients while allowing the firm to expand its regional operations and services.
Blum Shapiro & Co. PC had the most CPAs of any firm in Rhode Island, according to the 2020 PBN Book of Lists. The company is headquartered in West Hartford, Conn, and has 550 employees across locations in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Washington D.C. Its 2020 revenue was $100 million, Kask said.
CLA has over 7,000 employees spread across 130 offices nationwide, including a small presence in New York and Massachusetts. The agreement, which Kask said came about as a result of mutual opportunities, will allow CLA to expand its regional presence. The pandemic and economic recession had no influence on the agreement, Kask said.
The combined firms have an estimated $1.3 billion in revenue, and based on current workforce numbers, 1,150 employees spread across the northeast region, according to Blum Shapiro.
Terms of the detail have not been disclosed, and are still being finalized. Kask, who will transition to a new role as regional managing principal for New England and New York, said there would be some “overlap” among existing Blum Shapiro employees and those at CLA, but expected “very few” layoffs among local staff. No offices will close, and the agreement is intended to pave the way for expansion of both locations and new services such as wealth and asset management, Kask said.
Jennifer Leary, chief strategy officer for CLA based in North Carolina, will also take the helm as its new CEO on Jan. 1, a transition that was planned separately from the agreement with Blum Shapiro, Kask said.
The deal is expected to close on Jan. 1.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
