Major New CPA Firm Association Being Formed

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Several Top 100 firms are creating a group geared to members with $15 million or more in annual fees

Chicago, Nov. 15, 2004. A group of the country’s Top 100 accounting firms, with combined annual fees of approximately $300 million, is forming an association geared to member firms with annual fees in excess of $15 million. The group plans to selectively expand its membership to other Top 100 firms. Founding members of the group include: Wipfli LLP (Wisconsin/Minnesota), Goodman & Company (Virginia and surrounding areas), Mahoney Cohen & Company, CPA, P.C. (New York City), Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP (Los Angeles), Rea & Associates, Inc. (Ohio), Honkamp Krueger & Co. (Iowa), and a regional firm that did not want to be named until it notified the association to which it currently belongs.

The group has tentatively chosen the name “The Global Alliance” and is beginning the process of interviewing various International accounting firm alliances to identify an international partner for the association.

The association will focus on:

Recruiting member firms with the ability to target larger private and smaller public companies on a national basis, as well as provide related 404/SOX work.

Sharing best practices and expertise among member firms, not only at the managing partner level, but also at the practice level for various industry and functional areas.

Encouraging high member involvement, which the group believes is critical to sharing of best practices and client referrals on a national and international basis.

Establishing a strong affiliation with an international group that has similar interests in terms of types of clients and projects.

The association is currently conducting a search for a permanent Executive Director to manage the group on a day to day basis.

The group’s formation is being facilitated by its consultant, Allan D. Koltin, CPA, President and CEO of PDI Global, Inc. in Chicago. “I was hired initially by a couple of these firms to help them find an alternative to their current CPA firm association,” Koltin says. “For most of these firms, they were the largest (or one of the largest) in their group and they wanted more access to similarly-sized firms. We also found a couple of firms that didn’t have an affiliation, but were definitely looking for the same thing. At the rate the group is growing, I wouldn’t be surprised if within a year it included 12–15 member firms with a fee volume over $600 million.”

Interested firms or international alliances are invited to contact Allan Koltin directly at 800.227.0498 ext. 1930, 312.245.1930 or by e‐mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .