CohnReznick announced a merger with Dallas firm BKM Sowan Horan and the Dallas Morning News took the opportunity to trumpet the happy nuptials of the official accounting firm of the Dallas Cowboys.
CohnReznick, the 15th largest accounting firm in the U.S. and the official accounting firm of the Dallas Cowboys, says it has “huge growth plans” for Dallas after combining with a local firm founded in 2010.
New York-based CohnReznick is combining with Dallas public accounting firm BKM Sowan Horan, as North Texas continues to attract financial services firms. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Following the deal, which is expected to close on Nov. 1, CohnReznick will have 86 professionals in Dallas and 140 in Austin, with plans to grow its overall Texas workforce by at least 20% in the next year, said CEO David Kessler.
“We had an office in Plano and a solid client base in Dallas,” Kessler said. “[BKM Sowan Horan] enhances what we have in Dallas with it being local and tied into the community.”
CohnReznick announced the merger earlier this morning with an obligatory press release. Accounting firm merger enthusiast and consultant Allan Koltin had his fingers in this of course and said thusly: “BKMSH is an exceptional firm and was courted by many national firms looking to enter the Dallas market. Finding a home with CohnReznick is a cultural and strategic fit with tremendous synergies.” On future expansion, Koltin added “I wouldn’t be surprised to see CohnReznick adding other high performing firms nationally with a pedigree similar to BKMSH. CohnReznick is poised to be the profession’s next billion-dollar firm, but more importantly it is one that is “future ready” today with great leadership and talent throughout the organization.” This guy Koltin is working harder than literally anyone else in the profession right now, seriously.
CohnReznick ranked 14 on the 2022 Accounting Today Top 100, up from 16 the year before, with $808 million in revenue. Plante Moran ($812m), Moss Adams ($954m), and Crowe ($998m) are technically closer to hitting one billion in revenue first. We should assume that each of these firms are also scrolling Accounting Tinder for merger hookups, we know Moss Adams is.
Four paragraphs of the Dallas Morning News Story were dedicated to the talent shortage and how this merger will entice recruits (on paper):
BKM Sowan partner Rick Sowan said the firm will put a heavy emphasis on attracting and retaining talent amid the competitive labor market, with competition that includes EY, Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. An important part of creating a positive work environment is taking on high-quality clients, he said.
“It’s hard to retain people in a work environment where the work is difficult when you don’t have good clients to work on,” he said.
While the public accounting sector has grown tremendously, fewer students are going into accounting, adding to hiring challenges, Kessler said. In 2019-20, American colleges produced 72,923 accounting graduates, the lowest total in a decade, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
BKM Sowan partner Mike Barber said the firm can compete with the largest accounting firms in the U.S. because it offers something different.
“Big Four has a name, but they’re typically thought of as a stepping stone,” he said. “We don’t want that.”
That’s…that’s gonna be a hard sell, my guy. The whole point of going into public accounting is stepping. And you need a name for that.
Anyway, congrats to the happy couple. There’s a Chip n’ Dip from us in the mail.
Do I detect cynicism in this article?
Don’t mix up cynicism with realism