ROCHESTER — Rochester-founded Smith Schafer, one of Minnesota’s top accounting firms, was acquired by a large New York-based financial company on Jan. 1.
The 55-year-old Smith Schafer, with 12 partners and 89 employees in three Minnesota offices, was acquired by CohnReznick, which has 5,000 employees in more than 30 U.S. offices.
This is CohnReznick’s first direct entry into Minnesota. This is the latest in several expansion efforts by CohnReznick. In the last year, it opened offices in San Francisco, Tampa, Tallahassee and Richmond, Virginia.
“We like the market. And when we met Smith Schafer, we really liked the partners, the practice and the commitment to their people and the industries that they’re involved with,” said CohnReznick Advisory CEO David Kessler. “That’s what excited us the most. It’s really all about the people and they’ve done a really good job with partner succession, building their brand in the market and with expertise in various industries. We have clients in the greater Minneapolis area and we’re involved in some of the same industries. We felt it would be a really, really good combination for us.”
While the Smith Schafer offices will be re-branded under the CohnReznick name, all of the current Smith Schafer staff working in Rochester,
and Minneapolis will remain with the company.
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“Everybody stays on. That was one of the attractive things for us about joining Cohn,” said Smith Schafer Managing Principal Michael Malugani. “Our clients will continue to work with the same team that they’ve always worked with. Everything really stays the same. It’s just that there’s more resources available to them when they face challenges that we would have had to go outside to find help with in the past.”
Allan Koltin, the CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, advised both firms on the deal.
“Smith Schafer is regarded as one of the preeminent regional firms in the state of Minnesota with amazing talent and known for their exceptional client service,” stated Koltin in the announcement of the acquisition. “Despite the merger frenzy that is taking place in the accounting profession, CohnReznick remains very selective in their M&A strategy and felt Smith Schafer was a ‘Best in Class’ firm and would make for the perfect firm to combine forces with.”
While Smith Schafer’s headquarters has shifted to Minneapolis in recent years, its roots are very deep in Rochester.
In 1971, the firm was originally founded in Rochester as Smith Larson & Co. by Richard Smith and Orlin Larson. Al Schafer joined the firm in 1976 and then bought out Larson’s ownership. The business name then changed to Smith Schafer & Associates, which was later renamed as Smith Schafer.
Contributed / Meghan Doll
Smith Schafer’s office was a long-time fixture in downtown Rochester from 1971 until
to the second floor of an office building at 2575 Commerce Drive NW.
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