SYRACUSE — Rochester–based Bonadio Group and Testone, Marshall & Discenza, LLP (TMD) of Syracuse will merge to form Central New York’s largest accounting firm, effective Jan. 1. It’s a marriage that was in the works for several years. “We have known the partners at Testone [Marshall & Discenza] for the better part of four years. […]
SYRACUSE — Rochester–based Bonadio Group and Testone, Marshall & Discenza, LLP (TMD) of Syracuse will merge to form Central New York’s largest accounting firm, effective Jan. 1.
It’s a marriage that was in the works for several years. “We have known the partners at Testone [Marshall & Discenza] for the better part of four years. We’ve been talking on and off for four years,” Thomas Bonadio, CEO and managing partner of The Bonadio Group, says in an interview.
The Bonadio Group, which has used acquisitions and mergers to fuel much of its growth, already made two deals in the Syracuse market in the last seven-plus years to establish and build a practice here that employs nearly 50 people, including about 30 CPAs.
The firm has been actively looking for another merger partner that could get it above the 100-employee mark in the area, a level that Tom Bonadio says is key to “getting a shot” at most customers in the market.
It found the right partner in TMD when about eight months ago, the leaders of both accounting firms met in Syracuse and decided “it was obvious to both of us that the timing was right for coming together,” says Bonadio.
TMD employs 71 people, including 44 CPAs, according to CNYBJ Research. The firm was founded in 1976 and has grown to service more than 2,000 clients throughout Central New York, the Southern Tier, North Country, and Mohawk Valley.
“This merger comes at an opportune time, because both of our firms are prepared to offer more to clients in Central New York, and together we have the professionals and the services to help them solve problems and grow,” Frank Discenza, managing partner of TMD, said in a Bonadio Group news release announcing the deal on Dec. 2.
Following the merger, the combined firm, which will operate under the Bonadio name, will have more than 130 employees and 15 partners in its Syracuse, Utica, and Geneva offices, according to the release.
That will vault the accounting and consulting practice to the number one spot, ranked by number of employees, in the CNY market.
“We want to be number one for a number of reasons. It creates a platform for us to deliver better service to our clients and offer better opportunities to our [employees],” Tom Bonadio says. “And at that size, “you’re on everybody’s [client] referral list,” he adds.
The Bonadio Group has been the largest CPA firm in the Rochester market “for decades,” he says, and ranks number three in both Buffalo and Albany, following mergers in those markets.
The Bonadio Group will now employ more than 600 people total, spread across offices in Albany, Batavia, Buffalo, East Aurora, Geneva, New York City, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, and Rutland, Vt.
The firm’s annual revenue “run rate” should top $100 million, starting in 2015, Tom Bonadio says.
That should move the firm into the top 40 on the Top 100 Firms list of national industry magazine, Accounting Today, he says. The Bonadio Group ranked number 50 the last time the list was compiled.
Later in 2015, Bonadio Group’s current Syracuse employees at its 10,000-square-foot leased office at 115 Solar St. will move around the corner to TMD’s 27,000-square-foot office space at The Foundry on North Franklin Street.
The Bonadio Group’s Donald Taylor will serve as office managing partner.
“All of us in the Syracuse office are very eager to get started with our new colleagues from TMD, and it’s a bonus that we may be the largest CPA firm in the region. That will definitely help our visibility,” Taylor said in the news release.
Regarding the future of the Syracuse accounting market, Tom Bonadio says to expect other firms to also pursue mergers, because he says the market is oversupplied with CPA firms.
“I would not be surprised if this is the first of a few mergers to take place,” he says.
That also mirrors the national trend of accounting combinations.
When asked whether his firm was done with mergers in the Syracuse market, Bonadio quips, “You’re never done.”
However, he adds that the firm will take the time to “make sure we do this right and make sure this is a well-integrated merger.”
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com