Hartford Business Journal

10 Hartford Business Journal • January 8, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com THE LIST Largest accounting firms in Greater Hartford (Ranked by number of local certified public accountants as of October 2017) Largest accounting firms in Greater Hartford (Ranked by number of local certified public accountants as of October 2017) Rank Firm Local CPAs Local staff Primary services Local managing partner(s) Year founded 1 PwC 185 Asylum St. Hartford, CT 06103 860-241-7000; www.pwc.com 129 408 Assurance, audit, tax, advisory; specialty services include: financial services, health industries, technology, private equity, private company services, higher education, manufacturing Keith J. Hubert 1890 2 CohnReznick LLP 350 Church St., 12th Floor Hartford, CT 06103 959-200-7000; cohnreznick.com 105 226 Accounting and auditing services including Sarbanes-Oxley/SEC/ corporate governance, forensic and employee-benefit plans, tax planning and preparation, corporate tax outsourcing, mediation with tax authorities, state and local expertise, trust and estate planning and preparation Edmund Kindelan 1919 3 Deloitte LLP 185 Asylum St. Hartford, CT 06103 860-725-3000; www.deloitte.com 80 266 Audit, tax, financial advisory and consulting Rich Tavolieri 1895 4 BlumShapiro 29 South Main St. West Hartford, CT 06107 860-561-4000; www.blumshapiro.com 77 207 Regional business advisory firm serving privately held companies, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and government entities Joseph A. Kask 1980 5 KPMG LLP 755 Main St. Hartford, CT 06103 860-297-3200; www.KPMG.com 72 208 Accounting, tax and advisory services Thomas M. Daugherty 1897 6 Marcum LLP 185 Asylum St., 17th Floor Hartford, CT 06103 860-760-0600; www.marcumllp.com 68 178 Auditing (including SEC), compilations and review, compliance audits, corporate taxes, financial services, governmental, tax, mergers, public offerings, tax representation, valuation Michael Brooder 1997 7 Whittlesey (1) 280 Trumbull St., 24th Floor Hartford, CT 06103 860-522-3111; www.WAdvising.com 65 160 Auditing, accounting and financial reporting, tax planning and consulting, business advisory services, healthcare consulting, technology consulting and employee-benefit plan audits Drew Andrews 1961 8 Ernst & Young LLP 225 Asylum St. Hartford, CT 06103 860-247-3100; ww.ey.com 34 157 Audit, assurance and advisory, federal, state and international tax, transaction advisory and due diligence, risk advisory Amelia Caporale 1918 9 Crowe Horwath LLP 175 Powder Forest Drive Simsbury, CT 06089 860-678-9200; www.crowehorwath.com 33 68 Audit, tax, advisory services, risk consulting and performance consulting Richard Buggy Joe Pieksza 1999 (2) 10 Mahoney Sabol & Co. LLP 180 Glastonbury Blvd., Suite 400 Glastonbury (3), CT 06033 860-541-2000; mahoneysabol.com 27 46 SEC, private company and municipal entity auditing, accounting, tax consulting and compliance, business and financial consulting, valuations, estate and trusts, personal financial planning, forensic accounting and representation before taxing authorities James M. Mahoney 1990 FOCUS Accounting industry deals with tax overhaul, talent shortage Q&A talks with Bonnie Stewart, executive director of the Connecticut Society of CPAs, on the impact of federal tax reform and other issues im- pacting the accounting industry. Q. All this talk of federal tax reform must create high anxiety for the state's account- ing industry. What are you hearing from your members? Of all the new tax changes, what could benefit Connecticut businesses the most? What could hurt them the most? A. Different parts of the tax overhaul will impact companies differently, depending upon whether a company is a domestic company vs. a multinational corporation, a C corporation or a pass-through entity, etc. The majority of Connecticut companies are domestic companies. The thing that Connecticut's domestic businesses and, more specifically, C corpora- tions will be most appreciative of is that the corporate tax rate will be permanently re- duced from 35 percent to 21 percent. This is a significant reduction, and it's a permanent reduction. In addition, certain pass-through entities will be able to claim a 20 percent de- duction against qualifying business income. The worst thing about the tax reform again depends on what kind of com- pany you are. For people in the process of developing new products, for example, one popular tax tool is the net operating loss (NOL) carryforward. A new measure limits the NOL carryforward to 80 percent of taxable income, which can be a signifi- cant change for companies doing a lot of research and development. Some manufac- turers are also concerned with the repeal of section 199 deduction. For pass-through entities, the worst part of the tax reform is that their tax relief is temporary. The provisions are only in place through Dec. 31, 2025, unless action is taken to extend the tax relief at that time. Q. What role does the society play in try- ing to keep Connecticut CPAs abreast of potential tax changes and their impact? A. We speak to our delegation on a regu- lar basis to address members concerns, and we in turn share that information and feedback with our members, who depend on us to keep them in the loop. Our interest groups meet to discuss timely topics like federal tax reform, and we hold seminars and meetings around the state to make sure our members are well-informed. Frankly, this is an extremely critical part of our existence. By staying in touch with our legislators and constantly working to communicate with our members we are able to achieve our three mission cornerstones of advocacy, community and education. Q. Competition for talent has always been intense within the state's accounting industry. Is the talent pipeline adequate these days? A. Schools across the state and coun- try are graduating record numbers of accounting students, but even that is not enough to meet the demands of busi- nesses. The skills required of accounting majors and finance professionals have morphed from the technical "debits and credits" to strategic planning, manage- ment and technology consulting, etc. — and our graduates are coming out ready to meet these demands. This demand exists in both public ac- counting and industry; the CTCPA mem- bership is now split 50-50 between public practice and industry. With increased regulations and constant talk of change at the state and federal levels, the CPA is a trusted advisor at every level. We continue to encourage aspiring CPAs to go to school and not only get their accounting degree, but the CPA credential. Robert Half's 2017 salary guide says that CPAs can earn $1 million more than non- CPAs over the course of a 40-year career. Q. How are CPAs playing a role in shaping Connecticut's future? A. With the financial acumen and critical thinking skills we've mentioned, Connecti- cut CPAs are a hot commodity not only in business, but in government. Ninety- one percent of business decision-makers respect CPAs as valuable assets to their organizations, which certainly translates to the community and state level. Many of our members serve on their local boards of finance and education, for instance. West Haven actually just elected a CPA to head up their municipality — the voters spoke and demonstrated that it's impor- tant to get the town's fiscal house in order. We've got another CPA serving in the legislature now, too. CPAs are able to look at the bigger pic- ture but also drill down into the details in order to help companies be their best, and those skills can help the state as well. We'd love to see more CPAs running for office. Q. Does the stereotypical view of accoun- tants hold true today? A. The days of "bean counters" are long gone. Technology is really changing the world. A recent Deloitte survey showed 21 percent of organizations currently have blockchain in production, and 25 percent plan to do so in the next year. CPAs have truly delved into things like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity and are becoming experts in order to better serve their companies and clients. Bonnie Stewart Executive Director, Connecticut Society of CPAs

• Cover