Local accounting firm Somerset acquired by two out-of-state players

Somerset CPAs and Advisors, the fifth-largest accounting firm in Indianapolis, has been acquired by CBIZ Inc., a financial firm based in Cleveland, and affiliated accounting firm Mayer Hoffman McCann PC.

Terms of the deal, announced Thursday and effective Feb. 1, were not disclosed.

Somerset has 250 employees, including more than 100 certified public accountants, and brought in about $55 million in revenue last year.

In addition to its headquarters at 3925 River Crossing Parkway in Indianapolis, Somerset has Indiana offices in Fort Wayne and Michigan City and out-of-state offices in Chicago and Franklin, Tennessee.

Founded in 1960 as Whipple & Co., the firm became Somerset Financial Services LLC, a division of publicly traded The Somerset Group Inc., in 1998. Somerset merged with locally based public company First Indiana Corp. in 2000.

In 2004, Somerset became an independent firm after 21 Somerset partners bought the assets of the accounting firm from First Indiana. The company was led by by Patrick Early from 1989 to 2020, when Ben Kimmerling took over as president.

“We are very excited to join CBIZ,” Kimmerling said in written comments. “Being a part of a premier national accounting provider will ensure our clients continue to receive best-in-class service and solutions to help them grow their businesses successfully. Our shared vision of building relationships and delivering results make this a perfect combination, and will also provide our employees with additional training, development, and career growth opportunities.”

CBIZ, a publicly traded provider of financial, insurance and advisory services, was founded in 1987 and is one of the country’s 10 largest accounting firms. It has more than 120 offices and 6,000 employees nationwide. The company reported $1.35 billion in revenue in 2022.

“We are excited to enter the Indianapolis financial services market with an established partner that has a reputation for providing outstanding client service and possesses the size and scale to accelerate growth and bring added value to our collective clients,” Jerry Grisko, president and CEO of CBIZ, said in written remarks. “Together, we will now be able to provide our combined clients with an expanded breadth of services backed by a national network of professionals.”

Under the deal, CBIZ acquired the non-attest assets of Somerset and Kansas City, Missouri-based Mayer Hoffman McCann acquired the attest assets.

Non-attest accounting services typically include financial statement preparation, tax-return preparation, advisory services and forensic accounting. Attest services typically are audits and reviews provided only by licensed CPAs.

CBIZ and Mayer Hoffman McCann together operate an alternative practice structure in which they act as separate, independent legal entities that work together to serve clients’ needs. The company’s share a tax and consulting practice, CBIZ MHM LLC, which is a division of CBIZ.