HBK Increases Footprint, Adds Services
CANFIELD, Ohio – HBK CPAs & Consultants, Canfield, increased its footprint, added services, and enhanced its internal programs, as it continued on its course of growth in 2018, reports David Blasko, CPA and principal-in-charge of its northeast Ohio region.
The firm had its largest acquisition to date by merging with the Spire Group of Clark, N.J., in November. Today, HBK operates 15 offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida.
In June, industry veteran Michael Kohner joined the firm as principal-in-charge of a new office in West Palm Beach, Fla. In November, HBK welcomed Michael Ross, founder of Mainstream Leadership Network, as principal of the new HBK leadership group.
HBK also launched a client accounting and advisory service, offering specialized accounting and advisory options to clients such as transaction processing, outsourced chief financial officer and controller services, accounting software training and related services.
The firm acquired the Michael Monahan CPA practice in Sarasota, Fla., in September and was named best place to work in Sarasota Manatee by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
In April, HBKS Wealth Advisors acquired a minority stake in K-Coe Isom subsidiary K-Coe Wealth Management of Kansas.
Other highlights included being named among Inside Public Accounting’s Fastest-Growing Great Lakes Firms and a top Ohio Employer by Best Companies for the ninth consecutive year.
And HBK moved from the 62nd largest firm in Accounting Today’s Top 100 in 2017 to 56th in 2018 and was among Inside Public Accounting’s Top 100 firms in the United States, as it has been perennially for more than a decade.
In June, Accounting Today ranked HBKS 11th in amount of assets under management among CPA firms’ wealth advisory businesses. That month, HBKS was also named to the 2018 edition of the Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers for the fifth consecutive year. And in July, HBKS was listed 95th on a list of 700 registered investment advisers by Financial Advisor Magazine, up five spots from 2017.
In addition to growing its existing presence in the Youngstown, Erie, Pa., and Naples, Fla., markets, HBK Valuation, Litigation Support & Forensics opened offices in downtown Pittsburgh, New Jersey and West Palm Beach, Fla. The group more than doubled its size this past year when 11 full-time valuation and forensic professionals focusing almost exclusively in family law were added. HBK Valuation, Litigation Support & Forensics group ends 2018 with 24 team members.
HBK strongly believes that advances in technology will ultimately expose firms without specialization, expertise and distinction, Blasko says. Since the firm counts artificial intelligence as its most substantial challenge and opportunity in 2019 and beyond, HBK will continue to seek appropriate growth opportunities that will reshape and reinvent its service palette based on evolving client needs.
“We will always seek growth but never at the expense of personalized client care,” says Blasko. “That’s what makes us a different kind of accounting and business advisory firm.”
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
