Rockville Accounting Firm Aronson LLC to Merge with Atlanta’s Aprio LLP

Aprio, LLP, a nationally recognized business advisory and CPA firm headquartered in Atlanta, announced yesterday that Rockville-based Aronson, LLC will merge with the rapidly growing firm. The strategic combination grows Aprio’s team to more than 1,400 team members internationally. Aronson’s 350 team members, including 42 partners, will join Aprio effective January 1, 2023. Aronson is currently located in Rockville Metro Plaza I at 11 Rockville Pike Suite 600. The combination of the two Top 100 firms marks both Aprio’s largest transaction to date and adds a physical Aprio office in the greater Washington, D.C. area. The merged companies will keep the April name and Aronson team members will serve key leadership roles in the combined firm:

• Azunna Anyanwu will serve as Chief Technology Officer.
• Alan Langelli will serve as the Mid-Atlantic Leader for Technology.
• Chavon Wilcox will lead the Construction and Real Estate segment.
• David Semendinger will serve as Mid-Atlantic Director of Audit.
• Jeff Gershen will co-lead the national Tax practice.
• Jim Fennel will lead the Government Contracting segment.
• Kate Petrillo will lead the Employee Benefit Plans segment.
• Nicole Mitchell will hold a new executive role as Chief Practice Officer.
• Rob Eby will lead the national Nonprofit segment.
• Thad Panik will serve as Chief Learning Officer.

Per the Aprio press release: Building upon nearly five times organic and inorganic growth over the last decade, and with the addition of Aronson’s capabilities, Aprio serves major markets across nine industry segments. The firm will expand Aronson’s strengths in Government Contracting, Nonprofit, and Construction to Aprio’s existing markets and will likewise offer the full breadth of its services, including Cybersecurity, Staffing, Data & Analytics and Wealth Management and Private Client services, to Aronson’s client base. Aprio will draw on its deep experience in Real Estate, Technology, Manufacturing, and more to provide significant opportunity for business owners and entrepreneurs in the Washington, D.C. market.

“Aprio has had a fantastic working relationship as a referral partner to Aronson over the last decade which proves how well our 31 fundamentals and Aronson’s core values align,” said Richard Kopelman, CEO and Managing Partner at Aprio. “This year marks Aprio’s 70^th anniversary and Aronson’s 60^th – a historic year for both firms – and we’re thrilled to create and celebrate success with a likeminded firm as committed as Aprio is to being a top workplace and top CPA and advisory firm. Together, we will be creating exceptional experiences for our people and clients for the next 70 years and beyond.”

“Both Aronson’s and Aprio’s missions are to invest in clients’ success by investing in our own, and this merger achieves just that, creating the complete client experience and expanding opportunities for our team,” said Aronson’s Managing Partner Larry Davis, who will join Aprio as a Partner. “Through this strategic combination, Aronson gains scale and depth, while continuing to serve entrepreneur-led businesses.” Aronson’s newly elected Managing Partner, Lexy Kessler, will join Aprio as Mid-Atlantic Regional Leader.

With a larger national presence and over $325 million in combined revenue, this merger positions Aprio to elevate its position in the market and create impactful growth opportunities for team members and clients. Since their rebrand in 2017, Aprio has grown to a top-35 accounting firm through expanded services and capabilities and has completed more than 16 strategic mergers and acquisitions in the last five years including Henderson & Godbee, Leaf Saltzman, RINA and Ladd Robbins in 2022 alone.

For more information about Aprio, visit www.aprio.com.