Most Area Accounting Firms Added New Employees

For 70 years, Miller, Kaplan, Arase & Co. has followed a plan of managed growth and adding staff members when the workload requires. It is a strategy that keeps the firm the San Fernando Valley’s largest in the accounting industry and at the top of the Business Journal’s accounting firms list for the 12th consecutive year. At its North Hollywood headquarters, Miller, Kaplan employs 158 people, including 81 certified public accountants. That is double the 39 CPAs at the No. 2 firm on the list, Crowe Horwath LLP. In July, the firm brought on three new employees, and it will likely add more before the end of the year, said Michael G. Kaplan, a partner and head of the business management division. “We are strategic in who we hire and why we are hiring them and (in) making sure there is workflow to keep them busy,” Kaplan said. Most firms on the list added employees since 2010. Others have maintained their headcount, while a small number reduced their staffs. Among those with fewer employees this year is White, Zuckerman, Warsavsky, Luna & Hunt LLP. The Sherman Oaks firm holds the No. 4 spot on the list. The firm lost much of its tax accounting practice when one partner moved over to another firm, said managing partner Fred Warsavsky. White, Zuckerman had the option of merging with the other firm, but it decided it was not a good fit because of certain policies, such as mandatory retirement, Warsavsky said. “I want to retire when I want to retire,” he added. The firm still has a tax accounting practice, albeit much smaller than in the past. But the firm plans to rebuild it through the normal course of business, particularly with referrals from its family law and litigation support practices, Warsavsky said. Overall, the firm’s workload is picking up compared to two years ago, Warsavsky said. “Some of our younger partners, their books of business are increasing, and I expect this year to be better,” he said. Movement in the top 10 on the list includes Ernst & Young LLP moving one place to No. 5; and Solomon, Ross & Grey & Co. LLP moving one spot to No. 8 and adding four employees. Entering the top 10 at No. 7 is SingerLewak LLP in Woodland Hills with 48 employees. Miller, Kaplan added six employees since the 2010 list. The firm’s CPA count went up to 81 from 76 on the previous list. Michael Kaplan credits several factors for attracting and retaining employees, including its work-life balance, employees from a variety of backgrounds and multiple practice areas. “There is so much diversity it keeps it challenging for our people,” Kaplan said. “We are not the type of firm that pigeonholes them into one area and say, ‘This is where you are going to stay.’” At the lower end of the list is just a sampling of the small- and medium-sized firms that dot the greater Valley region from Glendale to Camarillo. And they, too, are in a growth mode. Szabo Accountancy Corp. wasNo. 38 on the lost this year. The Calabasas firm has expanded primarily in its tax accounting and business management practices, said owner and President Craig Szabo. Recent hires were people brought on during the busy tax season and kept on full-time because the workload kept up, Szabo said. The firm has a reputation in the entertainment industry for its business management services, with reality show producers as a fast growing client base, Szabo said. “We get referrals from agents, managers, banks and attorneys,” Szabo said. We have a niche and are growing substantially.” Download the 2011 SFV’s LARGEST ACCOUNTING Firms list (pdf)