Becker & Company, LLC, a leading New York-based tax consulting firm, has combined its practice with J.H. Cohn LLP, one of the country's largest accounting and consulting firms.

Founded in 1977, Becker & Company has provided tax services to family-owned businesses and their owners, publicly held companies and their senior executives, and high-net-worth entrepreneurs in New York City, Long Island and South Florida.

Stuart Becker, managing partner of Becker & Company, joins J.H. Cohn as a partner and will be responsible for the Becker & Company division of J.H. Cohn.

"We are pleased to welcome Stuart Becker and his firm into our growing organization," says Thomas J. Marino, chief executive officer of J.H. Cohn. "The knowledge and additional capacity that his firm brings to J.H. Cohn will enable us to serve not only our traditional middle-market clients, but also the individual tax needs of corporate executives who will have to seek tax services from independent accounting firms as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other corporate governance changes."

Also joining J.H. Cohn are Scott Ehrenpreis, principal; and six staff members.

"The addition of Stuart Becker and his staff will help J.H. Cohn provide a menu of tax services to those public companies that are now required to 'unbundle' many of their internal accounting projects, working with various firms to ensure independence and objectivity at every level," says Marino.

Becker is an active participant at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, having served as a member of the AICPA Council, the Federal Tax Division and the Committee on Management of a Tax Practice. He is past vice president, executive committee member and board member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. In addition, Becker is a past president and serves on the Board of Directors of New York University's Stern School of Business Alumni Association.

Strategic Growth Plans

The combination with Becker & Company is part of J.H. Cohn's strategic growth plan in the New York market. Arthur D. Levy & Company LLP, a firm noted for its hospitality industry experience, and Jacobs, Evall & Blumenfeld LLP combined with J.H. Cohn in 1999. Four years later, Mason & Company LLP brought experience in the entertainment field to J.H. Cohn. And last year, a combination with Levine, Levine and Meyrowitz expanded J.H. Cohn's presence on Long Island.

J.H. Cohn is finalizing plans for the expansion of its Manhattan office, located at 1212 Avenue of the Americas, to allow for significant growth. All the current activities taking place in New York are consistent with J.H. Cohn's approach to increasing the firm's position as the largest independently-owned firm in the New York Metropolitan area.