INSIDE Public Accounting's Best of the Best recognition honors 25 firms annually for their wise management and superior operational performance in fiscal and management metrics based on 50 criteria. Another 25 firms are recognized with designations as Best of the Best Honorable Mentions. This is the 14th year INSIDE Public Accounting (IPA) has named the best-managed accounting firms. Two hundred fifty firms participated in this year's IPA Annual Survey and Analysis of Firms. Each of the firms is eligible for the IPA Best of Best honor, regardless of size.

"Best of the Best firms represent the top 25 accounting firms in the nation who each demonstrate the right combination of vision, planning, and execution to deliver superior performance," said Michael Platt, principal of the Platt Consulting Group and publisher of INSIDE Public Accounting. "Firms who earn this designation are tops in their field, and represent the best of what the accounting profession has to offer."

The 2008 Best of the Best firms range in size from $6 million to $275 million in revenue; represent nine states; have practice mixes ranging from audit specialists (as high as 93 percent of net fees) to tax specialists (71 percent of net fees) and everything in between. Eleven of the 25 firms are from the West, and 10 of those 11 firms are based in California, primarily clustered around San Francisco and Los Angeles.

"The success of these firms is a tribute to the leadership of all of the firms recognized this year as a Best of the Best and their stellar performance in recognizing the long-term goals that are needed in order to sustain growth through both prosperous times and down times," said Kelly Platt, principal of the Platt Consulting Group and publisher of INSIDE Public Accounting. "We salute all of these firms and recognize their overall management strategies as models that the profession can be quite proud of."

With revenue growth of the group at 24.2 percent and income growth at 27.8 percent, Best of the Best firms turn in a scorecard that is the envy of their peers. They carefully weave together benefit packages, staff salaries, expense management, staff leverage, training, strategic planning, investments in their future, and the right feedback systems to accelerate growth of their firms. Not only are their growth rates strong, but they are able to pay partners on average 75 percent more than their peers – with average partner compensation crossing the $700,000 threshold for the first time in IPA history.

The Best of the Best Firms are listed in alphabetical order below:

Amper, Politziner & Mattia / Edison, NJ
Argy, Wiltse & Robinson / McLean, VA
Armanino McKenna / San Ramon, CA
Aronson & Company / Rockville, MD
Beers + Cutler / Vienna, VA
Burr, Pilger & Mayer / San Francisco
Feeley & Driscoll / Boston
Frazier & Deeter / Atlanta
Gerson Preston Robinson & Co. / Miami Beach
Glenn M. Gelman & Associates / Santa Ana, CA
Grassi & Co., CPAs / Lake Success, NY
Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co. / Fremont, CA
Hein & Associates / Denver
HMWC CPAs & Business Advisors / Tustin, CA
Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt / Santa Monica, CA
Johnson Lambert & Co. / Raleigh, NC
KMJ Corbin & Company / Irvine, CA
Marcum & Kliegman / Melville, NY
Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra / Miami
Novogradac & Company / San Francisco
Reznick Group / Bethesda, MD
SC&H Group / Sparks, MD
Seiler LLP / Redwood City, CA
Squar, Milner, Peterson, Miranda & Williamson / Newport Beach, CA
The Schonbraun McCann Group / New York City

You can find more details of the IPA Best of the Best, the Honorable Mentions, and the Best of the Best by Region.