For our Transaction Services Group, celebrating their 10-year anniversary means more than a decade of offering M&A services to private equity, large multinational and middle-market clients. This milestone marks the year when seasoned, industry veterans from global CPA firms began their own entrepreneurial journey to create a national, full-service practice that has grown to include a 30-person team built from the ground up.
Opportunity of a Lifetime
In the early years of the firm, now retired Cohen & Co Partner Tom Bechtel conducted due diligence for existing private company clients looking to make a transaction. Managing Director Jim Lisy handled the investment banking, and they involved their tax colleagues as needed. But, as the number of clients needing transaction assistance, particularly private equity clients, grew exponentially, so did our firm’s need for a fully dedicated team.
Enter: Justin Thomas in 2014, hailing from a global firm and looking for a way to be there for his growing family while still growing his career. Having started out as an intern with Cohen & Co in 1999, 15 years later he found himself back at our firm with big plans — where he bet on himself and Cohen & Co to launch the firm’s Transaction Services Group.
The goal was to build a global firm contender in the middle market while creating a place the best-of-the-best could come to accelerate and cultivate their careers as much as they could a family life — a phenomenon virtually unheard of at the larger firms.
“It’s been such a Cohen story,” says Thomas. “The first day I showed up, executive management said, ok, go do it! They didn’t micromanage me; instead, they trusted and treated me as an entrepreneur to build something great. We set out to pair the sophisticated expertise of global consulting firms with hands-on partner attention to middle and lower-middle market transactions — a space often underserved by larger firms.”
Firm veterans, such as Jim Lisy, involved in working on client deals knew the impact Thomas was having from Day 1.
“Twenty years ago, if you were going to sell your company they’d say, ‘get an audit.’ Now they say, ‘get a Quality of Earnings report.’ What Justin brought to Cohen & Co is a huge success story. The firm he came from was considered a pioneer in QofE reports. Justin established a group at Cohen & Co that provides a lot of value others simply weren’t, and still aren’t. He established an excellent product and enterprise skillset that mid-market clients really needed.”
Thomas’ efforts have led to game changing results, not only for our clients, but for the team he’s built.
“Others in the market could tell this newly formed group was making an impact,” says Samantha Smudz, a transaction services partner at the firm. With a young family of her own at the time, Smudz left a global firm to join Cohen & Co in 2019 and build the transaction tax team, which has been transformational to the group’s success. “We had the entrepreneurial freedom to grow a practice instead of a book of business. We wanted to grow something more meaningful for our clients, and our own careers and lives.”
A New Perspective
Growing something “more meaningful” for clients meant going beyond the mechanics of a transaction to offer buyers and sellers more support and engagement. We knew we had to focus on those most impacted by the transaction – whether they cut the check or receive it.
“We understand the emotional process involved in a transaction,” says Transaction Services Partner Tim Maynard. “How we interact with people, in particular a seller going through a transaction for the first time, is important to us and our clients who want to partner with them. We have great empathy as a group, bridging the gap to help sellers and buyers understand what is needed for a smooth transaction.”
What’s Next for Cohen & Co
The team, with most members bringing a decade of experience with them to the table upon joining the firm, has always known their sweet spot: middle-market size transactions, often with the seller receiving institutional capital for the first time.
“Our focus is helping when the seller is going through a sale for the first time,” says Transaction Services Partner Ken Randazzo, Thomas’ first hire at the firm. “Whether we represent the buyer or seller, we know how to walk them through it all, to get the data and insights our client needs without overwhelming what can be an under-resourced seller.”
Ten years later, our Transaction Services Group is still growing alongside clients new and old. Now with a national brand in this space, sophisticated in both expertise and the technology that surrounds it, the group has significantly expanded since 2014:
- Clients: Middle market private equity, large private or public companies seeking smaller acquisitions (generally sub $150M EV)
- Team: Nearly 30 transaction services professionals, including four partners
- Primary Geographies: Nationwide reach with team members in Northeast Ohio, Buffalo, Chicago, Charlotte, Hartford, Miami, Pittsburgh
- Service Areas: Buy-side and sell-side financial & tax due diligence, tax structuring and post-transaction support
Our success story is one of entrepreneurial perseverance with a team determined to make their own unique and indelible mark within an established firm and mature industry across the U.S.
Meet our Transaction Leaders
