Andersen Expands Presence in SoCal, Adds New Offices in Des Moines and Pittsburgh

Following another strong year of aggressive growth, Andersen, a global provider of tax, valuation, financial advisory and related consulting services, has expanded its presence in Orange County, Calif. and established new offices in Des Moines, Iowa, and Pittsburgh, Pa. Andersen has increased its ranks by a total of 45 professionals in the U.S. as the partners and professionals from Rickmeyer & Associates in Irvine, Calif.; Vertical Advisors in Newport Beach, Calif.; Hamilton Juffer & Associates and HJN Advisors in Des Moines; and Chemel Kornick & Mooney (CKM) in Pittsburgh join the firm.

The new Orange County professionals will join Andersen’s office in Costa Mesa, while the teams in Des Moines and Pittsburg will be a part of the Chicago Metro and New York Metro practices, respectively. Collectively, the professionals joining Andersen deepen the firm’s expertise serving high net worth individuals, families, and businesses across a range of industries, including real estate, manufacturing, construction, professional services, hospitality, entertainment, technology, retail, financial planning, and agriculture. Likewise, clients in these markets will have access to Andersen’s full suite of tax services and extensive global platform.

“Over the last ten years, we’ve been intensely focused on expanding our global platform to serve as a one-stop-shop for our clients, and these strategic additions in the U.S. enable us to continue to meet the growing tax, valuation and financial advisory needs of our clients stateside,” explained Andersen Global Chairman and Andersen CEO Mark Vorsatz. “In addition to being accretive to one another’s current capabilities, each of these groups is a strong cultural fit and we are fortunate to welcome them to the Andersen family.”

Experienced Local Professionals to Serve Clients’ Needs

The following experienced tax professionals join Andersen as Managing Directors: 

Orange County, Calif.

Jerry Rickmeyer, former President and founder of Rickmeyer & Associates, specializes in the taxation of corporations, high net worth individuals, partnerships, and trusts, and has extensive expertise serving closely-held businesses, private equity funds, and family offices. He has over 30 years of experience and worked with the Big Four prior to establishing Rickmeyer & Associates.

Darin Yonemura, formerly a Principal at Rickmeyer & Associates, has over 25 years of tax experience, including experience at the Big Four and Arthur Andersen. He specializes in the taxation of corporations and has expertise in mergers and acquisitions, ASC 740 tax provision reporting, multi-state and multinational tax filings, and research and development credits.

​Peter DeGregori, founded Vertical Advisors, LLP in 2007 to work closely with middle-market business owners and privately-held companies and provide integrated and innovative tax, business and financial advisory services. He has extensive experience in tax across a range of industries including construction, real estate, hospitality, consumer products, technology, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, aerospace and defense, e-business, transportation, finance and agriculture.

Des Moines, Iowa

Matt Juffer was a Managing Partner and a founder of both Hamilton Juffer + Associates and HJN Advisors and has over 25 years of experience in all areas of taxation and financial planning. He previously spent time at the Big Four and works closely with corporate executives, high net worth individuals, corporations and trusts.

Brad Smerage was a Partner at Hamilton Juffer + Associates and has over 25 years of tax experience. His primary focus areas include complex individual taxation, partnership and corporate income taxes, agricultural taxation issues, and estate planning. He also has experience in stock options taxation, international tax issues, sales and use tax, and consolidated corporate filings. 

Holly Larson was a Partner at Hamilton Juffer + Associates and has nearly 20 years of tax experience assisting high net worth individuals and private companies with tax planning and compliance.  

Jeff Bratz joins Andersen from HJN Advisors and specializes in financial, investment and retirement planning for clients to complement their tax and estate planning in an integrated manner.

Pittsburgh, Pa.

Gregory Kornick was the Managing Partner and one of the founding members of CKM. He has over 30 years of experience and specializes in sophisticated tax planning and compliance solutions for family offices, ultra high net worth families, privately-owned businesses and their owners.

Mark Mooney was a Tax Partner at CKM, providing a broad range of business consulting, tax planning and compliance services to a diverse client base, including public and private corporations and individuals. He has over 25 years of experience and areas of concentration include foreign investors, accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, family investment activities, real estate, new business ventures, partnerships/S corporations, and transactional matters such as acquisitions and dispositions of businesses.

“We are so pleased with these additions because of the quality and experience of the individuals joining us, and the clear synergies and benefits we see for our collective clients and people,” said Dan DePaoli, U.S. Country Managing Director for Andersen. “These teams bring additional expertise and perspective to each of the markets they join. Likewise, our platform ensures that our clients have access to specialty services and deep technical knowledge wherever and whenever they need it, and that our people have access to world-class career development opportunities.”

Andersen has been growing at a rapid rate globally over the last 10 years. Inside the U.S., that growth has been primarily organic to date. With these additions, Andersen is expanding its platform in the U.S. through the addition of best-in-class professionals in new and existing markets. Outside the U.S., the global Andersen organization has been expanding rapidly through the addition of member and collaborating firms, adding a presence in more than 300 new locations over roughly the past five years. 

Andersen is the founding member of Andersen Global, an international association of legally separate, independent member firms comprised of tax and legal professionals around the world. Established in 2013 by U.S. member firm Andersen Tax LLC, Andersen Global now has more than 13,000 professionals worldwide and a presence in over 390 locations through its member firms and collaborating firms. In the U.S., Andersen has more than 1,700 personnel located in 23 cities across the country.