Kaufman Rossin Expands Private Equity Focus With Launch of KR PE
Miami-based Kaufman Rossin, Florida’s largest independent CPA and advisory firm and one of the top 50 firms in the U.S., has launched Kaufman Rossin PE (KR PE), a dedicated practice designed to support private equity funds, fund managers and portfolio companies throughout the investment lifecycle.
The new practice brings together services Kaufman Rossin has developed through decades of working with the private equity and alternative investment community, from evaluating acquisitions and structuring transactions to supporting portfolio companies, managing fund operations and preparing investments for exit.
“Private equity is a relationship-driven business, and we’ve been in this community for more than 30 years,” said Michael Fletcher, lead partner of Kaufman Rossin PE. “We understand the pressure points, the pace and what’s at stake.”
Supporting the Full Private Equity Lifecycle
Rather than focusing on a single piece of a transaction, Kaufman Rossin PE (KR PE) brings together services spanning the full private equity lifecycle for deal teams, operating partners, fund managers and portfolio companies.
On the transaction side, the practice supports deal screening and valuation, financial, tax and operational due diligence, tax structuring and transaction execution. Following an acquisition, KR PE can work alongside operating partners and portfolio companies on operational improvements, finance transformation, reporting and other value-creation initiatives before helping prepare businesses for an eventual exit.
The practice also supports funds and fund managers beyond individual transactions, providing services that include fund setup and onboarding, fund accounting, year-end assurance and tax compliance, tax advisory, regulatory compliance and eventual fund wind-down.
Kaufman Rossin’s wholly owned investment banking affiliate, Mary Street Capital, adds strategic M&A and corporate finance advisory capabilities, extending the services available to KR PE clients.
KR PE and Mary Street Capital primarily focus on lower-middle-market and middle-market private equity funds, fund managers and portfolio companies. Industry-focused teams work across technology and SaaS, healthcare and life sciences, real estate, business and professional services, manufacturing and distribution, and consumer products.
Connecting Private Equity With Founder-Owned Businesses
The new practice also builds on another significant part of Kaufman Rossin’s existing client base: founder-owned businesses.
“Every year KR serves hundreds of founder-owned businesses at all stages of their lifecycle,” Fletcher said. “We work daily with the types of companies PE funds are looking to acquire. We understand their needs, and their sponsors’ needs, and that translates into effective support at every stage.”
That experience gives the firm perspective from both sides of a potential transaction, working with private equity investors seeking opportunities as well as entrepreneurs and executives building the types of middle-market companies those firms may ultimately look to acquire.
For founder-led companies considering outside investment or an eventual sale, understanding the expectations of institutional buyers can become increasingly important as a business approaches a transaction. For PE firms, familiarity with the financial and operational realities of founder-owned companies can provide valuable context during diligence and after an acquisition.
Independence as a Differentiator
The launch also comes at a time when private equity has become increasingly influential within the accounting and advisory industry itself.
Kaufman Rossin, however, remains partner-owned and is positioning that independence as a differentiator for KR PE, particularly when clients are sharing sensitive financial, operational and transaction information with their advisers.
“Many of the CPA and advisory firms competing for work in the PE space are owned by private equity,” said Marc Feigelson, CEO of Kaufman Rossin. “That means a fund, a fund manager, or a portfolio company is handing sensitive information to an advisor owned by another PE firm.”
Feigelson said Kaufman Rossin intends to remain independent, objective and partner-owned, arguing that its ownership structure allows the firm to serve clients without another private equity investor or competing financial interest positioned above the relationship.
The distinction creates an interesting position for the firm: at a time when private equity is investing heavily in the accounting and advisory industry, Kaufman Rossin is choosing to remain independently owned while expanding the services it provides directly to private equity.
Decades of Experience in Alternative Investments
Although KR PE is a new dedicated practice, Kaufman Rossin’s involvement with private equity and alternative investments is not.
In 2021, the firm launched Kaufman Rossin Alternative Investment Services to provide fund administration services to hedge funds, private equity firms, venture capital funds, family offices and other investment managers.Furthermore, Kaufman Rossin previously built a fund administration company that was sold to a global public company in 2015.
KR PE brings that history together with the firm’s tax, assurance, advisory, transaction, operational and investment banking capabilities under a practice specifically structured around the needs of private equity. For Kaufman Rossin, the move represents an expansion of a business the firm has been building for decades rather than an entry into an entirely new market.
And its South Florida roots give the launch additional relevance as the region’s financial services and private capital sectors continue to develop. Headquartered in Miami, Kaufman Rossin has offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, as well as New York.
As private equity firms seek opportunities among founder-led and middle-market companies, Kaufman Rossin is positioning KR PE at the intersection of the investors deploying capital, the businesses attracting it and the increasingly complex financial and operational work required throughout the investment lifecycle.
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