SMART Business Advisory and Consulting
| Company type | Consulting |
|---|---|
| Industry | Professional Services |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Devon, PA , USA |
Number of locations | 14, Worldwide |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Steve Samek, CEO |
| Services | Accounting, Audit, Attest, Actuarial, Business Advisory, Consulting, Compensation and Benefits, Tax, Transaction Advisory |
Number of employees | 500 |
| Website | SMART Business Advisory and Consulting, LLC |
SMART Business Advisory and Consulting, LLC is a consulting company serving clients throughout the U.S. and globally. SMART is headquartered in Devon, Pennsylvania with locations in the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and internationally in London.
History
SMART was founded in 1988 as primarily a tax and audit firm. In 2002 with the hire of disenfranchised Arthur Andersen personnel, SMART offerings broadened to include business advisory and consulting services. A series of acquisitions financed through debt translated to rapid revenue and headcount expansion. In 2007 with global credit waning, a business model predicated on leveraged financing ultimately led to the need for recapitalization, repeat turnover of CFOs, and the dismissal of the founder and CEO. On August 17, 2009, LECG Corporation announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to merge with Smart.
Major developments include:
- May 1993: First major tax outsourcing engagement
- November 1996: John Swanick joins from Deloitte and Touche to lead the Insurance practice.
- June 1997: First major consulting engagement
- October 2001: Opened Chicago office
- July 2002: After the conviction of Arthur Andersen LLP in June 2002 and the swift loss of partners' equity capital [1], 55 Andersen consultants led by six former partners (Joe Lanzisera, Stan Pittman, Jonathan Stomberger, Kathy Bellwoar, Bob Baxter and Neil Schneider) join Smart and Associates to drive the firm's Business Consulting practice. [2]
- September 2002: Opened New York office
- October 2002: Purchased Glen Ingram Chicago (22 people). Company reports $25.5 million in annual revenues. [3]
- March 2003: Purchased Strategis: Schaumburg, Philadelphia & Atlanta (21 people)
- May 2003: Purchased Grabush, Newman & Co. Baltimore (50 people). Smart employs roughly 300 people and with the Grabash Newman acquisition annual revenues approach $40 million. [4]
- 2005: Opened Amsterdam office
- February 2006: Purchased KPMG Compensation & Benefits Practice [5]
- September 2006: Opened London office
- May 2007: Great Hill Partners, LLC acquires a controlling interest in Smart for $60 million and by refinancing $60 million of debt and other liabilities. [6] [7] CEO James Smart indicated the deal was sought to address the problem that "we're thinly capitalized, have been from day one". The deal leaves Smart and 62 other partners in Smart Business Advisory with a significant minority stake. Smart would not say how much of the $60 million went to the partners. [8]
- March 2008: Terence Montgomery hired as CFO replacing Richard Devine.
- June 2008: Grabush, Newman & Co. staff released. [9]
- August 2008: In August the firm reports that founder James Smart has stepped down from the position of CEO, and retained as chairman to focus on long-term strategy. [10] In December it is confirmed that Smart was forced out by Great Hill Partners, the private equity firm that bought 80% of the firm in May 2007. [11] [12]
- November 2008: Steve Samek, former head of Arthur Andersen's U.S. operations, is hired as CEO. [13]
- December 2008: Terence Montgomery resigns as CFO after brief tenure. [14] In calendar year 2008, Smart is one of the very few large national consulting firms to experience both a decrease in revenues and subsequent employee headcount. [15] Revenues contracted by 10% while nationwide the industry growth rate expanded at 9%. [16]
- August 2009: Howard Stecker resigns as CFO [17]
- August 2009: LECG announces proposed merger with SMART. LECG is to receive a $25 million cash investment from SMART's majority shareholder, Great Hill Partners in exchange for approximately 10.9 million shares of common stock and 6.3 million shares of preferred stock in the combined company. LECG will assume approximately $32.4 million of SMART net debt. [18]
Notable Staff
- Steve Samek
- Joseph L. Lanzisera
References
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/2002/03/19/0319topnews.html
- ^ http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-12-2002/0001762615&EDATE=
- ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2007/01/22/focus6.html
- ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2003/04/28/daily39.html
- ^ Smart move snags KPMG unit - Philadelphia Business Journal:
- ^ http://www.cozen.com/practice_area_detail.asp?d=1&m=5&paid=202
- ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2007/05/14/daily17.html
- ^ http://www.greathillpartners.com/index.php/news/view/82
- ^ http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/06/23/story10.html
- ^ http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2008/08/04/daily24.html
- ^ http://cpatrendlines.com/2009/01/04/investors-push-out-founder-at-smart/
- ^ http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2008/12/15/daily10.html
- ^ http://philly.citybizlist.com/lstg/lstgDetail.aspx?id=43903
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS126795+16-Dec-2008+PRN20081216
- ^ http://careers.deloitte.com/united-states/students/file_download.aspx?FileName=8289_ACT.pdf&FileSource=US&FileID=pdf
- ^ http://digital.webcpa.com/top100firms2009/act_top100firms2009/
- ^ http://www.pr-inside.com/chartis-makes-worldwide-management-appointments-r1432132.htm
- ^ http://lecg.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=403720