The $1 Billion Man

Longobardi: I'm very focused on visiting our offices and meeting with as many of the partners and staff throughout the Firm as possible. As I share my vision with them for CohnReznick, I am receiving excellent feedback on the vision I have outlined and have enjoyed hearing their thoughts on the Firm's future. I'm also focused on preparing the Firm's updated Strategic Plan. This process includes a top-down and bottom-up approach, with specific strategies not only at the Firm level, but for each of our offices and practice areas. I've also met with members of my executive team—those reporting directly and indirectly to me. I think it's important to start having these conversations now to build shared goals and objectives as well as a sense of accountability and transparency.

Consulting: What are your top priorities or goals as CEO?

Longobardi: As the 11th largest accounting firm in the United States, CohnReznick's growth strategy is focused on, among other things, achieving top 10 status. To accomplish this, I see our goals as three-fold: Accelerating growth by expanding services, creating diversification of services in our existing offices, expanding via strategic mergers, and focusing on industry specialization. Providing world-class service to our clients is certainly a given, but it is more than just words. I believe we need to continue to live and breathe this in all we do. As well as developing the future leaders of our firm. This is a topic I'm very passionate about: we need to mentor our people, train them effectively, listen to them, and most importantly, empower them. That's the secret to developing great leaders.  Each and every professional should feel special and understand their importance to our firm.

Consulting: What are some of the biggest challenges clients are asking for help with?

Longobardi: Access to capital is one of the most critical issues in today's economy, especially for companies in the middle market. Fortunately, we have seen strong improvement in this area over the past year. We continually advise clients on how and where to access the capital they need and how best to prepare for a potential transaction. IT used to be a tool to enhance efficiency, improve communication, etc. Today, it's the central nervous system of a company. Big Data. Predictive Analytics. This is how technology is driving business transformations that create stakeholder value. Last month, CohnReznick Advisory expanded our Technology and Digital Advisory practice to help organizations create technology strategies to realize this value. This will be a major growth driver for the Firm in the years ahead.

Consulting: What is your vision for CohnReznick going forward?

Longobardi: Currently, CohnReznick is the 11th largest accounting firm in the U.S. I'd like to see us solidly entrenched in the Top 10 within the next three years. I believe we can grow our revenue from approximately $600 million today to $1 billion within the next five years.  Growth will come from geographic expansion and new products and services.  In addition, we expect the consulting side of our business to grow rapidly in areas such as technology, real estate and government services. In addition, I want the firm to be known as one of the best places to work and a company that provides talented people with great opportunities, in addition to having a fun and welcoming culture with challenging projects. We want professionals who look to grow in their careers, and who can utilize their talents to help us perpetuate and grow the Firm. I also want CohnReznick to be known as providers of world-class client service. This will mean being accurate in everything we do, providing honest and timely communications, and delivering forward thinking, value-added insight which helps our clients achieve their objectives.

Consulting: How would you describe the overall state of the accounting, tax and advisory consulting markets?

Longobardi: For accounting and tax, the market is still very competitive both in finding talent as well as in bringing in new clients to the Firm.  As you can tell by our economic indicators, growth in the United States has been modest, but not robust.  In addition, there is still significant consolidation in a variety of industries. This has led many of the larger firms, including CohnReznick, to seek acquisitions in order to enhance revenue, and more importantly, to bring in new talent to help them grow in particular markets.

The market is more robust on the consulting side, as many companies are doing acquisitions, revamping current technology, reexamining all of their processes, and seeking access to capital. For our advisory professionals, it is incredibly rewarding to help clients tackle complex challenges and be on the forefront of the latest thinking and solutions. This has allowed our consulting group to continue to grow at a much more rapid pace than our accounting and tax practices and you'll find that to be true in a number of other firms, as well.