Business Council of Alabama member Barfield, Murphy, Shank & Smith will merge Jan. 1, 2019, with the Huntsville-based CPA firm of Hall Albright Garrison & Barnes, the company announced. Once the merger is completed, the company will have 29 partners, 94 certified public accountants, and about 225 employees. The two firms will consolidate under the name BMSS, LLC.
“We have spent a great deal of time with Hall Albright’s leadership over the past year,” BMSS Managing Member Don Murphy said in a statement. “Through our time together, we have come to see how we both reflect and complement our respective firm’s cultures and values. Our combined forces will take BMSS to a new level that will continue to grow and expand just as the Huntsville metro area is growing and expanding.”
Barfield Murphy Shank & Smith, LLC, is a CPA firm located in Auburn, Birmingham, Gadsden, Huntsville, and Opelika serving closely held businesses in various industries including construction, manufacturing, credit unions, nonprofits and technology. The plans are for the existing BMSS location in Huntsville to relocate to HAGB’s office at 400 Meridian St.
BMSS ranked 12th on Accounting Today’s 2018 Regional Leaders list for the Top Firms in the Gulf Coast region with an expected $25 million in annual revenue by the end of 2018. In addition to the CPA firm, the BMSS family of companies includes a wealth management company, BMSS Wesson Wealth Solutions, a payroll and benefits’ company, PBS, a PEO company, PBS PEO, and an IT company, Abacus IT Solutions.
Keith Barfield, Murphy, and John Shank created BMSS in 1991 with the vision of a CPA firm that would provide an exceptional client experience while sustaining a healthy, happy work culture for its employees. Shareholders of Hall Albright Garrison & Barnes recognized their firm’s shared vision in BMSS.
“We share similar cultures, we share similar beliefs and we share similar core values.” said HAGB Shareholder Scott Garrison. “Bringing our two firms together just makes sense.”
Hall Albright Garrison & Barnes is a full-service public accounting firm whose team of CPAs and consultants have served the North Alabama area for over 30 years. The firm offers tax, audit, payroll and bookkeeping services, and specializes in serving government contractor clients. The firm was formed in 2009 through a merger of House and Albright, P.C. and Hall and Garrison. With the addition of Greg Barnes in 2016, they became Hall Albright Garrison & Barnes, P.C.
“For many years, we have witnessed, admired and respected how BMSS has taken care of its people and its clients throughout the state,” said HAGB Shareholder Jon Hall. “Their culture and primary mission closely mirror ours. The skill sets of both firms are complementary to one another. It just seemed to make sense to bring the two firms together.”
“This merger is significant for all of us,” Murphy said. “In Hall Albright, we found people who, like us, could add real value at every stage of an organization’s life cycle with strengths that complement and extend our own. Beyond that, we feel that they’re a great fit with our people, our culture and our mission of delivering an exceptional client experience.”
On the web at www.bmss.com.