Eight years after expanding into the Chattanooga market with its purchase of the former Hazlett, Lewis & Beiter accounting office, Mauldin & Jenkins announced Wednesday it is acquiring one of the biggest independent CPA firms in North Alabama.
Mauldin & Jenkins (M&J), which has grown to more than 300 employees including its 55-person staff in Chattanooga, will acquire the Alabama accounting firm of CDPA, PC, on July 1.
CDPA, which is named after Cecil Christopher and Charles Durham who started the CPA firm in Athens, Alabama in 1954, has 15 certified public accountants on its staff and also provides other financial services and support from its offices in Athens, Florence and Huntsville, Alabama. Terms of the merger were not disclosed by the privately held firms.
"We are excited to begin our journey in partnership with the Mauldin & Jenkins team," said David Christopher, the managing partner for CDPA. "Their professional expertise, commitment to exceptional client service, as well as our common culture make them a perfect fit for CDPA. We look forward to continuing to serve clients in North Alabama for many years to come, and our partnership with Mauldin & Jenkins will enhance our ability to do so."
Mauldin & Jenkins has expanded from its Albany, Georgia, origins in 1918 to start other offices or merge with other CPA firms in Atlanta, Savannah and Macon, Georgia; Columbia, South Carolina; Bradenton, Florida; Birmingham, Alabama; and Chattanooga. Mauldin & Jenkins entered the Chattanooga market in 2013 when it merged with Hazlett, Lewis & Bieter, LLC, a 70-year-old Chattanooga accounting firm started in 1943.
M&J was among the Best Employers in Chattanooga, according to worker surveys. With $55.4 million in revenues, the firm ranked No. 83 in the IPA Top 400 list compiled by Inside Public Accounting in 2020.
Mauldin & Jenkins' Managing Partner Hanson Borders said CDPA" has a long and rich history of serving the needs of its clients and its community" and has "our shared core values and history of quality service."
"I'm confident our current and future clients will benefit from the additional resources we will bring to each other," Borders said.