Prepping for new era after tax-shelter shocker; Firms get ready for KPMG's rich refugees, revamp strategies to keep noses clean.(accounting firms)

Crain's New York Business, September, 2005 by Fernandez, Tommy

Byline: Tommy Fernandez Summer is usually a slow season for accounting firms. They cut back on hiring new people, perhaps even lay off others. This summer, however, J.H. Cohn snapped up 10 tax experts, and it's hankering for at least half a dozen more. But garden-variety tax pros need not apply.

The firm wants experts in areas such as Japanese investments and international trust funds: niches favored by the wealthy. J.H. Cohn, like many of the area's other midsize accounting firms, is preparing for what could be a flood of clients from beleaguered giant KPMG. "There could be a fallout in the industry,'' says Robert DeMeola, head of J.H. Cohn's New York office. "We need to make sure we have all the talent on board now to handle high-net-worth...

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