OKC accounting firm merges with BKD: Deal will yield offices in

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), May 25, 2006 by Brian Brus

An Oklahoma City firm has merged with one of the nation's Big 10 accounting houses, company officials announced Wednesday.

Lisle Compton Cole & Almen LLP will combine its certified public accounting practices with BKD LLP on June 1, partner Todd J. Lisle said. The combination will yield an Oklahoma practice with offices in Tulsa, Enid and Oklahoma City, employing about 100. The new firm will practice under the BKD name in the current Lisle Compton office in Oil Center on Northwest Expressway.

This provides us the opportunity to continue the growth which we've experienced and to enhance client services, particularly the larger clients that we've been attracting in recent years, Lisle said.

Financial details of the deal were not immediately available. Lisle said, Because it's a merger, there's not necessarily a lot of dollars that are changing hands.

Lisle and partners Kim W. Shoemake and R. Brett Cole will continue to serve clients in the combined firm, while remaining Lisle Compton partners will retire, resume private practice or join BKD in other capacities, he said. BKD partner Doug P. Van Meter will transfer from Enid.

Eric Hansen, the partner in charge of BKD's Oklahoma practice, said the merger will help us reach our strategic goals of expansion and diversification in the state.

Lisle Compton was founded in 1995 and ranks eighth in size in Oklahoma City, with practices focusing on financial services, not- for-profits and government, manufacturing and distribution, energy, professional services, retail, business valuations, information technology and litigation support. Clients range in size from large organizations with more than $1 billion in assets to small family operations.

BKD has strong practices in health care, manufacturing and distribution, not-for-profits and government, construction, real estate, information technology through its BKD Technologies division, risk management, forensics, corporate finance and wealth management. BKD serves more than 70 public companies and provides tax services to about 18,000 individuals and trusts.