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Establishing a brand as a CPA firm is

something that can take a lifetime.

For Long Islands Grassi & Co., the recent

rebranding of its echnology Consulting Di-

vision was a testament to the firms strategy

of gaining higher brand recognition for the

firm and its niche services.

Many of the technology consulting units

at CPA firms function somewhat separately

from the other practice areas, leaving other

partners unfamiliar with the projects they

are involved with. By contrast, Grassis tech

practice has made efforts to integrate itself

more with the core CPA firm, and over the

past year underwent a rechristening from its

former moniker of GCM Systems, first to the

more familial Grassi echnologies, and more

recently to the less formal Grassi & Co.s ech-

nology Consulting Division.

Managing partner Lou Grassi explained

that the change addressed the firms over-

arching goal of meeting a range of client

needs throughout their respective business

lifecycles. And he said that the firm-client

relationship often begins with tech consult-

ing. You need to have a differentiator, and

this is how we are doing it. We really wanted

to wrap our arms around clients and service

all of their needs, said Grassi. We lead with

[tech] consulting and this is a space for us

to be. Businesses evolve and systems dont

always evolve with a business. For us, its not

always just about having a tech plan, a tax

plan or an audit plan. We look to see what our

clients need and how we can provide that.

Last year Grassi began the process of re-

branding and integrating its technology

unit within the firm. GCM Systems, as it was

known as far back as the mid-1990s, acted as

a systems implementer and software reseller,

primarily for Sage imberline, MAS 90, 200

and 500. Carrying imberline made sense for

the firm, as much of its business came from

the construction sector, while the MAS line

was utilized by non-construction clients.

While many Grassi entities existed, the per-

ception in the market was that GCM Systemswas a separate entity from the firm hence

the series of renamings.

We used to get work from other CPA

firms and still do, but at the time [GCM was

created] we didnt want to call it Grassi and

Company; we were concerned what would

happen if they were to refer us to clients that

perhaps didnt want the Grassi name, said

Grassi. Tese days we are thinking were not

going to violate any trust and our impression

was that the Grassi brand adds a lot, so werenamed it Grassi echnologies. We facilitate

the whole process and get involved in the en-

tire process. Our thing is sitting on the clients

side of the table, getting them whats right for

their business.

NEW LEADERSHIP

Rob Murray, a principal within the echnol-

ogy Consulting Division, echoed Grassis

viewpoint on rebranding, and maintained

that every accounting system implementa-

tion is relevant to other practice areas.

We had some interaction [with other

practice areas] before, but now that we are

merged in, theres more coordination of our

efforts, said Murray. If Im in meetings with

a prospect, I can bring in someone from tax

or audit. Doing an implementation, we know

what the audit guys need and what manage-

ment reporting needs to be set up. And if our

auditors come in, weve set it up so its exactly

how they need it.

Murray has been with the firm since 1984,

and recently served as the interim head of the

tech division until early January, when Grassi

hired construction industry and tech services

veteran Chuck Schwartz as the new partner-

in-charge of the technology practice.

We wanted someone forward-thinking, as

were getting into new markets and expand-

ing our capabilities to existing companies,

explained Grassi. When [Schwartz] came on,

we had him meet with all of our niche groups

and figure out how to grow in each sector.

Schwartz spent 14 years with a Long Is-

land-based sand and gravel manufacturing

mining concern. He then spent 13 years with

a professional I services company, where he

served as director of business development.

BY SETH FINEBERG

Whats in a name?practiceprofile

AT A GLANCEFirm:

Grassi & Co.

Headquarters:

Jericho, N.Y.

Year founded:1980

Managing partner:Lou Grassi

No. of partners/staff:13/164

No. of offices/locations:2

Revenue (2011):$29.7 million

Integration, branding boost Grassis profile, breadth of expertise

The Grassi of Grassi & Co.:Managing partner Lou

Photograph

byJordan

Hollen

der

8 accounting today | March 2012 accountingtoday.com

5/21/2018 Whats in a name? Integration, branding boost Grassis profile, breadth of expertise

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practiceprofile

He was recently contacted by an ex-

ecutive search agency about the po-

sition, and knew the firm well from

his years in construction. Grassi

hired Schwartz after his interview,which primarily consisted of a new

business plan for the echnology

Consulting Division.

hings are moving in new ar-

eas and I want to take us to new

niches and verticals. Some dont

exist with us now, like health care,

logistics, and waste brokerage, said

Schwartz. Tese are the growth ar-

eas. I want to be formidable 10 years

from now and build an award-win-ning expert consulting practice

around best-of-breed software and

systems. We want clients to see the

firm as a whole, and traditional

selling tactics just dont work any-

more. We have to be able to work

as a team, work with partners, and

cross-selling within the organiza-

tion is a unique gift for a technology

division to have.

Schwartz was also confident

that Grassis recent acquisition of

the New York-based firm Pustori-

no, Puglisi & Co. would positively

impact the growth of the echnol-

ogy Consulting Division. Specifi-

cally, Pustorino had financial and

international services practices

two areas Grassi had not been in

which will add to the firms and

the tech divisions overall service

areas and client base.

COORDINATED MARKETING

he tech divisions branding and

integration efforts also included a

new Web site and generating aware-

ness via social media, which also in-

volves partners posting original art-

icles and links to them via Facebook

and witter. Marketing manager

Vicki Mullen has overseen much of

this activity over the past year. We

want to be a one-stop shop, going

beyond tax and auditing, so we are

positioning our partners not just as

service providers, but thought lead-

ers, said Mullen. Were rebrand-

ing our partners, pushing the Web

and social media to show they are

thought leaders and not just part-

ners within a division. Now that we

have Chuck[Schwartz], we can push

that division and its services.

o continue with its branding

push and overall marketing efforts,

at the turn of the year Grassi hired

a new marketing director in Frank

Vitale. He had rec ently s erved as

market development operations,

office managing partner, and spe-

cial initiatives manager at KPMG.

Tough only on board for a brief

time, Vitale said that he is already

seeing the strength in the Grassi

name, and plans to continue on the

objective of being seen as one firm.

When I met with Lou, I learned this

firm is not scared to take chances

and to do what it takes to be seen

as a leader. Its not very common

for a firm to be proactive and not

reactive in this marketplace, said

Vitale. You need a team to work

with and Grassi has that mentality.

When you come from a business

consulting perspective, everything

is changing rapidly and you have to

adapt. If you change first, you will

be a thought leader.A

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