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St. Pete firm Spoor Bunch Franz merges, expands

Veronica Brezina

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From left to right: SBF leaders Rich Franz and W.G. Spoor, David Harper (founder of Westbay), and Steve Bunch. Photo: B2 Communications.

St. Petersburg-based firm Spoor Bunch Franz (SBF), one of the area’s most prominent accounting practices, has expanded its relationship with Westbay CPAs through a new merger. 

The merger with Clearwater-based Westbay, known for its specialization in forensic accounting and business valuations, took effect Jan. 1. Through the merger, SBF now has over 100 employees and will offer more services, according to a joint Friday announcement. 

“Going back to the original founding of our firm, we didn’t offer certain specialized services unless we had that experience and could provide the best quality as far as business valuations and other services,” SBF managing partner Rich Franz said to the St. Pete Catalyst. “W.G. Spoor and I have known David [Harper, Westbay’s owner] for years, and we continually found ourselves referring more and more clients to him.” 

SBF is a full-service accounting firm, and Westbay, founded in 2013, does not practice traditional accounting services but specializes in several different areas. With forensic accounting, the Westbay firm provides accounting for divorce cases and business disputes. The firm also specializes in business valuations that buyers and sellers utilize to reach a purchase agreement.

The SBF team and Westbay built a trusted relationship, and through multiple meetings, talks of a potential merger surfaced. 

“It was a relatively slow process because we wanted to make sure it would be a cultural fit for both firms. As we became more comfortable, we knew this would be a great fit, and then it was easy from a transactional standpoint,” Franz said. 

Westbay has a five-person staff and a single owner, which differs from SBF’s other mergers. 

SBF was created in 2016 through a merger with two large longtime Tampa Bay firms. In addition to its organic growth since 2016, SBF added employees and clients through mergers with the Strawn, Marshall, Cunningham, Condon and Sweat accounting firm in 2018 and the Dwight Darby accounting firm in 2021. 

“We are trying to have minimal disruption and will continue under the SBF name, and they will continue under the Westbay name. Over time, we will bring in the SBF cobrand although it is now considered to be under the SBF umbrella,” Franz said. 

Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed. 

Franz explained that in the past, executives in previous mergers had a reduced capacity and were not seeking equity. With Westbay, Harper will become an equity part of SBF. 

“This merger will allow clients to have all the services within one umbrella – this closes that circle, especially for businesses needing assistance to get their business ready to sell or market it to an outside party,” Franz said. 

Westbay’s Clearwater office will remain open, providing Spoor Bunch Franz with a third location. SBF has existing offices in St. Petersburg and Tampa. 

“Our philosophy is to stay steady and have organic growth, making sure we are not outpacing ourselves. We don’t have a strategic plan in place to acquire more firms, but if an opportunity presents itself that we see fit, then we will have that conversation,” Franz said. 

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1 Comment

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    Roger Cheek

    January 7, 2023at1:57 pm

    Good Luck

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