People: Jimmy Stewart, CPA, ABV, CFF, CFE, formerly with Baker Tilly in Tampa, Fla., and Jason Soman, CPA/ABV, ASA, CFE, CDFA, formerly in a solo practice, have joined forces to form Soman Stewart Business Valuation & Forensic CPAs, with offices in Boca Raton and Tampa and a satellite location in Orlando; the firm’s website is at ssforensics.com … Ben Sheppard, CPA, CVA, has joined the Berkeley Research Group (BRG) in the firm’s Forensic Accounting & Investigations practice as a director in Los Angeles; he has a focus on the entertainment and media industries and provides litigation, valuation, and forensic investigation services involving complex business disputes and intellectual property matters … Three professionals have joined HKA in the firm’s Forensic Accounting and Commercial Damages practice in North America: K. Scott Van Meter, CPA, CIRA, CFF, joins as partner based in Houston with over 35 years of experience in litigation consulting, bankruptcy and restructuring, valuation, and forensic accounting; Pamela Verick, CFE, CCEP, joins as principal based in Washington, D.C., with over 25 years of experience in global fraud risk management, data-driven compliance programs, and triaged responses to unplanned events; and Alexander Lee, CPA, ABV, joins as director based in New York City, with over 15 years of professional experience, including as a testifying expert, specializing in business valuations and damages quantification.

Firms: Valuation Research Corp. (VRC) has been named Valuation Firm of the Year in M&A Advisor’s 14th Annual International M&A Awards. VRC won the award last year and has received the award a total of 12 times … Bloomington, Minn.-based BGM has added SealedBid, a specialized lower midmarket mergers and acquisitions (M&A) firm based in Minneapolis, to its organization, which now has 170 skilled professionals … Enterprise, Ala.-based Carr Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors has acquired ProSport CPA, headquartered in New Kent County, Va., which provides tax and accounting services to professional athletes and entertainers … Raleigh, N.C.-based Cherry Bekaert has acquired Kerr Consulting, a Houston-based provider of accounting software managed services.

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