Citrin Cooperman cofounder leaves firm

Joel Cooperman, cofounder and former CEO of Citrin Cooperman, left the firm on March 31 after over 40 years.

Cooperman founded the firm, alongside Niles Citrin, in 1979 when two English rock bands provided the seed money needed to open shop in a small New York apartment. Now, the Top 25 Firm reports over $870 million in revenue, with 27 offices, 455 partners and 3,190 employees.

“I can assure you that Niles Citrin and I never had any plans to build a firm larger than the two of us and maybe a couple of others,” Cooperman said in a statement. “In the early years, accounting was still viewed primarily as a profession and not as a full business — this never really made sense to me. We felt that for long-term success it was critical to create a culture and environment that our partners and employees would enjoy as we all worked to build a thriving sustainable business.”

Citrin Cooperman was one of the first major accounting firms to accept a private equity investment, in October 2021 from New Mountain Capital. Then in January of this year, Blackstone acquired a majority stake in the firm from New Mountain, making it the first instance of an accounting firm to transfer private equity ownership from one group to another. And since its founding, the firm has acquired or merged over 65 professional services firms and added other lateral partners.

Cooperman offered advice to those early in their career: “I have always been surprised that so many people do not really understand how much they have to offer, how much potential they have.  If I could offer any advice, it would be to figure out what you are good at and what you love to do, make a plan, write it down, and then go after it every day.”