Florida
Ascend adds firms in Florida and California
Private-equity backed accounting firm Ascend has added Florida Regional Leader firm Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund and California-based Glenn Burdette to its platform, effective June 1.
Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund, based in Pensacola and Tampa, Florida, and Glenn Burdette, in San Luis Obispo, California, are the latest firms to join Arlington, Virginia-based Ascend, which is backed by private equity firm Alpine Investors and ranked No. 29 on Accounting Today‘s
Glenn Burdette formerly operated under an employee stock ownership plan and adds a central California presence to Ascend along with a team of 75 and seven partners, while Saltmarsh marks Ascend’s first Florida footprint and adds a team of 16 partners and 178 total team members to the firm.
Ascend reported $314.74 million in revenue and 1,464 employees in 2024.
Terms of both deals were not disclosed.
“These are two monumental partnerships for Ascend,” said Ascend president Nishaad in a statement. “Glenn Burdette was founded 60 years ago, and in 2000 became the first CPA firm in California to form an ESOP. That decision marked the firm’s commitment to a set of core values that they still wear on their sleeve today – a desire to provide opportunity for their people, a focus on shared ownership as an enabler of success, and a fierce commitment to hold the pen on their own story.”
Glenn Burdette provides tax, audit, bookkeeping, business consulting and financial management services, primarily to middle-market and small owner-managed businesses.
“Partnering with Ascend is the right move at the right time for Glenn Burdette,” said the firm’s CEO David Merlo. “Their forward-thinking approach and shared values make them a natural fit for our next chapter. We chose Ascend because of their strong commitment to reimagining what’s possible — for both our clients and our people.”
Saltmarsh, Cleaveland and Gund is a full-service accounting and advisory firm offering expertise and specialized consulting for many industries and high-net-worth individuals.
“Saltmarsh has an equally proud history, with an 80-year legacy in Florida’s panhandle and central cities,” said Ruparel in a statement. “The firm is synonymous with quality, is a longstanding best-place-to-work, and has a dynamic group of partners that are seen as trusted advisors across disciplines. Less than a year ago, Lee Bell and the Saltmarsh leadership team took the time they needed to articulate a strategic vision that would carry the firm into the next decade and enumerate a plan for achieving that vision. We feel privileged that they decided Ascend is best positioned to help them fulfill those ideals.”
“The success of our business is entirely about putting our people first so they can do what they love, which is helping our clients achieve success,” said Saltmarsh Advisors CEO Lee Bell in a statement. “Ascend’s intense focus on people and their unique concentration on supporting our more than 80-year legacy as Saltmarsh is why we made the decision to partner with them.”
Both Glenn Burdette and Saltmarsh are independent members of the BDO Alliance.
Since Ascend was launched in early 2023, it has made a significant number of investments, including including
Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis orders flags to be flown half-staff for Florida soldier who was killed in the Iran war
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday ordered Florida and U.S. flags at the state Capitol and all local and state buildings to be flown at half-staff on Saturday to honor U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Cody Khork, a Winter Haven resident, who was killed in Kuwait by Iranian drone strikes on March 1.
“Capt. Khork served our Nation with honor and dedication in the United States Army since 2009. He served as a Multiple Launch Rocket System/Fire Directions Specialist and was commissioned as a Military Police Officer in 2014,” a release from DeSantis’ office states. “He is remembered not only for his service to our Nation and State but as a true American hero who exemplified the values of patriotism, leadership, and selfless service. Our prayers go out to the family he leaves behind.”
Khork, 35, was one of the first U.S. casualties after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes at Iranian military and political leadership targets on Feb. 28.
A 2008 graduate of Lake Region High School in Polk County, Khork joined the National Guard in 2009.
He served overseas in Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Poland, and Kuwait and was posthumously awarded the rank of Major.
Florida
Central Florida man arrested after Miami Beach hit-and-run crash leaves 2 pedestrians dead, police say
A central Florida man has been arrested after Miami Beach police say he hit and killed two pedestrians on Collins Avenue and then fled the scene on Wednesday night.
Miami Beach police said that around 9:07 p.m., a black Nissan Sentra, which was being driven by Adan Negron-Morris, 42, of Lakeland, was spotted heading eastbound on 71st Street toward Collins Avenue in a reckless manner, and without the vehicle’s headlights on.
Negron-Mossis ended up speeding past a Miami Beach police officer who was conducting a high-visibility patrol detail in the area of Indian Creek Drive, and that officer was attempting to respond just as several 911 calls were being made about a reckless driver in the area, police said.
Negron-Morris then turned left onto Collins Avenue, and police said he eventually hit two pedestrians at the intersection of 73rd Street and Collins Avenue.
Miami Beach police said the vehicle continued to 74th Street and Collins Avenue and came to a stop. At that point, police said Negron-Morris got out of the car and fled into a nearby Walgreens.
Witnesses were able to direct responding police officers to Negron-Morris’s location, and he was taken into custody.
Police said that oofficers in the area immediately began to render aid to the two pedestrians who were hit until Miami beach Fire Rescue could arrive at the scene. Both victims were then rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition, where they later died.
Miami Beach police said that a DUI investigation was immediately launched after the incident, and Negron-Morris was taken to the Miami Beach Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.
Negron-Morris has since been charged with leaving the scene of a crash with death and vehicular manslaughter.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis rebuked some of Florida’s top law enforcement officials Thursday, criticizing their calls to Congress and President Donald Trump to work on a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants.
“This idea that unless you’re an axe murderer you should be able to stay, that is not consistent with our laws, and it’s also not good policy,” DeSantis said at an event in Bradenton.
[WATCH: State Immigration Enforcement Council meeting (via The Florida Channel)]
On Monday, the State Immigration Enforcement Council, a group of local law enforcement officials who were appointed to advise the State Board of Immigration Enforcement on illegal immigration enforcement, decided to send a letter to federal government officials asking them to work on a path to citizenship for noncriminal undocumented immigrants who pay a fine.
“My job as governor is to do what’s best for the people, not what any one person who gets elected in one county thinks,” DeSantis said.
[WATCH: DeSantis unveils an aggressive immigration and border security policy (from 2023)]
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, chair of the council, said Monday that immigrants who aren’t criminals should be able to stay in the country, under certain conditions. Other council members, like Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell, agreed with him.
“What’s right’s right, and what’s not’s not,” Gualtieri said at the meeting, “And going after the mom, who’s got three kids, who’s just trying to make a living, who’s been here for 15 years…that isn’t right, and they do need to fix it.”
DeSantis said Florida has become the national standard for illegal immigration enforcement after enacting legislation and pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into law enforcement, state-run detention facilities, and working directly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Who does (border czar) Tom Homan cite as the way to do this? He cites Florida without hesitation,” DeSantis said. “We’ve got to keep the momentum going, we certainly don’t want to backtrack on this.”
Judd and Gualtieri, two of the four sheriffs on the council, have consulted DeSantis and the legislature over the past couple of years about local law enforcement’s role in illegal immigration enforcement.
[WATCH: DeSantis outlines immigration priorities ahead of Trump’s new presidency (from 2025)]
The switch to advocating for a path for citizenship is a 180-degree turn for Judd. Last year in a council meeting, Judd asked Trump to sign more executive orders to allow state law enforcement to expedite the removal of undocumented immigrants, including those who do not have removal orders or criminal records.
But on Monday, Judd suggested writing a letter to elected officials, including Trump, the Speaker of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, and federal agencies to work on a path to citizenship.
All council members except Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, who was not at the meeting, agreed.
“There are those here that are working hard, they have kids in college, are in school, they’re going to church on Sunday, they’re not violating the law, and they’re living the American dream,” Judd told council members.
After receiving backlash for his comments, at a press conference the day after the meeting, Judd said he heard from sheriffs across the state who called him in support.
The sheriff, who stood his ground and again called for the federal government to work on a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants, calling it “common sense.”
“They’re not a drag on society. In fact, they’re helping society. We need to find a path for them,” Judd said.
[WATCH: Sheriff Judd calls on feds to pull back mass deportation campaign]
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