Somerset Financial acquires ISG clients

An Indianapolis financial services company recently acquired 90 clients from a local software consulting company, a deal that calls for continued support between the two firms.

On May 1, Somerset Financial Services acquired clients from Integrated Systems Group.

Somerset acquired ISG clients

The agreement is an implementation services contract, meaning Somerset doesn't sell the software, but implements it for clients.

Somerset was already using the software to help about 60 clients. The acquisition reportedly makes the company the largest MAS 90 support firm among CPA and consulting firms in Indiana.

"MAS 90 is a very popular package," said Brian Kinnaman, director of Somerset's information technology group. "Probably 5,000 dealers in the U.S. heavily recommend it within the CPA community. You can run an entire business on it. There are 22 applications that make up the MAS 90 suite."

Somerset employees have been working with MAS 90 for years. "We really like it; it's a got a very broad feel. It works well for a variety of clients," Kinnaman said.

Somerset Financial Services, at 8425 Woodfield Crossing Blvd., specializes in tax preparation, accounting, health care and technology consulting, and wealth management for privately held businesses.

It employs roughly 110 employees, all in Indianapolis, and is a part of the larger Somerset Group Inc.

Janet Luddy, marketing director for Somerset Financial, said the recent client acquisition was the first in which the company actually acquired clients from another firm.

"In the past, we've acquired other CPA firms. But in this case, we didn't take over any of ISG's employees, just the right to serve their existing clients," she said.

With the acquisition, Somerset assumes the support and ongoing training of ISG's previous MAS 90 client base.

While he wouldn't reveal the cost of the acquisition, Kinnaman said the deal is a win-win for both firms.

It will open more opportunities for Somerset to work with medium-size businesses - MAS 90's target consumer audience while allowing ISG to focus on other clients.

Such client refocusing is indicative of a shift in the financial services industry when it comes to software, Kinnaman said.

"A long time ago, the method was to present a lot of different software packages and serve as a one-stop shop for clients by offering lots of options," he said. "But what we're seeing now is a lot of companies are really narrowing the number of products they offer and becoming more advanced in those offerings. The trend is to put all their resources more heavily in one or two products instead of four or five."

Part of that has to do with the information technology work force, Kinnaman said.

"With IT professionals so hard to come by, we have to focus the people we do have on certain products," he said.

Releasing its MAS 90 clients to Somerset allowed ISG to assume a similar focus.

It will now focus exclusively on Navision software, which offers integrated business management solutions. The company has developed its own real-time e-commerce business product called N-Fusion, which integrates seamlessly into Navision.

To build on the partnership that was forged with the acquisition, ISG is sharing its new product with Somerset Group, which will become a certified Navision Consulting Partner.

The IT company and financial services company will exchange information and share resources to build each other's respective client base.

"What we have to focus on is the opportunities for referrals back and forth," Luddy said. "If members of Somerset are out in the field and there's no Navision operator there, we would certainly refer ISG in. Likewise, as they come across MAS 90 opportunities, they'll refer them to us."

Becoming a certified Navision consulting partner will enable Somerset to consult with medium-size to large businesses nationwide, which means more potential referrals back to ISG.

Joe Meyer, regional managing partner for local financial services company Olive LLP, wasn't surprised to hear about the client hand-off between ISG and Somerset.

"What they're aiming at is critical mass, grouping together enough people in one service area so that the firm becomes deeply knowledgeable in the software package it chooses to implement," said Meyer, a fellow fan of MAS 90 software.

While the trade-off seems beneficial to both Somerset and ISG, Meyer said the biggest concern should be how beneficial it is for customers.

"The customer reception of the transaction, being moved from one provider to another, is the most important piece," he said. "[Somerset] will have to be able to pull that off to make it work."