A longtime partner at an audit and assurance, tax, and consulting services firm has left the company and joined a boutique auditor for fund firms as of last month.

Rich Wagner, previously at Philadelphia-based Tait Weller for twenty-three years, is now a partner at BBD, a nearby competitor.

Executives with Tait Weller did not immediately return calls for comment.

"COVID didn't impact the move at all," Wagner tells MFWire. "It was a pretty seamless transition, especially since I knew most of the partners at BBD already. Handling the pandemic, with the technology that BBD employs, I think has been pretty easy."

Wagner notes his familiarity with the new workplace, having already spent multiple decades working against and alongside the people he calls his coworkers today. His last day at Tait Weller was also his first day at BBD, November 9.

"It's very exciting to be here at BBD, it's a great and collaborative place to work," he adds.

Jim Kaiser, managing partner, tells MFWire, "Rich was just an easy move for us. I've known him for over twenty years, and we at the firm know him well. We know he shares our values."

"BBD values relationships internally and externally," Wagner says, "and that's very important to both me and my clients. Our leadership team works together every day to see what needs to be taken care of."

"I think as a firm we really found our footing over the last couple of years," Kaiser continues. "We serve clients the way they want to be served, and we've worked hard to transition to the next generation of leadership here.”

Kaiser concludes, "We're especially looking forward to expanding our client base in our private fund practice, and in our alternative funds."

Wagner notes that his responsibilities are largely the same between firms, and that his role as an audit partner will give him plenty of space to work collaboratively with both his fellow auditors and his clients. 

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