New Leadership at Rothstein Kass

NJBIZ STAFF//August 9, 2005//

New Leadership at Rothstein Kass

NJBIZ STAFF//August 9, 2005//

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Big changes are cooking at Rothstein Kass, the state”s sixth largest accounting firm. Shortly before Christmas the company said it was selling its RK Consulting business to The BYSIS Group, a New York City-based firm that does outsourcing to the financial services industry. RK Consulting does investment-fund administration as well as audit work for a wide range of funds and was a big source of revenue for Rothstein Kass. The business flourished with the boom in hedge funds and accounted for about a third of the firm’s revenues. Tucked into the announcement of the sale was the news that Steven Kass and Howard Altman will be taking over as co-managing principals of the firm from Harris Rothstein, who is retiring. The new board of Rothstein Kass will consist of Kass, Altman and Barry Stadlin, a current board member. Speaking from his vacation home in Vermont last week, Kass said his firm will remain a dominant player in the insurance and entrepreneurial fields. He said the firm will continue to do audit and other work for some 1,500 funds but will no longer manage them; a recent Securities and Exchange Commission ruling forced Rothstein Kass to give up the management work. Kass, 48, the son of the firm’s co-founder Irving Kass, will handle the CEO tasks while Altman concentrates on best practices and other functions. The firm will continue to be headquartered in Roseland and will maintain its seven offices around the country and on Grand Cayman Island.