A New Chapter Begins: SALTovation Joins Aprio
This week, we are excited to announce our integration into Aprio, a leading advisory and accounting firm. Meredith Smith, Judy Vorndran, Carli Huband, and Jeff Glickman share the story behind this exciting milestone, and the conversations, values, and vision that brought the two organizations together.
By combining forces with Aprio, we’re expanding the depth of expertise, resources, and support we can offer to businesses navigating the ever-changing world of state and local taxes. This alignment allows us to better serve our clients through enhanced collaboration, broader service capabilities, and access to a nationwide network of professionals.
In our conversation, we break down what this partnership means for our clients and team, and how it strengthens our ability to deliver meaningful, practical tax insights.
Key Takeaways:
- Saltovation joins Aprio, a nationally recognized advisory and accounting firm
- Expanded resources and expertise to better support state and local tax clients
- Enhanced service capabilities through national collaboration
- Continued commitment to education, clarity, and practical tax insights
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Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed on the SALTovation podcast, including that of all participants, are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Aprio or any of its affiliates. The material and information presented on the podcast is for general information purposes only. The “Aprio” name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific product or service.
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Transcript
Welcome to Saltivation, a podcast series featuring Aprio's leading voices in state and local taxes.
Speaker A:Join us as we dive deep into the latest issues and strategies to help you navigate the complexities of state and local taxes and make informed decisions for your business.
Speaker B:Well, hello everyone, and welcome to the Saltivation show.
Speaker B: This is our first drop of: Speaker B:And with this drop, I think this Saltivation team has some really exciting news.
Speaker B:You may see some changes in graphics and colors.
Speaker B:We have joined Aprio.
Speaker B:For this opportunity.
Speaker B:Aprio is a top 25 national advisory and accounting firm.
Speaker B:So we are just so excited to officially announce this.
Speaker B:Thank you to our listeners who coast to Coast Intercontinental have been with us through this journey and we look forward to continuing the.
Speaker B:I'm getting like overwhelmed, oddly, because this is our big.
Speaker B:I love this and so, so true.
Speaker B:With us today is we have Carly Huband, Aprio tax partner and specialty tax team leader, and Jeff Glickman, partner with Aprio Salt.
Speaker B:So we are just going to spend some time today introducing us as AAPRIO and just talking through kind of why we made this decision, what we're really excited about and what we can do kind of in this game of relationships that we've been talking about on this show for the last five years and just kind of really take that forward.
Speaker B:So, Jeff, Carly, thank you so much for being here.
Speaker B:Thank you for trusting us in kind of this merger acquisition, this fund that we're getting ready to kind of embark on.
Speaker B:And thank you for your patience at the end of the day.
Speaker C:Welcome to Apple.
Speaker A:It's a lot of fun already.
Speaker B: ready to have my first kid in: Speaker B:It was me and you at the beginning and here we are talking about this show.
Speaker B:So why talk us through why we picked Abreo.
Speaker C:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker D:And what a journey that has been, hasn't it?
Speaker D:Obviously you along with me and my other teammates.
Speaker D:But you know, we were courted.
Speaker D:We're very blessed to be courted by multiple choices.
Speaker D:We'd all hail from the big four, so that didn't really resonate with us.
Speaker D:I did learn a lot at a regional firm, learned a lot about what small and medium business needs in America, not just large business.
Speaker D:And so when we met with the Aprio team and really got to know Jeff and Carly and the rest of the team and the support.
Speaker D:We knew this is the right place for our culture and vision and desire to help the community and our taxpaying clients.
Speaker D:And so we felt that that was the best place where we would all throw, thrive and succeed and be able to go forward with more resources, more talent, more thoughtfulness around the approach of doing business, which is how we take that position as a very holistic wraparound services.
Speaker D:We really want to be their tax department as much as they need.
Speaker D:And we knew Apria was in line with that vision.
Speaker D:And that's why I think, you know, for me that was a huge deal was culture, vision, value, support, back end technology, forward thinking.
Speaker D:That's where we want to be in alignment for our future, you know.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I think what really resonated me when we went out there is just like the energy, right?
Speaker B:There's just people seem excited about what they're talking about.
Speaker B:We met, you know, we were lucky enough to meet a lot of the team in person in Atlanta for a visit, which was very intentionally, you know, laid out.
Speaker B:So thank you, Jeff and Carly for your hospitality many, many months ago.
Speaker B:And it was just, everyone was just really excited and passionate about what they were talking about.
Speaker B:And, and so that resonated, you know, from the client facing professionals to the marketing team, to, you know, the operations group.
Speaker B:Just everyone was just so excited and it was just kind of like palpable and just cohesive.
Speaker B:When we think about joining Aprio, we thought about our team and then what it would mean for our clients.
Speaker B:So what do you think joining Aprio means for our clients?
Speaker B:And you know, Judy, why don't you speak to what we think it is and then Carly, Jeff, feel free to talk about kind of what you all have been able to do for your clients and just kind of how what we think we're gonna do actually aligns with what happens.
Speaker D:Well, I can tell from just doing on the onboarding like all the things we're gonna be able to help our clients with that they need additional support for.
Speaker D:From the small to the largest businesses in the world.
Speaker D:You don't always have people in house that really understand tax.
Speaker D:Much less state and local tax, much less international or any of the nuances in the tax profile.
Speaker D:So we kind of serve as that go between and we wanna go to a shared that value of the enhanced experience of dealing with your issues strategically and then also operationally, how do you manage them, how do you handle the ongoing needs?
Speaker D:And that's what we came in as a SWAT team, as salt Ovation at our former firm, Tax Ops, where we were sort of the problem solver.
Speaker D:But what we have found is we need to maintain those problems and serve as that go between.
Speaker D:And we felt that Apria was aligned with that in terms of how do they go to market.
Speaker D:The types of businesses they support are very much in alignment with us, which is small to medium business, up to very large business with multinational multi state issues.
Speaker D:So we felt that was just very symbiotic with how we go to market.
Speaker B:Now when we listen to our clients, we'll hear like, oh, well, I don't really have a bookkeeper.
Speaker B:I'm kind of in the starting phase or I need someone to do.
Speaker B:We've partnered with other firms that can do transfer pricing or you know, permanent establishment members, all of the things.
Speaker B:And so they kind of have to piecemeal it.
Speaker B:So there is that opportunity to provide all of those services under one roof and have that kind of continuation and knowledge base across the firm.
Speaker C:You know, you all hit on, I think a lot of the, the, the reasons that we courted you.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:The reason that we, that we wanted you to be one a prior year with us.
Speaker C:And you know, those reasons really go back to.
Speaker C:That's client centric.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker C:We want to provide more holistic support for our clients, for your clients, create a seamless referral capability.
Speaker C:And also, and Judy, you hit on this at a macro level, really collaborate across specialties because what we know and things that Aprio provides expertise, deep bench strength across tax, audit, advisory and even more areas, payroll, things like that.
Speaker C:And what we realized is that we built our practice around the needs of our clients.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So we added specialties over the years.
Speaker C:And Jeff and I have been in operating for a very long time, more time than we like to admit.
Speaker C:As our firm has grown, we've added these specialties literally around the needs of our clients.
Speaker C:And so all the things that you're saying your clients need, we see that and we've developed a bench strength to handle those needs in a way that feels seamless and feels like a team working on it versus scattershot vendors.
Speaker C:And we think it works really well.
Speaker C:And Jeff, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, I think from my perspective, I think having been at the firm, you know, now, I think approaching 12 years, the firm views all of the specialty practices with full support.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:None of these are just sort of tack on.
Speaker A:Oh, if they need this, you know, we'll, we'll be around for it.
Speaker A:It's each of these is a vitally important piece.
Speaker A:And we're a large firm.
Speaker A:And so each of these individually may seem to be a small piece of the overall puzzle for a client, but the firm views each of those small pieces as equally large in terms of the support and the guidance that the firm knows each of those practices needs.
Speaker A:I've never had an issue in putting forth a proposal to grow and add services where the firm was not supported.
Speaker A:It was all about growing.
Speaker D:That I can tell that's Aprio's culture.
Speaker D:It's available, it's accessible, there's information to be gained about each client so you can really share with different mindsets how to serve that client best.
Speaker D:And that's really important because business needs help.
Speaker D:And that's what we're here to do, is to help them thrive and outside their normal business.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:They got to do their back office, they got to keep track of things.
Speaker D:They got to collect sales tax, they got to file tax returns.
Speaker D:We handle that part.
Speaker D:But they can run their business, and that's what we've been trying to do, is to serve in that subordinate role in the state and local and tax aspect.
Speaker D:But now we can enhance that even more through the Aprio way, which is so exciting for me, honestly, just how far data has come in the 30 years I've been practicing.
Speaker D:And I'm seeing Aprio take advantage of every single piece of it.
Speaker D:So I've been signing on all my onboarding today, yesterday, I love it.
Speaker D:I'm like, wow, I am a kid in a candy store.
Speaker D:Of all the things we can support clients within.
Speaker C:Well, you know, the other thing, Judy, too, that I, that I think is important, that our clients needs change over time.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So one year the tax return and the audit might be the most important thing.
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker C:But then the next year they might be, you know, looking at, do I want to sell the next product?
Speaker C:Four years.
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker C:And is that achievement?
Speaker C:Is that do I need to restructure the business so that I can mitigate tax liability on sale?
Speaker C:Do I want to restructure so that I could just sell this piece?
Speaker C:And every year the needs shift.
Speaker C:And so when you have a group of people and a team of people that really just collaborate in a client centric way, the team members aren't fighting each other to gain client market share.
Speaker C:They're thinking, what is this client client need this year?
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker C:And it does change.
Speaker C:It's going to change.
Speaker C:We're a business too, and we're all businesses, so we know that those needs shift over time.
Speaker C:And Jess, I cut you off.
Speaker C:I want.
Speaker D:Go ahead.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's great.
Speaker A:I think from a micro level, right?
Speaker A:Certainly from a macro level, there's this huge platform that we all take pride in as one aprio that we make available to our clients.
Speaker A:We want to be a place where clients can get all the different services they need, because that way the coordination and the collaboration is much more seamless, and that's the macro level.
Speaker A:At a micro level, I think the combination of our teams, if we're thinking about it from a salt perspective and what it will mean for clients is the increased expertise and capacity, both in our own experiences that we bring from being in this field for 20 plus years, you know, each right.
Speaker A:To the different geographies that we're bringing, the different industries, right?
Speaker A:Salt is so vast.
Speaker A:And, you know, every day we all, I guarantee you get asked questions, technical questions that we've never looked up before, because that's just the way our lives work.
Speaker A:And to be able to have a larger team with more experience and to be able to draw off of that experience, right, is what's crucial.
Speaker A:To be able to send an email, hey, has anyone ever experienced this issue?
Speaker D:Just this morning we were able to help you.
Speaker A:Just this morning that happened, right?
Speaker A:I'm thinking about that as we're speaking, right?
Speaker A:A question came up and I reached out to see if we had expertise in that area.
Speaker A:And so we do.
Speaker A:That is we are all just a product in the salt world of our experiences.
Speaker D:Oh my gosh, is that not the truth?
Speaker D:And every company is like, have you ever done this and done that?
Speaker D:I mean, are you this?
Speaker D:I'm like, I can handle anything.
Speaker D:I mean, if you got a porta potty, I can help you.
Speaker D:I've helped people with porta Potties and I'm very grateful for porta potty businesses because I like concerts and outdoor activities and I gotta go sometimes.
Speaker D:So you'd be astounded the things the American business is creating for people to buy and sell.
Speaker D:And there is a tax consequence for that.
Speaker D:But not every industry or every tax is specific to the overall or to the general.
Speaker D:And that's what we see with lobbying.
Speaker D:And we have that times 50 states.
Speaker D:So we're constantly dealing with lobbyists bringing out rules to exempt toothpaste and aspirin from sales tax, while not worrying about underwear that you wear to bed when you're a little bit older.
Speaker D:You know, I mean, it's just a crazy world.
Speaker D:What is and isn't exempt.
Speaker D:And we have that with masks during COVID is it protected?
Speaker D:Come on, who can deal with that?
Speaker D:So that we just always have some kind of nuance depending on what's happening worldwide, nationwide, citywide.
Speaker D:And that's where we need that collective wisdom, because it is really based on the unique industry you've worked in, the tax consequence per state.
Speaker D:Because not every client is in every state.
Speaker D:They're in some states.
Speaker D:So you've got to be more broad in your approach to, like, this is what Verrant wants to do.
Speaker D:This is what Oklahoma does.
Speaker D:There's reasons for these policies and procedures.
Speaker D:We adapt to that so our clients don't have to.
Speaker B:Well, like Chicago raising their personal property lease transactions.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker B:To 15%.
Speaker B:1, 126.
Speaker B:Like, that's a big deal.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker A:That's a.
Speaker B:That's a very.
Speaker D:And you don't think that's not going to change with, you know, the big beautiful bill and all that?
Speaker D:I mean, if the federal government takes away entitlements, states are going to make up for that because there is this entitlement and what is the word?
Speaker D:The supremacy clause in the Constitution.
Speaker D:They give states rights so they can do what they want, like it or not.
Speaker A:And the states have balanced budget amendments.
Speaker A:So when the federal government makes changes that have the impact of reducing income tax revenue just because the federal starting point has changed, every state has to figure out how we making that up.
Speaker A:Are we going to decouple?
Speaker A:Are we going to increase it somewhere else?
Speaker A:How are we going to do that?
Speaker D:Because we're tabor.
Speaker D:You can't raise the votes.
Speaker D:You cannot raise tax without a vote of the people.
Speaker D:You believe me, people don't always vote for tax increases.
Speaker D:So it's a kerfuffle we have.
Speaker D:We had to take away our vendor fee in Colorado because it's not a tax, it's a fee.
Speaker D:That's crazy.
Speaker D:And it was a $90 million impact to taxpayers statewide.
Speaker D:That's a lot of money at everybody's, you know, little bits and pieces.
Speaker D:So we don't see laws as being as smartly enacted as we would like to see.
Speaker D:That's where we come in.
Speaker B:So podcasting is generally an audio medium.
Speaker B:And so, you know, some people who listen on your phones like I do, you have three people who are getting very giddy and like, laughing about the ridiculousness of state taxes.
Speaker B:And then we have Carly in the background, who's an R and D person who's just laughing at us, laughing and getting so excited about how ridiculous we are.
Speaker B:And so this is just kind of like one of those things that we're just excited about when you, when you get like minded people that are just like excited about the work and the ridiculousness.
Speaker B:Because sometimes you have to say you, we, you know, we have to laugh, otherwise we'll cry.
Speaker D:Sometimes we know we need to deal with history because we have audits three to four years later.
Speaker D:So we're always thinking ahead of like what we might get hurt back in the back.
Speaker D:So we want to get in front of that.
Speaker D:So we have audit readiness.
Speaker D:I mean, I always pride myself that if you work with us, you will not have an M and A escrow against your balance sheet.
Speaker D:So we will take that and clean that up before you go and get sold.
Speaker D:So that's a huge deal.
Speaker D:We deal with a lot of things with M and A.
Speaker D:And they have not managed our state tax footprint very well at all.
Speaker D:And they owe a lot of money against their purchase price.
Speaker D:And we don't, we'd like to avoid that.
Speaker C:That does kill a lot of people.
Speaker A:You use the same way.
Speaker A:Yeah, you and I speak the same language.
Speaker A:I always tell clients like, our goal is that we work with you and you get essentially a clean bill of health if and when the time comes that someone's doing due diligence on you.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker D:And I mean our students always pay for themselves.
Speaker D:One state can be clean for all states.
Speaker D:That's how efficient we can be compared to one at a time, onesie, twosies.
Speaker D:It's like just get, figure out your whole footprint and then go to market and go buy, go sell stuff, you know?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That resonates way better with clients than the audit concept.
Speaker A:Because from, for a lot of them, the audit concept is, well, what's the, what are the odds of that?
Speaker A:But when you talk about it in the context of, but if you're ever looking to have an investor or sell or recap or whatever it is, someone's going to come looking.
Speaker A:It may not be the state.
Speaker A:It's going to be another firm with salt expertise that's going to come looking at what you've been doing.
Speaker A:And our goal is to make sure that they don't find any skeletons.
Speaker D:And I think a lot of people think that's not imminent.
Speaker D:Like, well, I'm not selling yet.
Speaker D:I'm like, you know what you need to be planning five years, you can't
Speaker A:do it, you can't do it six months.
Speaker D:And we have many things that get these $2 million, 3 million, $5 million against escrow and then we're working it out.
Speaker D:Post closing close.
Speaker D:That is not a pleasant experience for anybody who's on board.
Speaker D:So it's not the best place to be.
Speaker D:You should really be in front of it, despite the fact that it's not imminent.
Speaker D:But everything's imminent, right?
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:You're going to sell, you're going to monetize your investment, no question, one way or the other, to your children, to your workers.
Speaker D:Like, you've just got to be thinking that all the time.
Speaker D:How am I going to monetize this effort aside from everyday business?
Speaker D:Go ahead, Mayor.
Speaker C:Sorry.
Speaker B:As we were going through our due diligence, I was talking to my dad, who is a retired scientist, and he was in research and development.
Speaker B:So he led their research development for a private manufacturing company.
Speaker B:And he's like, man, I would sit through these deals, and it was always tax.
Speaker B:And now that I'm thinking about it, it was always sales tax.
Speaker B:And I was like, yeah, my dad, the scientist now knows what I do because, like, he was part of, you know, the scientific and the regulatory stuff on, like, the food side and, like, the sales side.
Speaker B:But, you know, he knew that at some point because he had to sit through meetings of, like, people complaining about the escrows and, like, that there's this huge sales tax liability.
Speaker B:And so it almost was cute that we kind of had that connection point that he could relate to kind of both what we were going through from like, you know, an acquisition standpoint, but also he knew what I did from, like, a professional standpoint.
Speaker D:I just think everybody, like, has an audit, has a federal return, maybe those state returns, but sure as heck doesn't deal with the sales tax sheet or any of the transaction level.
Speaker D:Texas, she.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker D:Why is that disconnect and why is it considered so clerical?
Speaker D:You know, I got my kickstart, got outsourced to a company and did their sales tax returns by hand, coupons, copied them.
Speaker D:They're like this big.
Speaker D:And I'm like, if this partner is telling me this is clerical and I'm sending a million dollars a month to California and I'm not sure it's right, that doesn't seem very clerical to me.
Speaker D:That's a lot of money going across America to these different governments.
Speaker D:So that's when I went, well, this is a fascinating area that I really want to focus more on.
Speaker D:And I do think any business, 5 million, 10 million, 20 million, 100 million, multiply it by 8%, that's your risk in selling to Americans.
Speaker D:And people don't understand that.
Speaker D:And they need to start with the Transactions and then move up to the federal and so forth.
Speaker D:If you're in a loss, who cares?
Speaker D:You still have transaction level details to manage.
Speaker D:So that's where I think that Wayfair case has really shifted our economy to under or the taxpaying community to understand transactions matter.
Speaker D:Oh, my God, I'm selling in North Dakota.
Speaker D:What do I do?
Speaker D:Right?
Speaker D:Well, you got to do something, and it's not the same as what you're doing in Oklahoma or Texas or North Carolina.
Speaker D:It's not the same.
Speaker D:I'm sorry.
Speaker D:And I think business owners are starting to appreciate that more and they can come to us for that expertise.
Speaker B:Well, and some of the kind of the reason behind starting this podcast 187 million years ago, it seems over 100 episodes later, five years ago, was to kind of just get the information out there.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:We built careers knowing people and just everyone has a story equipped that they can share and kind of educate the masses.
Speaker B:And so now that we're kind of the Saltivation podcast still, but under aprio, like what the goal is to still keep that spirit of education and collaboration and relationships alive.
Speaker B:But what do we.
Speaker B:What should our, you know, loyal listeners shout out to a new friend in Philly who became a friend as a result of this podcast?
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker B:What can our listeners expect of the Saltivation show going forward?
Speaker C:I think the biggest thing to keep in mind is that y' all have created this amazing podcast that does have loyal listeners.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And so the goal is to do the same thing.
Speaker C:Do the same thing with access to a broader pool of experts and resources, potentially new topics that your listeners may be interested in learning about, more SALT related topics and maybe with more depth and breadth, maybe things like how salt interacts with international or controversy.
Speaker C:How are you handling your SALT audits, things like that.
Speaker C:We also think that there's broader opportunity for collaboration that will really just enrich the podcast content overall.
Speaker C:With expanded team, we really are just anticipating a broader network, more connections, new perspectives and different guests that maybe didn't hit your orbit out in the community.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I think I'll add, I think it's also about expertise, not just in service areas specifically, but also in industry, bringing industry experts in that can talk about the intersection.
Speaker D:That's a great idea.
Speaker A:Their industries and the types of issues that they're dealing with and how that intersects with the salt world.
Speaker A:Different geographies.
Speaker A:So it's a combination of the larger platform that I think will offer enhanced content that will, you know, but still keeping the podcast the same.
Speaker A:Great Educational tool.
Speaker A:Yes, that it's been.
Speaker C:It aligns with Apria's commitment to elevate the accounting profession through thought leadership, mentorship, innovation, and collaboration.
Speaker C:And it helps our clients account for anything.
Speaker C:And our team members.
Speaker C:Yeah, you know.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's our.
Speaker C:You know, that's the part of the 31 fundamentals.
Speaker C:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker C:You know, something else, too that I think is really important that speaks to Aprio's brand is the name.
Speaker C:Aprio means head and heart.
Speaker C:It's how we do our work for our clients.
Speaker C:It's how we think about our team members, and that's what success means here.
Speaker C:It's head and heart.
Speaker C:And that includes technical excellence, trusted relationships.
Speaker C:Our journey to be a top 25 national advisory firm is actually rooted in helping clients and.
Speaker C:And team members account for anything, no matter what challenges they face.
Speaker C:And this combination with Salt Ovation helps expand our team and really help us be more ready to help our clients and team members and listeners account for anything with their state and local tax challenges.
Speaker C:So we're really excited.
Speaker C:It's going to be awesome.
Speaker D:I'm already having fun.
Speaker D:Even though it's a lot, I.
Speaker D:It's still been.
Speaker D:Everything has just been so affirming.
Speaker D:I texted teams, my teams or, you know, I said, you know, it's been a lot, guys.
Speaker D:But I think everything has just been so supportive and collaborative and open and kind.
Speaker D:Kind.
Speaker D:Definitely a kind firm, which I greatly appreciate because it's about who you do work with.
Speaker D:Honestly, it's.
Speaker D:Life is short.
Speaker D:Enjoy the people you work with.
Speaker C:And we spend most of our time working.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And our adults.
Speaker C:Our adult lives.
Speaker C:So you really do want to wake up and enjoy the people that you're spending the most time with.
Speaker B:Well, and I think that's the perfect end to our first episode as Saltivation by Aprio with Aaprio for Aprio.
Speaker B:Thank you to all of our loyal listeners who will hopefully still continue the ride with us.
Speaker D:I don't think we're just promoting a new brand.
Speaker D:We're just talking about why we need to be innovative.
Speaker B:And Jeff, Carly, thank you for your time today and talking with us on the Saltivation podcast.
Speaker B:Thank you for your trust in us and bringing us in.
Speaker B: excited about what's next for: Speaker B:This is Saltivation.
Speaker B:Till next time.
