HARLINGEN — The Valley’s largest locally-owned accounting firm has merged with national company Carr, Riggs and Ingram.
Long Chilton LLP, established in 1951, employs around 100 people in accounting and related fields, such as auditing, tax and estate planning and fraud investigation services. The firm has offices in Harlingen, Brownsville and McAllen.
“Merging with CRI is an extension of our mission to provide clients with the highest quality professional services,” said Carlos Barrera, managing partner at Long Chilton. “We can now offer our clients a broader range of services and insights — and deliver them through groundbreaking channels.”
Barrera said the additional resources provided by CRI will enable his firm to conduct virtual audits and allow experts nationwide to participate in face-to-face sessions.
CRI is ranked as the 21st largest accounting firm nationally and operates offices in 26 markets, mostly in the South, including Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas and Houston.
“The CRI-Long Chilton merger is our fourth expansion in Texas this calendar year,” said William H. Carr, chairman and managing partner of CRI. “These three new Rio Grande Valley offices not only create a physical CRI presence in South Texas, but they also position us for future opportunities to share our expertise and educational resources with a larger client base throughout the state.”
CRI employs around 1,000 people nationwide.
CRI is a privately-held company founded in 1997 and based in Enterprise, Alabama. Its services include accounting and financial statements, internal auditing and tax planning, and forensic accounting, business valuation, and loan reviewing services.
The firm has expertise in biotechnology, real estate, health care, insurance and transportation sectors.
