Firm accounts for expansion strategy

One of the largest and most established tax and accounting firms in Sarasota-Bradenton, Kerkering, Barberio & Co., has taken a shot at expansion in a bigger market: Tampa.

“We see an opportunity there to grow in our specialty areas,” Kerkering, Barberio Managing Shareholder Rob Lane tells Coffee Talk. “We find ourselves having more and more contact up there. It's a natural move.”

It's also somewhat unusual, in that professional services firms often come from Tampa south, to expand in Sarasota and Bradenton — not the other way. Several law firms, accounting firms and engineering firms have made the move south of the Skyway in recent years, sometimes through a merger or acquisition.