About our guest: Allan Koltin

Koltin Consulting Group, Inc. is a Chicago-based consulting firm that specializes in working with professional and financial services firms in the areas of practice growth, practice management, human capital, and mergers and acquisitions.

Highly sought for his ability to engage and inspire audiences, Allan enjoys delivering keynote addresses at conferences throughout the professional services industry. His passion is facilitating retreats and providing coaching for firm leadership and partners. His specialties include strategy, governance, profitability, compensation, growth, human capital, succession, and mergers and acquisitions.

For seventeen consecutive years, Allan has been named by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the accounting profession. For the past two years, he was recognized as one of the “10 Most Influential” in the profession. Koltin was also voted one of the 10 Most Recommended Consultants for the tenth straight year in the “Annual Survey of Firms” conducted by INSIDE Public Accounting. For the past four years, Allan has also been named by CPA Practice Advisor as one of the Top 25 Thought Leaders in the profession. In 2016 CPA Practice Advisor inducted Allan into the Accounting Hall of Fame. He was also one of the first to be inducted into the Accounting Marketing Hall of Fame by the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM). He has also been a recipient of the NACVA Instructor of the Year Award and winner of the Journal of Accountancy Literacy Award. Previously he was recognized by the Illinois CPA Society with the Distinguished Service Award for outstanding service and commitment to the profession.

A nationally recognized speaker and industry analyst, he has appeared on the CNN, WGN, and Fox Television networks and has been quoted frequently in such media as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and New York Post, as well as Bloomberg News, BBC World Service, Business Week, Forbes, and Reuters. He has also spoken nationally and internationally at hundreds of conferences including those held by the AICPA, international CPA associations, and state CPA societies.

Previously, Allan was the President and CEO of PDI, Global, Inc. which was the largest publisher of marketing materials for professional services firms. Allan originally sold PDI Global to H&R Block in 1998, buying it back in 2008, and then selling it again to Thomson Reuters in 2011. Prior to that, Allan was a Partner in the Chicago-based accounting and consulting firm of FERS, where he served as the leader of the Investment Banking Group, as well as the Law Firm Consulting Group. At age 27, Allan had the distinction of being named the youngest partner in the history of the firm and was also a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. FERS was acquired by H&R Block in 1998.

He is a founding member of The Advisory Board, a think tank for the accounting profession. For the past 15 years The Advisory Board has hosted the Winning Is Everything Conference. Allan has served on various advisory boards, including SS&G, Outsource Partners International (OPI), the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM), the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA), H&R Block (HRB Business Services) and ComplyGlobal.

Koltin is the author-editor of three books for professional services firms: CPA Firm Merger Strategies That Work, CPAs That Sell and the AICPA’s Marketing a Consulting Niche. He serves or has served on the editorial advisory boards of CPA Practice Management Forum, the Journal of Accountancy, Accounting Today, Public Accounting Report and Law Firm Management.

Allan attended both the University of Wisconsin – Madison and the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and received degrees in accounting and marketing. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Sharon, and his three children, Jack, Brian and Julia. His hobbies include playing with his children, travel, chess, and all sports.