Doug Wright, Capital president and chief operating officer.

Capital, which provides products, technology, training, and support for accounting firms that want to expand into financial services, counts regional powerhouses such as Virchow Krause & Co. in Madison, Wis., Peoria, Ill.-based Clifton Gunderson, and Larson Allen Weishair & Co., among its members.

The group, whose 21 member firms account for a collective $650 million in accounting revenue, has struck a deal with Clark/Bardes Consulting-Compensation Resource Group, a consulting firm with expertise in executive benefit design, funding and plan administration.

The alliance enables Capital's member firms to offer the corporate-owned life insurance-backed deferred compensation program to their clients under their own brands.

"This is a key product for us, because these plans are dramatically increasing in popularity as businesses strive to retain their top talent," said Doug Wright, Capital president and chief operating officer.

According to Wright, CPA firms are in an ideal position to offer deferred compensation plans because they are already working with high net-worth clients, many of whom are entrepreneurs or business owners.

"Thousands of companies would benefit from these plans, but because they're complex to establish and administer, it's not always feasible to set up and oversee them in-house," he said.

Capital said it will administer plans for small companies, while Clark/Bardes will administer the plan for larger companies.

The move is the latest in a string of deals aimed at broadening Capital's service and product offering. The group in August announced a deal with Fidelity Investments under which Fidelity's Institutional Brokerage Group will provide custody, execution and clearing services to Capital member firms.

-- SmartPros News Staff

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