By ANNEMARIE FRANCZYK
Business First

Two Southern Tier accounting offices, Lloyd & Co. CPA PC and Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro PC, have merged, creating one of the largest firms in Western New York.

Combined, the firm consists of more than 50 professional staff members, including 25 CPAs, making it the 12th largest in the region in a tie with Toski Schafer & Co. PC of Williamsville, according to the 2007 Business First Book of Lists.

The merged firm will practice under the Buffamante Whipple name and will continue to serve clients from offices in Olean and Jamestown.

Buffamante Whipple managing director Jack Whipple said each firm brings individual strengths to the union. In particular, Buffamante Whipple performs auditing and other services for the insurance industry, while the Lloyd firm provides services to rural electric cooperatives. The added practice areas afford staff members opportunities to advance their careers with specialization, he said.

John Lloyd, founder of Lloyd & Co., said with several of his partners expecting to retire in the coming years, it made more sense to partner with a younger firm and become a larger organization than replace the partners on an individual basis. He said that as a regional firm, the combined Buffamante and Lloyd & Co. will be better suited to handle the ever-increasing regulatory climate than smaller, local firms.

"Our firms have a common vision of high-quality client service, clients with comparable size and composition, along with many shared values, which makes the combination a natural fit for both firms," said Lloyd, who became a director in the merged organization.

The Lloyd office was formed in 1922 by the international accounting firm BDO Seidman. In 1989, the Jamestown partners bought the practice and formed Lloyd & Co. In addition to electric cooperatives, the firm concentrates in services for the health-care industry, nonprofits and government.

Earlier this year, Buffamante Whipple moved its Olean office from 125 Union St. - the 8,000 square-foot headquarters the firm has owned for a decade - to 20 percent more space in Lincoln Park Office Suites.

Buffamante Whipple's Jamestown offices and those of Lloyd & Co. are expected to be combined in new space on Third and Washington streets. To be called the BWB Center, the building is under development by The Krog Corp. The current Jamestown facilities will continue operation until this fall, when the three-story office building is expected to be completed. Buffamante's personnel in Jamestown include those who work in the firm's business consulting practice.