Ryan Acquires The TAARP Group LLP in Strategic Expansion of Federal Income Tax Practice; Represents Significant Increase in Revenue, EBITDA, and Market Share

DALLAS, July 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ryan, a leading global tax services firm with the largest indirect tax practice in North America, today announced that it has acquired The TAARP Group LLP, the leading tax and penalty review firm in the United States. This acquisition adds substantial market share and specialized federal income tax expertise in global interest netting, statutes of limitations, claims for refund, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) transcription comprehension, and other IRS practice and procedure matters. The acquisition also adds a number of significant Fortune 500 relationships to Ryan's premier portfolio of clients, as well as a team of industry-recognized federal tax experts to support the Firm's Federal Income Tax practice. The TAARP Group LLP founders, David Veeder, Mark Ely, and David Miller, join Ryan as Principals, supported by an experienced team of federal tax professionals with proven success providing outstanding value, client service, and results for more than 400 major U.S. and global companies. This acquisition will drive additional revenue through the launch of a new interest and penalty review service to support clients in determining the correctness of IRS or state interest and penalty calculations, proactive cash audit management strategies, and strategic advice on other IRS procedural matters.

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David Veeder will serve as Ryan Principal and Federal Income Tax Practice Leader in the Dallas office. He will drive continued growth in Ryan's Federal Income Tax practice. Prior to founding The TAARP Group, David served as a partner in the Dallas office of a national accounting firm for 26 years and was the national director of its tax account analysis review program for more than 15 years. David has co-authored comment letters to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS, which were cited in the Treasury's global netting report to Congress. Additionally, he has served as an expert witness in several court cases dealing with interest issues.

Mark Ely assumes the role of Ryan Principal in the Firm's Washington, D.C. office. Prior to founding The TAARP Group, he was the national partner in charge of practice, procedure, and tax administration services for a national accounting firm's Washington, D.C.-based National Tax practice. Mark also served as branch chief for the assistant chief counsel (income tax and accounting) in the IRS national office, where he was responsible for issuing regulations, rulings, and other legal memoranda regarding interest issues, statutes of limitations, and other practice and procedure matters. Mark has served as a technical resource in a number of interest and statute-of-limitation court cases. He is also a frequent speaker for several professional groups, including the Tax Executives Institute, Financial Executives Institute, American Bar Association, and Federal Bar Association and has served as chairman of the AICPA's Practice and Procedure Committee. Mark has co-authored comment letters to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS, which were cited in the Treasury's global netting report to Congress, and has published numerous articles on various practice, procedure, and controversy topics. Mark served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School, where he taught Federal Tax Practice and Procedure in its LLM program.

David Miller joins the Ryan leadership team as a Principal in the Firm's Tampa office. Prior to founding The TAARP Group, he worked for a national accounting firm for 26 years, including 16 years as a partner while serving as the associate national director of its tax account analysis review program for more than 13 years. David has co-authored comment letters to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS, which were cited in the Treasury's global netting report to Congress.

"We are very excited to join forces with The TAARP Group, and we look forward to leveraging their expertise to further expand Ryan's service capabilities in the U.S. Federal Income Tax area," said G. Brint Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Ryan. "This acquisition represents a significant step forward in building a comprehensive Federal Income Tax practice to complement our industry-leading Federal Excise Tax practice."

About Ryan
Ryan is an award-winning global tax services firm, with the largest indirect tax practice in North America and the seventh largest corporate tax practice in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the Firm provides a comprehensive range of state, local, federal, and international tax advisory and consulting services on a multi-jurisdictional basis, including audit defense, tax recovery, credits and incentives, tax process improvement and automation, tax appeals, tax compliance, and strategic planning. Ryan is a two-time recipient of the International Service Excellence Award from the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) for its commitment to world-class client service. Empowered by the dynamic myRyan work environment, which is widely recognized as the most innovative in the tax services industry, Ryan's multi-disciplinary team of more than 925 professionals and associates serves over 6,500 clients in 40 countries, including many of the world's most prominent Global 5000 companies. More information about Ryan can be found at www.ryan.com.

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