About About About About About About

About Lumsden McCormick

With a rich history and bright future, Lumsden McCormick continues to improve our community, not only through our professional presence, but our philanthropic efforts as well. With over 140 employees dedicated to serving the region, we are one of the leading certified public accounting and consulting firms in the state. Our primary service areas include privately held businesses, exempt organizations (nonprofit and governmental entities), commercial businesses, and individuals. By maintaining service teams of dedicated experts, we are able to bring our clients superior service focused on the unique needs of each industry. The foundation of our Firm has always been the high-quality services we render to our clients.

In addition to traditional auditing, accounting, and tax services, our practice consists of nontraditional services. These include internal audit and internal controls evaluations, business consulting, reimbursement matters, financing, business valuations, litigation support, and forensic accounting services. We also have a nonprofit technology division which provides implementation and training for accounting software packages designed for use by nonprofit organizations.

Read our Firm brochure.

Peer Review Report

Peer Review Report

Download Lumsden McCormick 2021 Peer Review Report

Lumsden McCormick is registered with the Government Audit Quality Center, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and is a member of the Center for Public Company Audit Firms of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Membership requires us to maintain strict adherence to professional quality control standards and submit to a peer review of our control policies and procedures to demonstrate compliance. We passed our 2021 Peer Review, receiving the highest designation available from the AICPA's National Peer Review Committee. 
 

Core Values

Core Values

From our inception in 1952, Lumsden McCormick has been committed to providing exceptional service to our clients by offering a comprehensive proactive approach by our accessible staff.

Caring
We seek to proactively address the needs and concerns of our clients and colleagues to foster strong, mutually beneficial, and lasting relationships.

Responsive
We are accessible and prepared to act quickly to meet the needs of our clients.

Trusted
Our words and actions demonstrate that we are reliable and dependable, always striving to meet the highest standards of our profession.

Proactive
Because we are service-focused, we anticipate your needs, propose practical solutions and follow through accordingly to address those needs.

Excellent
We hold ourselves to the highest level of personal and professional performance by promoting a culture of continuous development and collaboration.
 

History

History

In 1952, Stuart Lathan and Charles Lumsden founded Lathan Lumsden & Company with a gentlemen’s handshake, setting the stage for what would become one of the largest and most respected certified public accounting and consulting firms in Western New York.

As the demand for professional services grew, Lathan and Lumsden expanded services. Richard McCormick, who had moved to Buffalo from New York City, joined the practice in 1957, and the Firm was renamed Lathan Lumsden McCormick & Co. The principal offices were located at 120 Delaware Avenue, just steps from Buffalo City Hall, where we remained for more than 35 years.

Over the next three decades, the Firm grew by developing specialized services, delivering exceptional client service, and completing a series of mergers and acquisitions. We relocated to the Brisbane Building in downtown Buffalo in 1990 and changed our name to Lumsden & McCormick, LLP. In the fall of 2012, after years of planning and careful consideration, the Firm moved to the historic Cyclorama Building, located at 369 Franklin Street.

Today, we continue to build on the solid foundation established by founders Lathan, Lumsden, and McCormick, providing valuable insight and trusted advice to all our clients. We are proud of our rich history, and we look forward to leading the way for generations to come.

Learn more about us here.
 

We’re MAD

We’re MAD

We take our responsibility to enhance the communities we serve and call home very seriously, and believe our record of community service is not only measured in dollars but in time and talent served, all which distinguishes us from our peers.  

Philanthropic Support
We provide contributions, sponsorships, and events support to hundreds of civic and charitable organizations throughout our region. Additionally, our partners and employees contribute generously to the annual United Way Community Cares Campaign and Catholic Charities, and over 50 organizations benefit from the dedication of our partners and employees who volunteer as active members and board directors. We support cultural organizations and our amateur and professional sports teams with the purchase of season tickets. Annually, we participated in supporting the local food pantries, delivering hot lunches, hosting blood drives, donating school supplies, as well as adopting families for holiday gift giving. In addition, more than half of our employees become involved in community, civic, and charitable organizations with the Firm, supporting all related membership dues, program fees, entertainment activities and, most importantly, serving in leadership roles.  

We're Making A Difference (MAD) 
To facilitate philanthropic opportunities for staff, Lumsden McCormick established the “Making A Difference” (MAD) Committee in 2012. As an employee-driven initiative, the MAD Committee plans and hosts “MAD Days” throughout the year based on suggestions from the Firm.  While the committee plans the events, all staff participate in the fundraising and volunteer outings. MAD Days range from monetary donations to item collection drives to community-based volunteer experiences.
 

BDO Alliance USA

BDO Alliance USA

We are an independent member of the BDO Alliance USA, a nationwide association of independently owned local and regional accounting, consulting and service firms with similar client service goals. The BDO Alliance USA presents an opportunity for firms to expand services without jeopardizing existing relationships or autonomy by accessing the resources of BDO USA, P.A. and other CPA Alliance members. The BDO Alliance USA was developed to provide member firms with an alternative strategy for gaining competitive advantage in the face of a changing business landscape. The Alliance represents an opportunity to enhance relationships with reputable firms and business partners giving our clients an extra advantage. The BDO Alliance USA is a subsidiary of BDO USA, P.A., a Delaware professional service corporation.

Cyclorama Building

Cyclorama Building

369 Franklin Street, Buffalo, New York 14202 | Google Maps

According to the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS No. NY-6297), the Cyclorama Building was built in three short months, opening September 8, 1888. At the time, cyclorama buildings were popping up around the world as a form of entertainment, their purpose to house 'cycloramas,' or panoramic art displays. 

Buffalo's first cyclorama painting hung 50 feet high by 400 feet long in a circular fashion inside the interior walls. There were no windows nor interior walls to the original structure, only skylights and lanterns were used to illuminate the painting as a docent described the scene. The original show, “View of Jerusalem on the Day of the Crucifixion of Christ,” drew thousands of visitors daily for the two years it ran.  The next show, "The Battle of Gettysburg," ran for another two years. Soon after, cycloramas lost their popularity and in 1907, the building was acquired by the City of Buffalo and used as a roller skating rink, livery, and taxi garage. 

By 1937 it fell under such disrepair that the building was condemned. Later that year the building was taken over by the Public Works Administration. Five years later, the building opened as an annex to the Grosvenor Library Reading Room, with newly installed windows and updates to the floors and ceiling. For 21 years the Grosvenor Reading Room hosted lectures, students, and library patrons, including Mr. Charles Lumsden, while studying for his CPA exam. Today the Grosvenor Room is currently housed in the central branch of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, housing the library’s special collections.

After closing this branch of the library, the building once again stood vacant until 1985, when Frank Ciminelli purchased the building. With careful attention to preserving the building, no power tools were able to be used on the brickwork and nothing stronger than detergent could be used to clean it, second floor was added and the Cyclorama Building became the offices of Ciminelli Construction Company.   

In September of 2012, Lumsden McCormick moved into the historic Cyclorama Building. Buffalo's Cyclorama Building is one of three remaining cycloramas in the country. A version of "View of Jerusalem on the Day of the Crucifixion of Christ" exists in Quebec's Cyclorama of Jerusalem and "The Battle of Gettysburg" may be seen at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center.

Download a PDF of the history of the Cyclorama Building.

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