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Aprio Expands into Midwest with Acquisitions of KRD, Ltd. and Burkett & Beattie, Inc.

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The acquisition of two Chicago-based firms creates a new market for Aprio, reinforces commitment to expanding its position across the U.S.

ATLANTA, Dec. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Aprio, the 25th largest business advisory and accounting firm in the U.S., announces the strategic acquisitions of two leading accounting firms, KRD, Ltd. and Burkett & Beattie, Inc. (B&B), both located in Chicago.

“We are pleased to expand our footprint into the greater Chicago area and tap into one of the country’s fastest-growing business hubs,” said Richard Kopelman, CEO of Aprio. “KRD and Burkett & Beattie have a proven track record as trusted business advisors across the Midwest. This strategic alignment underscores our commitment to investing in and scaling our business for the advancement of our valued clients and team members.”

KRD, Ltd. is a premier firm that provides financial, wealth planning, assurance, tax, consulting, and outsourced accounting services for high-net-worth families, businesses, and other organizations. The firm is led by Managing Partner Jon Segal and includes nearly 110 partners and professionals. Segal joins as Aprio’s Midwest regional leader and Chicago and Schaumburg office leader.

“By joining forces with Aprio, we gain access to a broader network of top talent, innovative technologies, and solutions, while preserving KRD’s unique qualities and personalized approach that has set us apart in the marketplace,” said Segal. “Over the past four years, Aprio has supported us with a wealth of services and knowledge, enabling us to better serve our clients. Our positive experiences and long-standing relationship with Aprio’s professionals made this the logical next step to strengthen and grow our firm.”

Jeffrey Kapelus, President of Capstone Search Solutions, advised Aprio and KRD on the transaction.

“Aprio’s forward-thinking leadership, breadth of specialized services, and proven growth trajectory set them apart as a trusted advisor. KRD’s alignment with these qualities makes this an ideal match,” said Kapelus. “By establishing a presence in Chicago, Aprio strengthens its capabilities and reinforces its commitment to providing clients with innovative, high-impact solutions tailored to their needs.”

Burkett & Beattie, Inc. provides full-service accounting and tax services with a concentration in small, growing businesses in a variety of industries, with a particular focus on health clubs, marketing research, and veterinary hospitals. The firm is led by Managing Partners Sandra Burkett and Christopher Beattie, with 10 professionals who have extensive experience with private client, small and emerging businesses, trusts, and individual tax consulting.

“This partnership is not just about expanding Burkett & Beattie’s unique service offerings, but also about growing together with Aprio,” said Burkett.

Beattie added, “Our team will have access to continued career growth, professional development opportunities, and the chance to work with a broader range of clients and industries. We are thrilled to be a part of the Aprio team.”

Russ Best, of Whitman Transition Advisors, served as an advisor on the Burkett & Beattie transaction.

Aprio is strengthening its footprint across the nation. The addition of KRD and Burkett & Beattie follows Aprio’s recent acquisitions of Kirsch Kohn & Bridge (KKB) in Los Angeles and Elite Tax & Accounting and Pontiff + Associates in Denver.

About Aprio

Aprio is the brand name under which Aprio, LLP, and Aprio Advisory Group, LLC, deliver professional services. Since 1952, clients throughout the U.S. and across more than 50 countries have trusted Aprio for guidance on how to achieve what’s next. As a premier business advisory and accounting firm, Aprio Advisory Group, LLC, delivers advisory, tax, managed, and private client services to build value, drive growth, manage risk, and protect wealth, and Aprio, LLP, provides audit and attest services. With proven experience and genuine care, Aprio serves individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses, from promising startups to market leaders alike. Aprio has grown to 2,000+ team members providing solutions to clients in industries including Manufacturing and Distribution, Non-Profit and Education, Professional Services, Real Estate, Construction, Restaurant, Franchise & Hospitality, Government Contracting, and Technology and Blockchain. Aprio.com  

About KRD, Ltd.

KRD is a premier firm located in the Chicago market specializing in high net-worth families, businesses and other organizations. For more than 40 years, KRD has been providing a full range of business strategies and client services, audits, reviews and compilations, financial, retirement and estate planning, accounting and software consulting, tax strategies and preparation, and business valuation services with state-of-the-art technology resources. KRD is a value-oriented organization with high professional standards. The partners and professionals serve every client’s unique situation with passion, quality and integrity.

About Burkett & Beattie, Inc.

The partners and professionals at Burkett & Beattie, Inc. have been trusted advisors, providing full-service accounting and tax, service with a concentration on small, growing businesses in a variety of industries, with a particular focus in health clubs, marketing research, and veterinary hospitals. The firm was founded in 1998 and is now led by Managing Partners Sandra Burkett and Christopher Beattie.

Follow Aprio: 

Aprio Website: https://www.aprio.com/ 
Aprio Careers: https://www.careers.aprio.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aprio 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aprioadvisors 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AprioAdvisors 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprioadvisors/

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Arista Demand Hires Jordanna Howard to Strengthen the Company’s Continued Growth

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Arista Demand, a leading provider of B2B demand generation solutions, is pleased to announce Jordanna Howard has joined the company as VP, Global Integrated Sales, effective September 1, 2026.

Prior to joining Arista Demand, Jordanna spent five years at Veritas Media Group, serving as VP of Client Services. Jordanna played a key part in growing VMG’s client portfolio and driving net-new revenue through new business partnerships, while also expanding and strengthening existing client relationships. She was instrumental in championing VMG’s reputation for white-glove service, exceptional client experiences, and long-term client success.

Jordanna joins Arista Demand as the organization continues to expand its capabilities, strengthen and build client partnerships, and help B2B organizations connect with the right prospects through results-driven demand generation and media initiatives.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jordanna to Arista Demand,” said Managing Director, Jennifer Sand. “She brings tremendous experience, energy, and a client-focused approach that aligns perfectly with how we work. Jordanna will be an important part of our continued growth, and we’re excited to have her on the team.”

In her new role, Jordanna will focus on client development, partnerships, and sales. Her experience in digital and non-traditional media will further strengthen Arista Demand’s ability to deliver innovative and integrated, measurable solutions, beyond lead gen, for clients.

“I’m excited to join Arista Demand and become part of a team that is so focused on its clients and their success,” said Howard. “I look forward to contributing to the company’s growth and helping our clients achieve meaningful results.”

Jordanna lives in Napa, California, with her partner, Jeff, and daughter, Mackie. Outside of work, she loves spending time with family and friends and is passionate about giving back.

She serves on UCSF’s Board of Directors for “All May See” vision foundation as well as sfBIG’s Board, supporting and connecting the Bay Area advertising community. Jordanna is also actively involved in her daughter’s school and is the troop leader for her local Girl Scouts Brownie troop.

About Arista Demand

Arista Demand helps B2B organizations accelerate revenue through intent targeted demand generation programs designed to connect brands with their respective audience that matter most. Through a combination of intent, 1st party data, strategy, technology, and client-focused execution, Arista Demand helps marketers build pipeline and drive measurable business results. Arista Demand brings buyers and sellers together around the globe. 

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Reducto Unveils a Frontier Parsing Model That Makes the World’s Hardest Documents AI-Ready for 1¢ a Page

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The new r-1 model is the first in a family of document intelligence models that reduces parsing errors by up to 20% while replacing complex, multi-tool pipelines with a single model that costs up to 6× less.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reducto today introduced r-1, a frontier document parsing model that turns complex PDFs, scans, spreadsheets, and other files into accurate, structured data for AI systems.

Reducto has already established itself as a leader in document parsing by handling the long tail of complex files that break conventional tools. Available today in preview, r-1 extends that lead—reducing errors by up to 20%, improving latency at high volumes, and bringing the all-in cost down to 1¢ per page.

Before an AI system can reason over a document, it must first understand what is on the page. That becomes difficult when meaning is encoded not only in text, but also in tables, handwriting, reading order, formatting, checkboxes, strikethroughs, and the position of content. A parser that misreads a financial table can give an AI agent the wrong numbers. One that drops a strikethrough can reverse the meaning of a contract.

Established services such as Amazon Textract and Azure Document Intelligence helped make cloud document processing widely available. But organizations working with complex documents often still combine multiple tools, models, and layers of post-processing to achieve the accuracy they need. In Reducto’s evaluations, r-1 outperformed commonly used hyper-scaler products and large LLMs on complex documents while providing a complete parse at one all-in price.

Built from the ground up and trained on some of the most challenging document data in the world, r-1 combines layout detection, reading order, tables, formatting, grounding, and granular citations in a single model. It is designed for the long tail of documents where simpler parsers break down, including dense tables, unusual layouts, low-quality scans, handwriting, watermarked content, and files that do not follow predictable templates.

By combining these capabilities, r-1 can handle an organization’s full document workload without requiring teams to route files among providers or maintain separate pipelines for different document types. Its flat price of 1¢ per page includes the complete parse, without additional model charges or feature-based multipliers.

r-1 is the first in a broader family of Reducto parsing models designed for different points on the accuracy, latency, and cost curve. Planned additions include r-1 mini, a smaller model for speed- and cost-sensitive workloads, and automatic routing that selects the right model for each page.

Organizations using another parser can receive up to $5,000 in credits to test r-1 on their most difficult documents, along with hands-on benchmarking support, at reducto.ai/migrate. r-1 is also available today in preview through a configuration flag in the Reducto Parse API.

About Reducto

Reducto is an agentic document platform that turns complex, real-world documents into structured data for AI agents and document-intensive workflows. The company has raised more than $108 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital and has processed more than a billion pages a month. Its customers include Harvey, Scale AI, Vanta, Airtable, Toast, and Fortune 10 enterprises.

 

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Sony Electronics Expands its ULT POWER SOUND series Lineup with Three New Bass-Powered Party Speakers

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Co-created with acclaimed hip hop sound creators, the new ULT TOWER lineup delivers deep bass, high sound pressure, and true-to-life party features in a bold new design.

ULT TOWER MAX delivers the most powerful bass yet in Sony’s ULT POWER SOUND series, combining deep bass and high sound pressure with DJ connectivity, karaoke features, and built-in wheels for easy transport.ULT TOWER 7 delivers powerful, room-filling sound with deep bass, DJ connectivity, and karaoke features, with built-in wheels making it easy to move wherever the party goes.ULT TOWER 5 packs impressive bass, DJ inputs, and karaoke features into a compact, portable design for smaller gatherings and easy on-the-go use.

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Electronics today unveils three new speakers to its ULT POWER SOUND1 series: ULT TOWER MAX, ULT TOWER 7, and ULT TOWER 5. Designed for music lovers who want to feel every beat, the new ULT POWER SOUND party speakers combine deep bass, high sound pressure, and party features to create an unforgettable party experience. Whether hosting a party, DJing, dancing, or singing karaoke, the lineup brings powerful sound to any occasion.

Built around newly developed large circular woofers, large capacity speaker cabinets, and ULT DUCT, the next generation ULT POWER SOUND series lineup delivers stronger low-frequency bass performance than ever before. The speakers’ bold new robust and versatile design brings the energy of a live event into any space.

Co-created with Hip-Hop Sound Creators

The new ULT TOWER lineup is refined through co-creation with acclaimed hip-hop sound creators, including Grammy-nominated producer Dot Da Genius; award-winning drummer, producer, and musical director Daru Jones; record producer, songwriter, and DJ Dready; and audio engineer and producer Dennis “ROC.am” Jones. Drawing on insights from these artists and producers, Sony tuned the speakers with their valuable feedback in mind. As a result, the speakers deliver deeper low frequencies, greater impact, and clearer vocals, helping listeners connect with the music the way it was meant to be heard.

Built for Parties, DJs, and Karaoke

From casual parties to professional DJ setups, the new ULT TOWER lineup offers flexible connectivity including XLR, RCA and USB-C®2 connections.

New lighting modes makes it easier to switch the mood for different settings. BEAT delivers high-energy lighting synchronized to the rhythm, WAVE creates dynamic ambient effects for social gatherings, and MELLOW offers slower lighting patterns for relaxed listening.

Karaoke fans can connect Sony’s optional ULTMIC13 microphone for an optimized vocal experience. Plus, the new Party Chain feature uses Auracast™4 broadcast to connect multiple compatible Sony speakers5 and synchronize both music and lighting for an unforgettable party experience.

For larger events, users can connect compatible speakers in a stereo configuration, creating wall-to-wall sound coverage.

Bigger Bass. Bigger Impact.

Every model features Sony’s signature ULT button, with ULT1, ULT2, FLAT, and LIVE6 – giving listeners instant access to multiple sound profiles:

ULT1 enhances deep bass for a rich, low frequency sound that makes your heart tremble.ULT2 boosts even greater power, delivering body shaking bass and strong sound pressure.FLAT reproduces music exactly as intended, delivering a true-to-source listening experience.LIVE recreates the spacious feel of a live performance while preserving vocal clarity.

For even more personalization, the sound can be fine-tuned with Custom EQ in the Sony | Sound Connect app.7

At the heart of the new lineup is Sony’s new circular woofer design, engineered to work with the large cabinet volume and ULT DUCT to produce deeper, more powerful bass and higher sound pressure.

The ULT TOWER MAX features three woofers — two front-facing and one rear-facing — for powerful bass and sound pressure that can be felt throughout the venue, supported by a high-powered amplifier. ULT TOWER 7 delivers powerful bass and sound pressure. ULT TOWER 5 delivers impressive bass and sound pressure from a compact design.

360° Party Sound – Powerful Surround Sound that Fills the Room

ULT TOWER MAX and ULT TOWER 7 feature 360° Party Sound, projecting powerful audio all around the space so everyone can enjoy clear vocals and powerful bass no matter where they are in the room. On the ULT TOWER MAX, four tweeters, mid-range speakers, and rear woofer work together to deliver rich, room-filling sound with deep, impactful bass.

Flexible Placement and Optimized Sound in Any Environment

Enhanced Sound Field Optimization analyzes both speaker placement and surrounding noise levels, then adjusts the overall sound balance across the full frequency range, not just the bass, to maintain clear, balanced sound wherever the party takes place.

The new range of ULT TOWER speakers also supports flexible positioning, whether placed vertically or horizontally.

Easier to Move, Easier to Party for Longer

Designed with portability in mind, the new speakers feature carry handles with a more comfortable grip. ULT TOWER MAX and ULT TOWER 7 also receive upgraded wheels with wider treads, making them easier to move across a variety of surfaces. ULT TOWER 7 and ULT TOWER 5 also feature an IPX4 rating8 in a vertical position, making them perfect to use outdoors. With up to 30 hours battery life on the ULT TOWER 79 and up to 20 hours on the ULT TOWER 510, users can keep the party going wherever they are.

Supporting the Next Generation of Music and Dance

Sony has reached an agreement with Red Bull for sponsorship of Red Bull Dance Your Style 2026. Based on this sponsorship, Sony will support Red Bull Dance Your Style events, including the National Final USA in September 2026 and the World Final in Switzerland in October 2026, as an official wireless speaker partner. Through this partnership, Sony will contribute to the growth and development of the dance community.

Sony is also supporting aspiring DJs through its partnership with Your Shot. As the program’s official audio partner, Sony will provide ULT POWER SOUND speakers and headphones to help participants develop their skills, express their creativity, and connect with audiences through music.

Environment in Mind

Our products also take the environment into consideration. Approximately 35% of the total plastic used in the ULT TOWER MAX is recycled plastic, incorporated into multiple parts of the speaker body, while approximately 20% of the total plastic used in each of the ULT TOWER 7 and ULT TOWER 5 is recycled plastic11. This reflects how Sony strives to reduce the environmental impact of our products.

Pricing and availability

ULT TOWER MAX is available from September 2026 with a suggested retailed price of $1,499.99 USD / $2,099 CAD at Sony.com, Best Buy, Amazon, and other authorized dealers.ULT TOWER 7 is available from September 2026 with a suggested retailed price of $649.99 USD / $799.99 CAD at Sony.com, Best Buy, Amazon, and other authorized dealers.ULT TOWER 5 is available from September 2026 with a suggested retailed price of $449.99 USD / $599.99 CAD at Sony.com, Best Buy, Amazon, and other authorized dealers.

About Sony Electronics, Inc.

Sony Electronics is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America and an affiliate of Sony Group Corporation, one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world, with a portfolio that encompasses electronics, music, motion pictures, mobile, gaming, robotics and financial services. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Sony Electronics is a leader in electronics for the consumer and professional markets. Operations include research and development, engineering, sales, marketing, distribution and customer service. Sony Electronics creates products that innovate and inspire generations, such as the award-winning Alpha Interchangeable Lens Cameras and revolutionary high-resolution audio products. Sony is also a leading manufacturer of end-to-end solutions from 4K professional broadcast and A/V equipment to industry leading 4K and 8K Ultra HD TVs.

1 ULT POWER SOUND is a trademark of Sony Corporation.
2 USB Type-C® and USB-C® are registered trademarks of USB Implementers Forum.
3 ULTMIC1 is sold separately.
4 The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. The Auracast TM word mark and logos are trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Any use of such marks by Sony Group Corporation and its subsidiaries is under license.
5 For compatible models, visit: https://www.sony.net/partychain/
6 The IPX4 water resistance rating of this product applies only when the waterproof port cover is properly closed, and the unit is installed in a vertical orientation.
7 When ULT1/2 is ON, Vol.17, and lighting is OFF. Actual performance may vary from the listed time due to the volume, songs played, surrounding temperature, and usage conditions.
8 LIVE can be selected or assigned to the ULT button via Sony | Sound Connect app.
9 Update in Sony | Sound Connect app is required to use DJ Control, Party Light and Karaoke functions. Download Sony | Sound Connect app at Google Play and the App Store. Network services, content, and operating system and software subject to terms and conditions and may be changed, interrupted or discontinued at any time and may require fees, registration and credit card information.  Some services may not be available in certain countries/region.
10 When ULT1/2 is ON, Vol.16, and lighting is OFF. Actual performance may vary from the listed time due to the volume, songs played, surrounding temperature, and usage conditions.
11 The recycled material rate is estimated based on weight. Excluding packaging and instruction manuals.

 

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