Spotlight On: Horatiu Maiorescu, Executive Vice President, CLM Financial Enterprises

January 2026 — Success is fostered by alignment. This is especially true with businesses and their professional services partners. In an interview with Invest:, Horatiu Maiorescu, executive vice president of CLM Financial Enterprises, highlighted the firm’s approach to creating alignment with clients and employees at the same time. “We are approaching the industry with a new lens, which has proven to be a successful strategy,” he said.

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What have been some key highlights for CLM Enterprises in the past years?

The past few years have been quite interesting in the sense that we are experiencing a transformation that is happening on both ends of the spectrum – one end being attracting the right high-caliber employees and the other end being aligning clients to our systems, processes and talent. There is a calibration as it relates to the talent we attract and are attractive to while responding to and servicing the needs of our current and future clients. It has been a period of growth while we morph into a new model that is appealing to our audience, because as a professional service firm, we are only as good as our people. 

As an accounting firm, we could easily default to being a traditional CPA firm; however, that is not our intention, strategy or vision. We are approaching the industry with a new, fresh approach, which has proven to be a successful strategy as we are listening to what the market tells us. And the “market” for us is both the clients and the talent that we are attracting.

During this transformative journey, one of our constant priorities from the outset was to remain a private company, independent of outside pressures or conflicts. The recent merger with CLM Advisors allowed us to do this and access the capital needed to grow while remaining focused on our core strengths and capabilities while being able to execute on our strategy. 

What is the state of the accounting and professional services sector in New Jersey?

The overarching theme we see in the accounting profession as a whole starts with the fact that colleges and universities see that fewer students are pursuing this profession. At the same time, having fewer accountants in the pipeline creates more demand for accounting services. Whoever will be able to attract and retain the best talent will gain a competitive advantage in our industry. This is a reality in our industry, which makes it more competitive for companies like ours to attract the best of the best. This is the main reason we are pursuing our strategy because without a model that resonates with prospective talent, we will certainly fall behind.

Moreover, while the traditional CPA firms may not be attractive to some recruits, they are certainly attractive to private equity looking to buy. So it’s a matter of deciding what one is trying to build: do you build to become attractive to an outside buyer and potentially sell one day, or do you build and create something that is attractive to recruits? Or can you do both?

We also see a lot of firm consolidation. I am confident that things will settle as there will always be ebbs and flows in the industry, but if one thing is for sure, it is that there will always be a need for high-caliber accounting professionals within the professional services industry. 

What is your approach toward new businesses seeking to settle in New Jersey?

South Jersey has seen a boom in small businesses, especially with all the new commercial and residential construction. It is a pretty dynamic place. However, the state shares some similarities with the economy at large. One of the greatest things about this country is the ability to move human capital from one employer to another and from one state to another. Our offices are in New Jersey, but our reach is beyond our offices, and with current and emerging technologies, geography matters less and less.

We serve the small to midsize private companies with accounting and advisory services suited for a small enterprise with a structure that is more defined by an owner or founder and a small accounting department. Our advisors are actively working with and are attractive to this audience. The higher up the food chain we go, we will see more project-based work. We also serve private equity and portfolio companies, which are both dynamic in their own way. 

How are you leveraging technology, such as AI?

AI is an interesting topic. I believe our industry needs to embrace AI because ignoring it would not be the smartest approach. With that said, we do not see a way in which AI will totally replace what our clients need and what they approach us for, which is the human element and expertise that comes with it. We want our professionals to be skilled in all the latest software and platforms.

However, I believe the way we use technology is not front of mind for our clients; rather, they want a trusted adviser who will ensure there is a face to all the recommendations we provide. It is much more about human capital and the exceptional people and processes that we have in place for our clients. 

How has your advising strategy evolved?

Our advisory services are a combination of accounting, finance, strategy and helping the clients work on their business while providing all the accounting and finance support they need. This approach continues to evolve, and it is working well. One way to quantify and gauge this success is how long some of our client relationships last – most of them are made up of years of collaboration.

The positive impact of our services can also be exemplified by our clients’ growth, especially as it relates to top-line revenue growth and the enterprise value of the companies. I can confidently say that 100% of our clients have experienced this growth. There is a certain learning curve for our clients when they engage with us. We want to make sure that when we select and work with our clients, there is an alignment of the minds and mindsets, which is one of the keys to our success. 

What are the firm’s top priorities for the near future?

As a professional services firm, there is a logical way of evaluating things. You have to grow in order to create opportunities for your employees. This is not about growth just for the sake of growth. This is more about ensuring that we provide more and more opportunities for current and future employees. Our focus is to expand and attract more clients. This is a large country, a vast industry, and there is an abundance of opportunities.

We also do not want to be everything for everyone. We want to be selective and respect the integrity of our processes and our brand for both our talented professionals and our clients. There is a need for our services, and we want to make sure that we help as many clients as we can and that we attract as many high-caliber recruits as we can so they can grow their careers at our firm.

It is all about creating opportunities for all the parties involved. We want to continue to build our brand and work with the right talent and clients. My top priority is to successfully execute on our mission for our clients, which is to create meaningful value for entrepreneurial-minded executives by driving enterprise growth and enhancing their personal well-being.

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