About Cary

Cary Drazner is a partner in the Firm’s Assurance Services division and co-leader of the Construction Industry group in Illinois.

For more than 30 years, Cary has specialized in providing privately held and family-owned businesses accounting, tax, and consulting services. His strength lies in his creative ability to analyze and assess client needs and situations in order to enhance profitability and efficiency.

Cary’s consultations center on his client’s business needs and include discussions on tax planning, strategic planning, management challenges, business succession planning, retirement, and estate and financial planning. His clients include manufacturers and distributors, long-term healthcare providers/physician practices, employee benefit plans, construction companies, and homebuilders.

Cary joined Marcum in 2015 via the Firm’s merger with Frost, Ruttenberg, & Rothblatt P.C., one of the largest full service accounting firms in Chicagoland. At FROST, he led the FROST Peer Review Services team, including internal inspections and reviews of clients’ quality control systems. He also served on FROST’s Quality Control Committee, among others.

Among his recent accomplishments, Cary:

  • Helped clients navigate the challenges they faced from international competition, increasing costs, and a changing marketplace.
  • Aided businesses as they transitioned to the second generation, including the development of a business plan, monitoring of the progress, and counseling key players on leadership and management issues.
  • Used gifting, creation of trusts, and other estate tax strategies to minimize the tax consequences for various high wealth clients.
  • Evaluated exit strategies for business owners nearing retirement.
  • Assisted clients in performing due diligence for business acquisitions.
  • Assisted clients in preparing and negotiating for the sale of their businesses.

Professional & Civic Affiliations

  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
  • Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA)
  • Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.
  • Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago, Past Treasurer
  • Illinois CPA Society, Peer Review Executive Committee

Education

Bachelor of Science, Accountancy
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign