The Architecture of Innovation: RK Partners Taps Big 4 Veteran to Scale R&D Advisory

NEW YORK, NY – October 01, 2026

The architecture of innovation is not solely built on code, steel, or silicon; it is equally dependent on the invisible infrastructure of capital and tax strategy. For companies pushing the boundaries of what is possible, research and development is a massive capital sink. Unlocking the non-dilutive funding hidden within the federal tax code has become an essential survival mechanism for modern enterprises.

Capitalizing on this critical need, New York-based specialty tax consultancy RK Partners announced today the appointment of Andrew Sams as its new Chief Executive Officer. The leadership transition marks a pivotal moment for the firm, arriving on the heels of an explosive 18-month period where the consultancy tripled its top-line revenue and successfully secured more than $130 million in R&D tax credits for hundreds of businesses.

Founder Mark Kashinskiy, who has guided the firm through its initial hyper-growth phase, will transition to the role of Chairman. This strategic realignment signals the company's evolution from a founder-led startup to an institutionalized advisory powerhouse, aiming to scale operations amidst a rapidly shifting and increasingly scrutinized regulatory environment.

Scaling Beyond the Founder

The transition from visionary founder to professional corporate management is a classic inflection point for fast-growing professional services firms. To navigate this leap, the consultancy has tapped a leader with deep institutional pedigree. Sams brings decades of experience in business structuring and private wealth, notably spending ten years rising through the leadership ranks at Deloitte.

Beyond his Big Four tenure, Sams holds the prestigious designation of Chartered Tax Advisor and spent seven years as a senior partner helping build a global multi-family office, advising entrepreneurs through complex capital raises, management buyouts, and business exits. This unique blend of massive-scale corporate consulting and intimate, high-stakes private wealth management aligns perfectly with the firm's strategic goals.

"Andy is one of the most impressive people I have ever met," said Mark Kashinskiy, Founder and Chairman of RK Partners. "He's technically excellent, commercially sharp, and he's scaled businesses before. More importantly, he gets people. There is no better person to lead RK into its next stage."

For Sams, the mandate is clear: institutionalize the firm's operational capacity without diluting the specialized expertise that fueled its initial rise.

"R&D tax credits are an area where technical expertise and client impact go hand in hand," Sams noted regarding his new role. "RK has built a team that delivers both. My job is to help that team grow without losing what makes it work."

Navigating the Regulatory Labyrinth

The appointment comes at a time when the landscape of IRC Section 41—the federal statute governing R&D tax credits—has never been more complex or heavily policed. The Internal Revenue Service has significantly intensified its scrutiny of research credit claims, demanding rigorous, contemporaneous documentation to substantiate qualified research activities and expenses.

Over the past few years, the corporate sector has experienced severe regulatory whiplash. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 introduced a delayed provision requiring companies to capitalize and amortize domestic research and experimental (R&E) costs over five years under Section 174, a mandate that took effect in 2022 and severely impacted corporate cash flows. While the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 4, 2025, permanently reinstated immediate expensing for domestic R&E expenditures, foreign R&E costs still require 15-year amortization.

Furthermore, an impending documentation shockwave is about to hit the industry. Beginning with tax years after December 31, 2025, taxpayers claiming the R&D credit face mandatory compliance with Schedule G of Form 6765. This new framework requires granular, business component-level information, forcing companies to move away from aggregate expense reporting toward highly specific project-based cost allocations.

Industry analysts note that this heightened regulatory burden is driving a massive wedge into the advisory market. Generalist CPAs simply lack the bandwidth and specialized knowledge to manage the four-part test required for Section 41 qualification, let alone the intricate cost allocations demanded by the new Schedule G.

The Boutique Advantage in a Big Four World

As the barriers to entry in R&D tax advisory rise, a distinct competitive landscape has emerged. At one end of the spectrum are the Big Four accounting firms, which offer deep technical resources but often reserve their most specialized teams for Fortune 500 clients. At the other end are massive, volume-driven tax shops that process thousands of claims annually, sometimes prioritizing claim size over rigorous audit defensibility.

RK Partners has aggressively positioned itself in the lucrative middle ground. By recruiting executives with Big Four experience, the boutique firm aims to deliver institutional-grade technical expertise wrapped in a highly personalized, agile service model.

Tax strategists point out that in the current IRS enforcement climate, defensibility is paramount. A maximized credit is useless if it cannot survive an audit. The consultancy's emphasis on maintaining a "high-touch" approach suggests a deliberate strategy to prioritize the quality and documentation of claims over sheer volume—a critical differentiator as the IRS tightens its grip on unsubstantiated filings.

With Sams at the helm, the firm is expected to deepen its capabilities in audit defense and specialized documentation, ensuring that mid-market enterprises and fast-growing startups receive the same level of rigorous compliance shielding as global conglomerates.

Fueling the Next Era of Innovation

Ultimately, the mechanics of tax strategy serve a higher purpose: fueling technological advancement. The R&D tax credit is a vital lifeline for companies operating at the frontiers of science, engineering, and software development.

This is particularly true for pre-revenue startups. Under the expanded provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, qualified small businesses can now elect to apply up to $500,000 of their research credit against their employer portion of social security payroll taxes. For a young biotech firm or an artificial intelligence startup burning through capital to build a viable product, a half-million-dollar payroll tax offset is transformative. It extends runways, funds additional engineering hires, and accelerates the pace of market-ready innovation.

By helping hundreds of businesses reclaim over $130 million, specialized advisors act as a crucial conduit in the innovation economy, converting complex legislative code into actionable capital. As Andrew Sams steps into the CEO role, his challenge will be to scale that conduit, ensuring that the architects of tomorrow possess the financial foundation required to build the future.