Does Baker Tilly's merger signal a public accounting mid-market power shift? Trial Balance
The Trial Balance is CFO.com's weekly preview of stories, stats and events to help you prepare.
Baker Tilly and Moss Adams closed their merger in June, forming the sixth-largest accounting and advisory firm and the largest backed by private equity in the U.S. The company will operate under the Baker Tilly brand. In a recent interview with Business Insider, former CEOs Jeff Ferro and Eric Miles detailed the merger, their long-term growth plans and how PE backing is helping them scale to meet evolving client demands.
Miles, the former CEO of Moss Adams, who will succeed Ferro as CEO of Baker Tilly at year-end, said the firms are responding to a clear shift in client expectations. 'The needs of the mid-market are evolving,' he told BI. 'Firms have to be bigger and more capable to stay competitive.' Ferro said he hopes the firm doubles revenue to $6 billion in five years, crediting the possibility of that scale to new technology and their private capital.
The move places the company just outside the coveted Big Four ranking, as the combined firm brought in over $3 billion in annual revenue last year and includes 11,500 employees. While Baker Tilly has traditionally served clients across the East and Midwest, Moss Adams brings a dominant West Coast clientele market. For CFOs, the geographic blend and expanded advisory offerings may create a stronger alternative to historically pricey Big Four services, especially for mid-market finance leaders seeking cost-effective services.
The deal also reflects a broader trend: While not directly tied to individual transactions, the tax advantages PE firms receive through mechanisms like the carried interest loophole could help fuel their ability to back large-scale mergers, especially in cash-generating service sectors like accounting. Baker Tilly's 2024 stake sale to Hellman & Friedman and Valeas Capital gave the firm the capital to boost its M&A strategy and invest heavily in AI, automation and the growing trend of fixed-cost service offerings.
For finance chiefs, the merger could signal a shift in public accounting dynamics. PE backing often means faster innovation and improved service packages, but it also raises questions around pricing models, partner accountability and the long-term stability of the firm itself. Traditional partner-run firms, a model that is facing challenges of its own, typically offer continuity and institutional knowledge and longevity, while PE-backed firms may be more focused on growth metrics and scalability.
Here's a list of important market events slated for the week ahead.
Monday, June 9
Wholesale inventories, April
Tuesday, June 10
NFIB optimism index, May
Wednesday, June 11
Consumer price index, May
Core CPI, May
Monthly U.S. federal budget, May
Thursday, June 12
Initial jobless claims, week of June 7
Producer price index, May
Core PPI, May
Friday, June 13
Consumer sentiment (preliminary), June
This week, CFO.com will publish a Q&A with Irina Berkon, CFO of Metallicus, a technology company that builds compliant and regulation-abiding cryptocurrency banking tools for traditional financial institutions. After speaking at Consensus 2025, Berkon shares her experience speaking as a CFO at a large conference, how she believes cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are not taking a backseat to AI, her relationship with CEO and cryptocurrency 'pioneer' Marshall Hayner, keeping cryptocurrency on the balance sheet and more.
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