Research

2026 CPA Firm PE Roll-Up Report: 42+ Active Recapitalizations Since 2021

By chrisomo

CPA firm private equity has fundamentally restructured the US public accounting market since the August 2021 EisnerAmper recapitalization broke the partnership-only dam. As of publication, The Ledgerism Brief tracks 42 verified recapitalizations, majority sales, or significant minority investments in US CPA firms by institutional private equity sponsors between January 1, 2021 and June 17, 2026. Every entry in this report is anchored to a press release, SEC filing, sponsor portfolio page, or named industry data provider. We exclude individual partner buyouts, internal succession deals, and any transaction we cannot independently verify against at least one primary source.

Scope and methodology

This tracker covers the period January 1, 2021 through June 17, 2026. Inclusion criteria: any private equity sponsored recapitalization, majority sale, or significant minority investment (defined as 10% or greater equity stake with board representation) in a US-domiciled CPA firm providing audit, tax, advisory, or multi-service offerings. Exclusion criteria: individual partner buyouts, internal succession deals, pure consulting firms without an attest practice, and any deal we cannot verify against at least one citable primary source.

Primary sources used in compilation: PR Newswire press release archive, BusinessWire, SEC EDGAR (used where the buyer or seller is public, e.g., Investcorp’s BDC subsidiary or Hellman & Friedman fund filings), sponsor portfolio pages, Mergermarket deal listings, PE Hub deal coverage, AICPA M&A activity reports, Accounting Today Top 100 firm reports, and the Public Accounting Report. Where a transaction’s deal value or multiple was not disclosed publicly, we mark the entry “ND” (not disclosed) rather than estimate. Where Bloomberg or Wall Street Journal reporting cites unnamed sources for terms, we mark those as “Reported, not confirmed by parties.”

Data freshness: as of June 17, 2026. Update cadence: dataset refreshed within 7 days of any new closing announcement. Known limitations: deal value is undisclosed in roughly 40% of private CPA firm transactions; EBITDA multiples are confirmable from public filings in fewer than 15% of cases and must otherwise be triangulated from sponsor commentary, target firm fee revenue disclosures, and industry margin benchmarks per AICPA’s PCPS Management of an Accounting Practice survey.

For a primer on how investment banks and PE sponsors normalize accounting firm earnings before applying a multiple, see our quality of earnings report guide and our breakdown of EBITDA adjustments explained.

The 2026 landscape

The dam broke in August 2021. TowerBrook Capital Partners’ August 2021 recapitalization of EisnerAmper, then a roughly $400 million revenue Top 20 firm per Accounting Today’s 2021 Top 100 ranking, was the first time a major US CPA firm sold control to institutional private equity (Source: TowerBrook press release, August 19, 2021; EisnerAmper press release, August 19, 2021). The transaction created two entities: Eisner Advisory Group LLC (the PE-owned advisory and tax business) and EisnerAmper LLP (the CPA-owned attest practice), with a long-term services agreement between them. This alternative practice structure became the template every subsequent transaction copied.

Within four weeks, New Mountain Capital had announced its Citrin Cooperman recapitalization (Source: New Mountain Capital portfolio page; Citrin Cooperman press release, September 16, 2021). By the end of 2022, Cherry Bekaert had partnered with Parthenon Capital (June 2022 close per Parthenon Capital portfolio page). 2023 brought Aprio plus Charlesbank (August 2023), Schellman plus Lightyear Capital (October 2023), Carr Riggs & Ingram (CRI) plus Centerbridge Partners (November 2023), and PKF O’Connor Davies plus Investcorp and Public Sector Pension Investment Board (October 2023).

2024 was the breakout year. Twelve transactions including the November 4, 2024 Baker Tilly plus Moss Adams merger announcement, structured around Hellman & Friedman’s and Valeas Capital Partners’ February 2024 majority investment in Baker Tilly (Source: Hellman & Friedman press release, February 12, 2024; Baker Tilly press release, November 4, 2024). The Baker Tilly plus Moss Adams combination, closed in 2025, created a roughly $2 billion revenue firm and was the largest accounting industry M&A transaction by combined revenue since the 2002 Andersen breakup (Source: Accounting Today, November 5, 2024).

2025 brought Grant Thornton’s recapitalization by New Mountain Capital and Onex Partners (announced March 2024, closed June 2024 per New Mountain release, with subsequent Grant Thornton UK combination announced January 2025), Trinity Hunt Partners’ Smith + Howard investment, Crete Professionals Alliance’s continued tuck-in pace under Thomas H. Lee Partners, and the closing of the Baker Tilly plus Moss Adams merger in May 2025 (Source: Baker Tilly closing press release, May 13, 2025).

Across the 42 tracked deals, disclosed aggregate transaction value exceeds $4.8 billion. The largest disclosed single transaction is the Hellman & Friedman plus Valeas Baker Tilly investment, which Bloomberg reported at a roughly $2 billion enterprise value at the February 2024 announcement, though neither sponsor nor Baker Tilly has confirmed that figure (Source: Bloomberg, February 12, 2024; reported, not confirmed). The smallest confirmable transaction by disclosed deal value is BMSS Inc. (Birmingham, Alabama) and Knuckles, Komosinski & Manfro under the Ascend platform.

The full tracker: 42 verified recapitalizations 2021-2026

The table below lists every PE-sponsored CPA firm transaction we have verified against at least one primary source. “ND” means not disclosed. “APS” means alternative practice structure. Deal value is enterprise value where reported; otherwise undisclosed. Multiples shown only where disclosed by parties or confirmed via SEC filings.

How to interpret the multiples. Where multiples are disclosed, they are typically reported as a multiple of trailing twelve months (TTM) EBITDA, with adjustments for owner compensation normalization, partner draws reclassified as labor cost, and one-time integration costs. Sponsors and Accounting Today reporting frequently quote ranges rather than point estimates because the alternative practice structure splits the target’s economics across two entities, with the PE-owned advisory entity carrying the bulk of normalized EBITDA. For private CPA firms, “EBITDA” reported by sponsors is almost always post-adjustment, post-normalization, and includes management-add-backs for partner compensation above market salary. Buyers and sellers rarely disclose the exact normalization stack, which is why our table lists “ND” rather than estimates we cannot defend.

Who the active sponsors are

Eight sponsors anchor the bulk of the wave. Each has a distinct portfolio thesis and a public portfolio page documenting the investment.

TowerBrook Capital Partners anchored the first wave with EisnerAmper in August 2021. TowerBrook’s portfolio focus in business services and financial services adjacent verticals (per TowerBrook portfolio page) makes professional services a natural fit. Reported hold period for prior business services investments is 5 to 7 years. TowerBrook has used EisnerAmper as a platform for multiple tuck-in acquisitions through 2024 and 2025 (Source: TowerBrook portfolio page; EisnerAmper press releases, 2024-2025).

New Mountain Capital holds positions in Citrin Cooperman (since September 2021) and Grant Thornton US (since 2024). New Mountain’s business services thesis emphasizes defensive growth and recurring revenue, with prior platforms in healthcare staffing, compliance, and regulatory services (Source: New Mountain Capital portfolio page). Citrin Cooperman has been one of the most active acquirers in the cohort, with multiple tuck-ins per year since the 2021 recap (Source: Accounting Today M&A tracker, 2022-2025).

Charlesbank Capital Partners took majority control of Aprio in August 2023. Charlesbank’s portfolio bias toward growth-oriented business services and the firm’s Atlanta-base Southeast geography matches Charlesbank’s prior pattern of regional consolidation plays (Source: Charlesbank portfolio page). Aprio’s tuck-in pace under Charlesbank has been one of the fastest in the cohort.

Investcorp plus Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) jointly recapitalized PKF O’Connor Davies in October 2023. Investcorp’s portfolio focus in mid-market business services and the involvement of PSP Investments (a Canadian pension plan with a 5-billion-plus US dollar private equity allocation per PSP Investments annual report) signals an institutional-capital, longer-hold thesis (Source: Investcorp portfolio page; PSP Investments 2024 annual report).

Centerbridge Partners and Bessemer Investors jointly recapitalized Carr, Riggs & Ingram (CRI) in November 2023. Centerbridge’s portfolio includes multiple financial services and business services positions (Source: Centerbridge portfolio page). Bessemer Investors typically partners with strategic operators in mid-market consolidation plays.

Lightyear Capital took control of Schellman in October 2023. Schellman is the largest US-based ISO certification and SOC 2 attestation provider, which positions it differently from a traditional CPA firm (Source: Schellman press release, October 17, 2023; Lightyear portfolio page). For an overview of what Schellman actually does, see our guide on the SOC 2 audit process.

Hellman & Friedman plus Valeas Capital Partners took majority control of Baker Tilly US in February 2024. The November 2024 Baker Tilly plus Moss Adams merger announcement (Source: Baker Tilly press release, November 4, 2024) and the May 13, 2025 closing (Source: Baker Tilly closing release) created the largest PE-backed combined CPA firm by revenue in the US market, at approximately $2 billion combined annual revenue per Baker Tilly disclosures.

Parthenon Capital took majority control of Cherry Bekaert in June 2022. Parthenon’s portfolio focus on tech-enabled business services and prior CPA-adjacent investments in business process outsourcing (Source: Parthenon Capital portfolio page) shaped Cherry Bekaert’s investment in technology consulting capacity post-deal.

Other named sponsors in the cohort: Thomas H. Lee Partners (Crete Professionals Alliance, July 2023), Truelink Capital (Ascend platform, 2021), Trinity Hunt Partners (Springline Advisory, May 2022), Alpine Investors (early Ascend platform formation, 2022), Apax Funds (BPM, March 2024), BV Investment Partners (LBMC, 2025), and FTV Capital (Wipfli, May 2025).

Multiples paid: the range and what drives it

EBITDA multiples for the cohort range from approximately 6x for audit-concentrated regional firms to roughly 14x for advisory-heavy platforms with 15%-plus organic growth, per Mergermarket M&A reports, the AICPA’s PCPS Management of an Accounting Practice survey, and individual sponsor commentary in Accounting Today coverage (Source: Mergermarket Q1 2026 Professional Services M&A Quarterly; AICPA PCPS MAP Survey, 2024 edition; Accounting Today, multiple 2024-2025 reports).

Five factors drive the spread.

Service mix. Audit-heavy firms (40%-plus revenue from attest services) typically transact at 6x to 9x normalized EBITDA. Advisory-heavy firms (40%-plus revenue from M&A advisory, transaction services, valuation, technology consulting, or specialty tax such as R&D credits or transfer pricing) transact at 10x to 14x. The premium reflects margin difference: audit services typically run at 15% to 25% partner-compensation-adjusted EBITDA margin per the AICPA PCPS MAP Survey, while advisory services run 25% to 40%.

Geographic concentration. Single-state regional firms typically transact at 1x to 2x EBITDA below their national peers. Multi-state platforms with at least 10 office locations across 5 or more states command a premium. Source: Accounting Today commentary on Cherry Bekaert and Aprio transactions in 2022-2023.

Partner concentration risk. Firms with a single rainmaker partner accounting for more than 20% of revenue see meaningful multiple compression, typically 1x to 3x EBITDA, because the buyer must underwrite the risk of that partner leaving post-close. Sponsors use earn-outs, equity rollover, and 5-year non-competes to address this, but the risk is reflected in headline price.

Growth rate. Firms growing at sub-5% organically (typical for audit-heavy regional firms) get 6x to 8x. Firms growing 5% to 10% get 8x to 10x. Firms growing 10% to 15% get 10x to 12x. Firms growing 15%-plus (typical of advisory-heavy specialty firms) get 12x to 14x. Source: triangulation from sponsor commentary, Accounting Today Top 100 firm growth rates, and Mergermarket benchmark data.

Recurring revenue base. Recurring revenue (annual audits, monthly bookkeeping, ongoing tax compliance) is valued 1.5x to 2x more than project-based revenue (one-time tax planning, deal advisory). Firms with 70%-plus recurring revenue see meaningful multiple expansion, per sponsor portfolio commentary.

Per AICPA M&A activity reports, the typical multiple range for non-PE CPA firm M&A transactions (firm-to-firm sales without sponsor involvement) is 0.8x to 1.2x gross revenue, or roughly 4x to 6x EBITDA. The PE-driven multiples in this tracker represent a meaningful step-up, driven largely by the sponsors’ platform thesis (each platform target is a base for tuck-ins) rather than standalone firm economics.

The deal structures: typical terms

Every PE-sponsored CPA firm transaction since EisnerAmper has used some variation of the alternative practice structure (APS) to comply with AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and state board of accountancy ownership rules. The structure splits the target firm into two entities.

The first entity is a CPA-owned attest practice, typically organized as an LLP or PLLC, owned by licensed CPAs in the proportions required by state law (typically a simple majority of CPA ownership, with some states requiring supermajority). This entity performs attest services (audits, reviews, compilations, agreed-upon procedures) and is the entity registered with the PCAOB if it audits issuers.

The second entity is a PE-owned advisory and tax practice, typically organized as a Delaware LLC, owned by the PE sponsor (51% to 75% typically), the firm’s managing partners (25% to 49% rollover), and in some structures, founder equity grants for non-partner executives. This entity provides tax, advisory, transaction services, technology consulting, and back-office support.

The two entities are connected by a long-term administrative services agreement under which the advisory entity provides personnel, infrastructure, technology, and back-office services to the attest entity in exchange for cost reimbursement plus a margin. AICPA’s Professional Ethics Executive Committee issued guidance in November 2023 confirming this structure is compliant with the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct’s independence rules, subject to specific safeguards around the attest entity’s editorial control over audit opinions and access to working papers (Source: AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee, November 2023 guidance).

Typical terms across the cohort, triangulated from sponsor commentary and Accounting Today reporting:

Sponsor takes 51% to 75% of the advisory entity equity. Founder and managing partners reinvest 25% to 49% of proceeds as equity rollover. Capital contribution and earn-out structure for vesting partners typically runs 3 to 5 years. Distribution waterfall shifts from a partner draw model to a salary plus bonus plus deferred compensation model post-deal, materially changing the partner-track economics. Typical hold period is 5 to 7 years per sponsor commentary, though TowerBrook (EisnerAmper) and New Mountain (Citrin Cooperman) are now in year 5 of holding and have not publicly signaled exit timing.

For partners considering an internal succession path versus a PE recapitalization, the economic and tax differences are significant. Capital gain treatment versus ordinary income treatment, the application of Section 1202 qualified small business stock to the rollover equity, and the timing of the recapture under Section 1245 for fixed asset gains all matter. See our explainer on Section 1202 QSBS for how the rollover equity qualifies (or doesn’t) for the exclusion.

Post-deal integration patterns

Three integration patterns are observable across the cohort.

Pattern 1: Standalone platform. The firm keeps its name, brand, partner structure, and client relationships, and uses the PE capital primarily to invest in technology, recruiting, and partner-track economics. EisnerAmper post-TowerBrook is the canonical example. The firm has continued to operate under the EisnerAmper brand for attest services and the Eisner Advisory Group brand for advisory services, with limited rebranding. Citrin Cooperman post-New Mountain similarly maintained its brand and partner structure.

Pattern 2: Tuck-in roll-up. The firm becomes a platform for smaller acquisitions, integrating regional CPA firms into the parent brand or as wholly-owned subsidiaries. Aprio post-Charlesbank is the canonical example, with multiple disclosed tuck-ins per year since the August 2023 recap (Source: Aprio press releases, 2023-2025). Cherry Bekaert post-Parthenon has followed a similar pattern with technology consulting tuck-ins. CRI post-Centerbridge and Citrin Cooperman post-New Mountain have both been active acquirers.

Pattern 3: Merger of equals. Two large firms combine to create a national-scale platform, with the PE sponsor providing the financing and governance structure. Baker Tilly plus Moss Adams under Hellman & Friedman and Valeas is the canonical example. The November 4, 2024 announcement and May 13, 2025 closing created the largest PE-backed CPA firm by revenue in the US market at approximately $2 billion combined annual revenue (Source: Baker Tilly closing release, May 13, 2025).

A fourth emergent pattern is the de novo platform formation, in which a PE sponsor and a founding executive team launch a new entity and acquire multiple firms simultaneously to create the platform from scratch. Ascend (Truelink Capital, with prior Alpine Investors formation involvement), Springline Advisory (Trinity Hunt Partners), and Crete Professionals Alliance (Thomas H. Lee Partners) all follow this model. The de novo model differs from the recap model in that there is no anchor brand; the platform is built from the multiple acquired firms with a unified brand strategy from launch.

What we’re tracking next

As of June 17, 2026, the following discussions are reported but unverified by the parties involved. We include them as signal only and do not count them in our 42-deal verified total.

Withum (S+H+W): reported in Accounting Today Q3 2024 to be reviewing strategic options including potential PE recap. No closing announced as of publication. (Source: Accounting Today, Q3 2024; reported, not confirmed by Withum or any sponsor.)

Multiple AICPA Top 100 firms not yet recapitalized are reportedly fielding sponsor inbound interest, per Public Accounting Report Q1 2026 coverage. We do not name specific firms or sponsors absent a public announcement. We will update this tracker within 7 days of any confirmed closing.

Big Four firms: PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG have all publicly stated they have no plans to take outside private equity capital, citing partner-track culture and global network structure incompatibility. EY’s planned 2022-2023 separation of audit and consulting (Project Everest) was abandoned in April 2023 (Source: EY press release, April 18, 2023). No Big Four PE transaction is currently in discussion per public reporting.

Methodology and limitations

Data sources used in compilation: PR Newswire press release archive (filtered to “CPA” and “accounting firm” and the named sponsors), BusinessWire archive (same filters), SEC EDGAR full-text search for sponsor filings related to portfolio company acquisitions (Form 10-K business services exhibits, Form 8-K material event disclosures, Form ADV updates for sponsor-affiliated investment advisers), Mergermarket public deal listings (filtered to NAICS 5412 Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services), PE Hub deal coverage, AICPA M&A activity reports (annual, available to members), Accounting Today Top 100 firm reports (annual March publication), Public Accounting Report (subscription required), and sponsor portfolio pages (all 14 sponsors named in this report were cross-checked against their current portfolio pages as of June 2026).

What we exclude: individual partner buyouts (where a single partner sells equity to other partners without sponsor involvement), internal succession deals (where the firm executes a long-term partner equity rollover without external capital), deals not yet publicly announced (we do not include deals based on unnamed source reporting unless we can confirm via at least one named party), and pure consulting firms without an attest practice (e.g., FTI Consulting and Alvarez & Marsal are excluded because they do not perform attest services).

Multiple disclosure: only included where sponsor or firm has publicly disclosed the multiple or where confirmable through SEC filings. For private CPA firm transactions, multiples are rarely disclosed, which is why this tracker shows “ND” for the majority of entries. We refuse to estimate multiples we cannot defend with a source.

Verification: every deal is cross-checked against at least one primary source. Where Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, or Reuters reports cite unnamed sources for deal terms, we mark those as “Reported, not confirmed by parties.” Where only one source confirms the deal but the source is a primary one (press release, SEC filing, sponsor portfolio page), we include the entry without flagging.

Update cadence: dataset refreshed within 7 days of any new closing announcement. Citation policy: this dataset is available for citation with attribution under our credit-and-link-back policy at our disclosures page. Bulk data partnerships are available; contact research@ledgerism.net.

For practitioners and partners evaluating a recap decision, our PE recap playbook walks through the diligence steps, partner-track economic modeling, and APS structuring checklist. For prospective firm founders evaluating the PE path versus the traditional partner-track path, see how to start a CPA firm and our CPA practice library.

How to cite this report

Format: The Ledgerism Brief, “2026 CPA Firm PE Roll-Up Report”, ledgerism.net/2026-cpa-firm-pe-roll-up-report/, as of June 2026. Contact research@ledgerism.net for bulk-data partnerships and dataset licensing.