Baker Tilly Looks to Build National Brand With Moss Adams Merger

Baker Tilly Advisory Group LP, now paired with competitor Moss Adams LLP, aims to build its brand into a “national powerhouse” for its middle market clients, leveraging a private equity investment to expand its services and upgrade its technology.

The two firms closed a $7 billion merger Tuesday, forming the sixth-largest US accounting firm and providing the new Baker Tilly with the scale and reach to offer a diverse menu of in-demand services, the combined firm’s top leaders said in an interview with Bloomberg Tax late Tuesday.

Baker Tilly’s combination with Moss Adams marks the biggest merger of the private equity era and will bump the firms—previously ranked 11th and 12th among US accounting firms by revenue—ahead of competitor BDO USA P.C. Mergers and roll-ups are slated to rewrite the mid-tier accounting playbook as firms jockey for greater market share and make deeper investments in artificial intelligence.

“Our clients need a nationwide, multi-industry, multi-disciplinary firm and we would say designed for the mid-market,” said Eric Miles, the former CEO of Moss Adams who in January will helm the combined firm under the Baker Tilly banner.

CEO Jeff Ferro will continue to lead Baker Tilly until he retires later this year. The two leaders spoke with Bloomberg Tax about their goals for the $3.5 billion revenue firm and its more than 11,000-person workforce.

The merger with Baker Tilly, which cut a private equity deal in 2024, provided Moss Adams a path to remain competitive in the shifting mid-tier marketplace, Miles said.

Baker Tilly’s tax practice and its accounting outsourcing services are two areas with opportunities to expand, the leaders said. The firm’s listed company practice, which includes advisory work and auditing, will remain a core service, the leaders added.

“We need to be strong in this space to be a relevant CPA firm,” Miles said. “We view it as an important part of our future strategy.”

Moss Adams brings with it a portfolio of nearly 100 US-listed audit clients—more than double Baker Tilly’s public company audit practice, according to the two leaders. Combined, the firm will be among the 10 largest auditors of public companies in the US, triggering annual scrutiny from regulators.

Private equity’s investment in the accounting industry has sparked concerns that firms could walk away from auditing, especially for listed clients, which come with strict independence requirements and other compliance hurdles. Firms like Baker Tilly that are part of a portfolio company face a web of potential conflicts of interest.

But for Baker Tilly, the outside capital provides resources for the firm to expand its geographic reach and invest in new service offerings, recruitment, and technology, Ferro said.

“We’ve got rocket fuel from private equity to be able to fund all that,” he said. “It’s all part of the plan.”

Over the next year, the merged firm will focus on combining its legacy technology systems and creating a sound foundation for future investments in AI, Miles said.

Rival BDO pledged last month to spend $1 billion on adopting AI.

“We’re probably going to do the same thing. I don’t think we’re behind,” Ferro said.