Ascend acquires offshore accounting services provider

Ascend, a private-equity-backed investor in accounting firms, announced that it has acquired Sentient Solutions for Accounting, an offshore accounting services and technology solutions provider with offices in India and Mexico.

Sentient, which has over a hundred employees, mostly in Hyderabad, India, will serve as a captive offshore resource for the U.S.-based firms on Ascend's platform. It offers tax, assurance, and client accounting services, and has a technology arm that develops artificial intelligence tools for accountants.

"From the beginning, we have promised that we will provide the resources of a large CPA firm to the entrepreneurial, independent local firm," Ascend founder and CEO David Wurtzbacher said in a statement. "This acquisition squarely delivers on that promise. Sentient's current customer base is extremely happy, which points to the company's excellent leadership, thoughtful onboarding processes, and quality service."

"The reality is that smaller CPA firms cannot do offshoring themselves, even though they would love to have the extra capacity," he continued. "Building an offshore team is extremely difficult, especially when CPAs are already buried in client service. Furthermore, smaller firms don't have the critical mass to be a top client of an outsourcing firm, so they miss out on dedicated service teams, rapid responses to feedback, and smooth integrations. Bringing Sentient onto the Ascend platform will give our partner firms the opportunity to scale up and balance out the work they are assigning to their U.S.-based teams."

Ascend acquires the non-attest parts of entrepreneurial firms in the U.S., and then aims to support their growth with capital and a growing list of other resources in areas such as leadership development, talent acquisition and technology.

Besides serving the firms on Ascend's platform, Sentient will continue to serve its current accounting firm clients.

"I am very impressed by the vision and entrepreneurial, 'can-do' attitude of the Ascend team," said Sentient founder and COE Venkat Sharma, who is joining Ascend's executive leadership team. "It is clear to me that Ascend truly cares about their people and strives to make each partner firm a better, more rewarding place to work. This investment from Ascend fuels Sentient to further drive success for accounting firms with the same focus on quality, flexibility, and technology we've had from the beginning."

Launched in January 2023, Ascend invested in Vancouver, Washington-based Opsahl Dawson in the same month, San Antonio-based ATKG in May, and New York City's LMC in June.

For more information, visit ascendtogether.com.