Baker Tilly merges with Moss Adams

Baker Tilly and Moss Adams have made their merger official, combining to form what promises to be the sixth largest CPA firm in the U.S.

Rumors of the impending merger began to leak out earlier this month. The two firms plan to combine under the Baker Tilly name. Moss Adams already has a large presence in the West Coast and the center of the country, while Baker Tilly dominates in the East and Midwest, and their merger will give them a larger national footprint.  

Baker Tilly, based in Chicago, ranked No. 11 on Accounting Today's 2025 list of the Top 100 Firms with $1.8 billion in annual revenue, over 600 partners and nearly 6,900 employees. Moss Adams, based in Seattle, ranked right below it at No. 12 with $1.3 billion in annual revenue, over 400 partners and more than 4,800 employees.

Baker Tilly CEO Jeff Ferro will be CEO of the combined firm through his retirement, while Eric Miles, who is currently Moss Adams' chairman and CEO, has been named CEO-elect. Miles will assume the role of CEO on Jan. 1, 2026, with Ferro remaining a director on Baker Tilly's board thereafter. 

"Moss Adams is a great strategic fit with Baker Tilly," Ferro said in a statement Monday. "We've long respected the firm, its people and its industry-focused approach. By bringing together our strengths, we are expanding our ability to serve middle-market businesses with greater expertise, resources and insights." 

"The resources, geographic reach and go-to-market strength of the combined firm magnifies opportunities for our people to grow, collaborate and innovate," Miles stated. "We are proud to offer our clients these expanded resources to deliver even greater value and set a new standard for advisory services in the middle market." 

As part of the deal, private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, an existing investor in Baker Tilly, will make an additional strategic investment in the business, with existing shareholder Valeas Capital Partners also increasing its investment. 

The deal is expected to close in early June of this year. Once the deal closes, Moss Adams and Baker Tilly's audit business will combine as Baker Tilly US LLP and the firms' business advisory, tax and other services will combine under Baker Tilly Advisory Group LP. Both entities will remain partnerships, with all principals holding equity alongside H&F and Valeas in BTAG. 

"Since we invested in Baker Tilly, we have been focused on building a differentiated firm with the ambition to change the game in the middle-market accounting industry," said H&F partner Blake Kleinman in a statement. "This landmark merger between Baker Tilly and Moss Adams is an important step in creating a firm that will be the destination of choice for the industry's best talent and for firms considering their strategic options in a rapidly evolving sector." 

Former AICPA president and CEO Barry Melancon recently joined as a strategic advisor to Baker Tilly and independent chair-elect of the Baker Tilly International board of directors: "The CPA and advisory profession requires firms to operate effectively at the local, national and global levels," he said in a statement. "This combination brings together two firms at the forefront of the profession, further empowering them to deliver on their commitment to serving their clients as the needs of middle-market businesses evolve." 

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Vedder Price PC served as legal advisors to Baker Tilly. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. served as financial advisor and Dechert LLP as legal advisor to Moss Adams. 

Baker Tilly is part  of the Baker Tilly International network, based in London, which reported $5.6 billion in worldwide revenue in 2024. Baker Tilly has done several acquisitions since receiving private equity funding in February 2024 led by Hellman & Friedman and Valeas Capital Partners. Earlier this year, it acquired CironeFriedberg, a firm based in Bethel, Connecticut, and Hancock Askew, a Regional Leader based in Savannah, Georgia.

Last May, it merged in Seiler LLP, a Top 75 Firm based in Redwood City, California. Prior to the private equity funding, in 2022, Baker Tilly merged in Henry + Horne in Tempe, Arizona, True Partners Consulting in Chicago; Management Partners in Cincinnati and San Jose; Bader Martin in Seattle; Orchestra Healthcare in West Palm Beach, Florida; and Vanilla, based in the United Kingdom. In 2021, it added MFA Companies in Boston; The Compliance Group in Carlsbad, California; Arnett Carbis Toothman in West Virginia; AcctTwo in Houston; and Margolin, Winer & Evens in New York.

Moss Adams does not do M&A deals as often, but last December, it entered the Salesforce.com consulting market by acquiring Yurgosky Consulting Limited LLC in New York.