Prague & Co. was founded in 1988 and has a team of 15 professionals. Its services include accounting, tax and fund administration services to individuals, partnerships and corporations worldwide. 

The firm focuses on high-net-worth individuals and alternative investment vehicles engaged in the real estate, timber, private equity and venture capital sectors. (The law firm of Prague & Peters PLLC is not part of the combination and will remain an independent law firm.)

“With 37 years of dedicated service to our clients, I’m proud of how our tax and accounting practice has grown while still adhering to the highest levels of quality and personal attentiveness. In evaluating the next steps and how to offer even more, combining with EisnerAmper provides the perfect solution. We’re excited about what this means for our clients and our team,” said founder Andrew Prague in a statement Tuesday.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. EisnerAmper’s Eisner Advisory Group ranked No. 15 on Accounting Today‘s list of the Top 100 Firms of 2025, with annual revenue of $1.02 billion. EisnerAmper has 4,500 on its staff, including 450 partners, while Prague’s staff totals 15.

“With each client, Prague & Company works to understand the intricacies and nuances of each situation and then provides tailored guidance,” said Jay Weinstein, EisnerAmper’s vice chair of industries and markets, in a statement. “As we look to the future, the team at Prague & Company will enhance our Boston presence while deepening our expertise in trusts, estates, foundations, nonprofit organizations, and closely held businesses. We warmly welcome them to the EisnerAmper family.”

EisnerAmper has been busy on the M&A front since it received private equity funding in 2021 from TowerBrook Capital Partners, setting the stage for other accounting firms to follow its lead. The firm split into an alternative practice structure with Eisner Advisory Group LLC providing nonattest services and EisnerAmper LLP offering attest services to clients. Last year, EisnerAmper added Tighe, Kress & Orr PC in Elgin, Illinois, Krost CPAs in the Los Angeles area, Edelstein & Co. in Boston, the Tidwell Group in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2023, it merged in Spielman Koenigsberg & Parker in New York, Morrison & Morrison in Chicago, and Postlethwaite & Netterville in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2022, it added Lindsay & Brownell in La Jolla, California, Hoffman Group in Baltimore, Lurie in Minnesota and Florida, and Raich Ende Malter  and Popper & Co. in New York.

Builder.ai lowered the sales figures it provided to investors and hired auditors to examine its last two years of accounts, a major setback for the artificial intelligence startup backed by Microsoft Corp. and the Qatar Investment Authority.

The London-based company, which has raised more than $450 million, dropped its revenue estimates for the second half of 2024 by about 25% after some sales channels “did not come through,” according to Manpreet Ratia, the recently appointed chief executive. 

Builder.ai confirmed the adjustment, which it began making last summer but hasn’t previously been reported, in response to questions from Bloomberg News about the sales correction and concerns from former employees that the company inflated sales figures.

“It’s probably time to sit back and take pause,” Ratia said in his first interview as CEO of the nine-year-old company, which helps businesses create customized apps with little to no coding. “We need to do a little bit of work making sure we get our house in order.” 

The company’s missteps show the risks inherent in the rush to back promising AI startups, as investors seek to replicate the success of companies like OpenAI or Anthropic. After the debut of ChatGPT, the company rode investor enthusiasm for AI startups, raising from backers including Microsoft and the Qatar Investment Authority, which led a $250 million financing round in 2023.

Multiple former employees alleged that Builder.ai had inflated sales figures on several occasions by more than 20% than actual bookings. These former employees asked not to be identified discussing private information. 

Ratia said that discounts Builder.ai provides to customers may account for discrepancies in its sales reporting. “For me to come out and say, ‘This is inaccurate’ — I don’t think I’m at the stage to do that,” he said. “When the audit report comes out, it will tell me everything.” The full audit is expected by this summer, he said.

When asked whether the company was treating the discrepancies as a potential fraud, a spokesperson said Builder.ai has “strengthened our internal policies and governance processes to ensure transparency and best practices at every level of the business.” 

“While challenges can arise in any company, what matters most is how they are addressed,” the company said. 

A representative from Microsoft didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for QIA did not respond outside of regular business hours.

On Feb. 27, Builder.ai announced that its founder, Sachin Dev Duggal, was stepping down as CEO and being replaced by Ratia. The company also cut its board to five seats from nine, and asked Duggal to relinquish four of the five seats he had controlled. A company spokesperson said the recent revenue adjustments were “unrelated” to Duggal’s departure. Duggal, who has retained his title of “Chief Wizard,” did not respond to a request for comment.

Duggal left the same month as the company’s chief revenue officer, Varghese Cherian, who had spent more than nine years at the company. Cherian declined to comment. 

At least five other senior employees including a sales director, a senior engineer and three vice presidents who oversaw revenue, human resources and its European operation, have left since October, according to their LinkedIn profiles. Builder.ai is still searching for a new chief financial officer, a post that’s been vacant since 2023. 

Ratia declined to comment on Cherian and Duggal specifically and described the other departures as “part of a normal evolution of the business.” But the recent exits leave a gap in the company’s management as it’s racing to win customers in the competitive market for AI tools. 

Ratia, who joined from Jungle Ventures, a Builder.ai investor based in Singapore, previously worked as a director for Citigroup Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. He said that Builder.ai has recruited several seasoned leaders over the last nine months, including Vahé Torossian, a former Microsoft executive hired as chief partner officer. Torossian is now taking on the chief revenue officer responsibilities as well, according to Ratia.

Ratia said he is searching for a CFO who has taken a startup public before.  

An incoming financial chief will have to deal with any accounting issues the company uncovers. Ratia said the sales guidance adjustment came after expansion in Australia and Southeast Asia failed to meet expectations. The company moved from reporting finances to investors annually to monthly, in part because the sales had grown more “complicated,” Ratia said. 

Builder.ai has recently hired two auditing firms to comb through its finances from 2023 and 2024. Ratia declined to name the auditors but said they were part of the “Big Four.” The company’s 2024 revenue is likely to come in at $170 million, up from $140 million in 2023, the company said. 

The company relied on an auditor with close ties to Duggal for its U.K. accounts, the Financial Times had reported, citing a review of filings. The startup told the newspaper that its selection of auditors has evolved along with the company’s operational scale and local regulations.

“Are there things that could probably have been done better? Absolutely, I don’t deny that,” Ratia said.

Retail entrepreneur Christine Hunsicker has resigned from her position as chief executive officer of CaaStle after the fashion-technology startup’s board of directors alleged she misrepresented the company’s performance to investors, according to a March 29 letter to shareholders seen by Bloomberg News.

CaaStle faces “a severe and immediate liquidity problem,” and the board is considering options including a possible wind down, liquidation or strategic transaction, according to the letter. The company is planning a two-week-long furlough for its employees. Law enforcement authorities are also investigating the matter and the company is cooperating, the letter said.

Hunsicker didn’t respond to calls and emails seeking comment.

“The performance to date has not matched what Christine claimed — we have learned that Christine provided certain investors with misstated financial statements and falsified audit opinions, as well as capitalization information that understated the number of company shares outstanding,” the letter said.

“The board is deeply disappointed by the conduct that has led to this moment,” a representative for CaaStle said in a separate statement to Bloomberg. “Our immediate focus is on addressing the company’s challenges, supporting our employees, and preserving the value of our technology and business operations.”

The board has appointed George Goldenberg, the firm’s chief operating officer and board member as interim CEO, according to the letter, details of which were first reported by Axios.

Rental services

CaaStle, based in New York, began as Gwynnie Bee Inc. in 2011 and changed its legal name in 2018, according to an auditor’s report attached to the letter. It provides rental subscription services for owned and third-party retailers. The company has retained ICR for restructuring and strategic communications advice, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing confidential information. 

Hunsicker also co-founded P180 with Brendan Hoffman, which aims to invest in or acquire brands and retailers to use CaaStle technology, according to a 2024 press release. In January, P180 announced that it had acquired a majority stake in Vince Holding Corp., which operates the Vince brand. It also has a stake in Altuzarra, a luxury brand.