Accounting
Baker Tilly merges with Moss Adams in megadeal
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
Baker Tilly, based in Chicago, ranked No. 11 on Accounting Today‘s 2025 list of the
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 January 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
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
Last May, it merged in
Moss Adams does not do M&A deals as often, but last December, it entered the Salesforce.com consulting market by acquiring
Total postsecondary spring enrollment grew 3.2% year-over-year, according to a report.
The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center published the latest edition of its
The report found that undergraduate enrollment grew 3.5% and reached 15.3 million students, but remains below pre-pandemic levels (378,000 less students). Graduate enrollment also increased to 7.2%, higher than in 2020 (209,000 more students).
(Read more:
Community colleges saw the largest growth in enrollment (5.4%), and enrollment increased for all undergraduate credential types. Bachelor’s and associate programs grew 2.1% and 6.3%, respectively, but remain below pre-pandemic levels.
Most ethnoracial groups saw increases in enrollment this spring, with Black and multiracial undergraduate students seeing the largest growth (10.3% and 8.5%, respectively). The number of undergraduate students in their twenties also increased. Enrollment of students between the ages of 21 and 24 grew 3.2%, and enrollment for students between 25 and 29 grew 5.9%.
For the third consecutive year, high vocational public two-years had substantial growth in enrollment, increasing 11.7% from 2023 to 2024. Enrollment at these trade-focused institutions have increased nearly 20% since pre-pandemic levels.
Jordan Vonderhaar/Photographer: Jordan Vonderhaar/
The Internal Revenue Service has released
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 amended Sec. 55 to impose the CAMT based on the “adjusted financial statement income” of an “applicable corporation” for taxable years beginning in 2023.
Among other details, proposed regs provide that “applicable corporation” means any corporation (other than an S corp, a regulated investment company or a REIT) that meets either of two average annual AFSI tests depending on financial statement net operating losses for three taxable years and whether the corporation is a member of a foreign-parented multinational group.
Prior to the publication of any final regulations relating to the CAMT, the Treasury and the IRS will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking. Notice 2025-27 will be in IRB: 2025-26, dated June 23.
ADP jobs report May 2025:
Why on-time debt payments may not boost your credit score
Social Security Fairness Act benefit increases arrive for pensioners
New 2023 K-1 instructions stir the CAMT pot for partnerships and corporations
The Essential Practice of Bank and Credit Card Statement Reconciliation
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