The American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy expanded access to its pilot program helping accounting students complete the 150-credit requirement for CPA licensure.

The Experience, Learn & Earn program, which has thus far focused on participants recruited directly by firms, companies, not-for-profits and government entities, now allows accounting graduates who are unaffiliated with a participating firm or employer to sign up, as long as they are employed full time.

“While we designed the program for accounting graduates and entry-level professionals, it’s gratifying to see participants from a diverse range of states, age groups, gender and ethnicities,” Mike Decker, vice president of CPA examination and pipeline at the AICPA, said in a statement. “That’s a testament to the enduring value of the CPA credential, from the newest graduates to mid-career professionals.”

The program currently has 105 students enrolled. Registration for the spring 2025 semester is currently open until Jan. 1, 2025. Participants can earn up to 30 college credits through online courses through Tulane University’s School of Professional Advancement at discounted rates. 

“In a time where we are all working on ways to provide flexibility and increase accessibility to candidates in all stages of their journey to becoming a CPA, it is encouraging to see the continued interest and support of the ELE program from both candidates and employers,” NASBA executive vice president Wendy Garvin said in a statement. “An expanded offering to individuals not associated with a participating employer is an exciting evolution of the program.”

To learn more about the ELE program, visit experiencelearnearn.org, which includes information for students, firms and other organizations that want to sponsor candidates. Send questions or comments to [email protected].

Two Top 50 Firms, Carr, Riggs & Ingram and PKF O’Connor Davies, separately announced Monday they scored funding from investment firms, marking the latest examples of accounting firms attracting outside financing from venture capital and other sources.

CRI, based in Enterprise, Alabama, received funding from Centerbridge Partners, a private investment management firm, and Bessemer Venture Partners, a VC firm. PKFOD, based in New York, received funding from Investcorp, a global alternative investment firm, and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers. (Investcorp formerly owned Accounting Today’s parent company.)

The amount of investment was not disclosed in either case. In both cases, the firms will be splitting their attest and non-attest sides in an alternative practice structure, as is common practice when private equity firms invest in CPA firms. 

Carr, Riggs & Ingram, L.L.C., as an independent licensed CPA firm, will provide assurance, attest and audit services. CRI Advisors, LLC (including its subsidiary entities) will operate as a separate legal entity, providing clients with tax and business consulting services. 

PKF O’Connor Davies LLP, as a licensed CPA firm, will provide attest services, while PKF O’Connor Davies Advisory LLC and its subsidiary entities will continue to provide tax and advisory services.

CRI ranked No, 24 on Accounting Today’s 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $455.36 million in annual revenue. PKFOD ranked No. 26 with $380 million.

CRI plans to use the extra funding for M&A, technology-driven service delivery, and client-centered innovation. 

“Centerbridge and Bessemer recognize the value that CRI has already built and see the potential for where the company can go,” said CRI chairman Bill Carr in a statement Monday. “We are thrilled to gain partners whose vision aligns with ours. We believe this strategic investment will greatly benefit our talented team members and certainly our valued clients as well. We’ll be able to invest more into our staff, create new opportunities, and continue doing what we’ve always done, which is delivering exceptional results to our clients.”

Centerbridge has approximately $40 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30, 2024, while Bessemer has more than $18 billion in assets under management. Centerbridge and Bessemer are taking a combined 51% voting interest in the firm.

“This combination is truly groundbreaking—CRI is the accounting profession’s ‘feel good’ story of the century,” stated Koltin Consulting Group CEO Allan Koltin, who consulted with CRI during the investment research and transaction process. “CRI is the only top 25 firm in the country to grow from a start-up to $500 million in a little over 25 years, making it the country’s fastest-growing first-generation firm. From its humble beginnings in Enterprise, Alabama, and Destin, Florida, CRI has become the youngest top 100 firm ever to receive a private equity investment as a foundation firm. Many private equity firms courted them during this process, but they chose Centerbridge and Bessemer for their similar values and shared vision of what CRI can become at the national level. There is no question in my mind that CRI will grow substantially over the next years while maintaining the ‘family feel’ culture they have had since day one.”

CRI engaged William Blair & Company, L.L.C. as its financial advisor and McGuireWoods LLP as its legal counsel for this transaction. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Vedder Price served as legal advisors, and Citizens M&A Advisory served as financial advisor to Centerbridge and Bessemer. 

Courtesy of PKF O’Connor Davies

PKFOD plans to use the outside investment to improve its competitiveness and long-term sustainability, strengthening its balance sheet to provide flexibility for increased M&A activity as well as invest in new technology and service lines. PKFOD did not disclose whether Investcorp and PSP will be taking a majority interest in the firm.

“Since inception, our identity as an organization has been our enduring commitment to service. This investment from Investcorp and PSP further validates that we have an attractive business with a great brand, great talent and great customers,” said Kevin Keane, PKF O’Connor Davies’ Executive Chairman. “Investcorp and PSP Investments have a long history of backing profitable, industry-leading companies with demonstratable growth avenues and were impressed by PKFOD and the culture that we have built.”

Capstone Partners served as sole financial advisor while Levenfeld Pearlstein served as legal advisor to PKF O’Connor Davies. Gibson Dunn served as legal advisor to Investcorp. Weil, Gotshal & Manges served as legal advisor while McDermott Will & Emery served as regulatory counsel to PSP Investments.

“In recent years, Investcorp has established itself as a partner of choice for ambitious professional services organizations seeking to grow,” said Steve Miller, co-head of North America Private Equity at Investcorp, in a statement. “Together with PSP Investments, with whom we have a strong investment track record in the professional services sector, and more than 200 PKFOD partners, we are excited to build upon the organization’s decades of success.” 

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

This is my 572nd consecutive weekly Art of Accounting column in Accounting Today web edition, making this my 11th anniversary. Any “anniversary” is a milestone and cause for celebration, reflection and anticipation going forward.

These columns are all short quick fixes to problems colleagues called me about, some aha moments I wanted to share, or some things I’ve long ago started doing and find they are still perfectly relevant. If I eliminate duplicate ideas or some personal musings, I’ve posted at least 500 separate columns with quick fixes that readers could benefit from. Looking back, I am very proud of this and somewhat amazed that I’ve had that many ideas, tips and best practices to share.

Looking forward, I am eager to continue with more ideas than one might imagine, with more developing almost daily. Some I will write about soon, some I will incorporate into issues other accountants have discussed with me, and some will be pushed back for more urgent issues colleagues expressed and which I will use the column to provide them with a thought-out reply. After those are posted, I usually email the caller a link. Experience has shown me that few will reply thanking me, so I do not expect any replies. My joy is being able to help them and share that help with others who might have the same problems. I also get fresh material for other articles, speeches and some books I have written, including my recent Memoirs of a CPA.

When I started this column I prepared material for about a dozen columns and had a list of topics for perhaps another dozen columns. Not all of those two dozen ideas have been used, making way for newer or more current ideas. Actually ideas are our currency. The more ideas we have the better able we are to provide exceptional value to clients. Accountants and advisors do not live in a vacuum or are not cordoned off in a silo but are subjected to everything going on in the real world and in business and serving the needs of our clients. 

Failing to add anything new dooms us to fail. The problem with that is that the lack of success helping clients is incipient and creeps up over time until there is a big boom of realization that there is more out there than we are able to handle and we lose the client. Not “we” since I do not lose the client for lack of attention or a dearth of value or fresh ideas, and not “you” since by your reading this column, you are demonstrating the same desire I have to help clients above and beyond the obvious. But other accountants who just trudge along, getting paid regularly, doing what they signed on to do and even doing it “perfectly” but not providing any added value, insights, fresh outlooks or challenges to their clients, and minimal growth to their practices.

Anyway, preaching to the choir is not my purpose with these columns, but reaching the onlookers who are pretty much satisfied with everything and who shy away from the disruption changes cause. I try to write things that will attract the onlookers (as well as my many regular readers). If I do not post anything new, then the onlookers will never read it. If I post it, they might read it. I will go with the might rather than the never. The might is what excites me and a call from someone that read something of mine for the first time creates the excitement I get by continuing these columns. 

I appreciate you reading this column today and if you send me a “congrats” to [email protected], I’ll thank you with a reply of a brand-new special client value enhancer Goodie that I never shared before. 

Thanks go to Michael Cohn, who edits these columns, and he also has not missed an issue. We coordinate vacations and days off so our schedules mesh perfectly. He has become a good friend as well as a great partner in these columns.

Stay tuned for many more of these Art of Accounting columns that are posted every Monday afternoon, as they have been for the past 11 years; and do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] with your practice management questions or about engagements you might not be able to perform.