Arlington, Va.-based Ascend, a partner for regional accounting firms supported by private equity firm Alpine Investors, announced the admission of two new firms to its market-leading accounting firm platform, expanding its presence on the East Coast.
Effective July 1, Charolette, N.C.-based BGW and Williamsville, N.Y.-based Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP (TSA) become the latest firms to relinquish their traditional partnership structures in order to adopt the modern approach to accounting firm management provided by Ascend’s platform.
BGW provides business advisory and public accounting services to support growth in the value of private, closely held businesses. Founded in 1983, the firm adds 75 professionals, including seven partners, to Ascend’s team.
Stephanie Taylor, a BGW partner and the firm’s accounting solutions leader, said, “Our mission is to help build better businesses, for our clients as well as for ourselves. In considering the best future-forward path, we wanted a partner who would help us grow while letting us stay us. Ascend gives us support without bureaucracy, tools without takeover, and shared values that don’t require a decoder ring.”
“Our clients will have the same BGW team and direct access they’ve always had. Our team will have tools, training, and growth opportunities we couldn’t offer without uprooting their lives or changing our culture. If you’re building a career here, the runway just got a whole lot longer,” she said.
Ascend’s president Nishaad Ruparel added, “When you’re assembling a community predicated on independence and, therefore, diversity of thought, you look for people, systems and culture that make you pause and think, offering the possibility that they will make others do the same. We are fortunate to have many such firms, but that ‘stop and think’ quality shines bright in what CEO Adam Boatsman and the team have created at BGW. The firm’s tagline is ‘Anything but Typical,’ and it is a perfect encapsulation of their insistence on creating a firm from first principles and being willing to share their thinking with those who are curious. They have already captured the attention of our other partner firms with their innovative model.”
TSA was founded in 1985 and is a full-service accounting and advisory firm with over 150 partners and associates, serving clients across the U.S.
James S. Segarra, CEO, said, “We believe Ascend represents the future for any firm that wants to be competitive and thrive. Their resources and robust suite of services are a cut above any other option for CPA firms wanting to stay ahead of the curve and remain relevant. The rapid pace of change in the accounting industry makes this the right time for Tronconi Segarra & Associates to leverage this opportunity for the benefit of our clients and associates. It is in keeping with our longstanding ‘Solutions Beyond the Obvious’ approach – our philosophy of applying our highest thinking and tailored, creative solutions to client matters – and our practice of always taking one more look, digging deeper and exploring the what if’s.”
Ruparel added, “Jim Segarra and Pat Tronconi made a bold decision a year-and-a-half ago to redesign their executive committee around a generation of partners that has several decades left in public accounting. Ultimately, that decision proved perceptive — the firm emerged more cohesive and nimbler, as the market conditions for accounting firms changed rapidly in Western New York. TSA’s desire for entrepreneurship runs core to this partnership, and we are proud to work with Jim, Pat and the firm’s rising leaders on fulfilling their vision, with the backing of the resources and community that makes Ascend what it is.”
