Ascend has expanded its presence on the East Coast by adding two more accounting firms to its platform—Tronconi Segarra & Associates (TSA) in Williamsville, NY, and BGW in Charlotte, NC—effective July 1.
Financial terms of both deals weren’t disclosed. Ascend added more than 150 partners and associates from TSA and 75 professionals, including seven partners, from BGW.
Private equity-backed Ascend partners with regional accounting firms but allows them to stay independent while providing the firms resources to help them grow. The partner firms relinquish their traditional partnership structures in order to join Ascend’s platform.
Ascend provides access to growth capital, talent acquisition and training, management resources, best-of-breed technology, artificial intelligence tools, an offshore captive, shared back-office services, a catalytic leadership system, and modernized equity incentives to its partner firms.
Since launching in January 2023, close to 20 regional accounting firms have restructured in order to join the Ascend platform.
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Founded in 1985, TSA is a full-service accounting and advisory firm that serves clients across the U.S.
“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,” TSA CEO James Segarra said in a statement. “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.’
“Our partners and associates thrive on knowing they are making a difference for our clients and challenge themselves to always deliver their best,” he added. “Partnering with Ascend ensures we can offer ‘Solutions Beyond the Obvious’ and continue to make a difference for clients for many years to come.”
“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,” said Ascend President Nishaad Ruparel. “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.”
Founded in 2006, BGW provides business advisory and public accounting services to support the growth of private, closely held businesses.
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.
“The accounting world is changing fast. Technology, talent, and client expectations aren’t slowing down, and if we want to keep delivering at a high level, we need the right support,” she added. “Ascend gets that. They’re not here to change us; they’re here to help us grow without losing what makes BGW different. What changes is what’s behind the curtain: better systems, extra horsepower to match the talent we’ve already built, and more time to focus on what really matters—our clients’ businesses. Ascend brings the kind of resources that will let us work smarter and stay focused on our clients.”
Ruparel said, “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.”
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