Crete Professionals Alliance is now Current, as the national platform for independent accounting firms takes aim at the largest firms in the U.S.
The company says in a media release that the rebrand reflects its conviction that “AI has created the opportunity for local firms to compete with large incumbents and bring Fortune 500-caliber advisory services to Main Street businesses.”
“There’s an enormous gap in accounting between the transactional service most people get and the strategic partnership reserved for large companies and ultra-wealthy clients,” Current CEO Steve Stagner said in a statement on June 2. “This gap has persisted because the largest accounting firms have had billions of dollars and entire technology departments for decades, while most have not. We’re arming the rebels.”
In a post Tuesday on LinkedIn, Stagner wrote that Current is “rewriting the 7,000-year-old accounting industry.”
“Right now, accounting finds itself at a defining moment. AI is changing markets and client expectations faster than ever. We have a choice: freeze and protect the past, or pivot and power our practices with the best technology in the industry. In these moments, mindset can either limit or widen our thinking. Do we lock onto what we do, or can we focus on why we do it?” he said.
“At Current, our ‘why’ is this: to accelerate potential for accounting firms, clients, people, and the entire industry,” he added. “The future is exciting, and it’s being written by us.”
Founded by Jake Sloane and Frank Zhang of New York City-based investment firm ZBS Partners in 2023, Current is backed by venture capital firm Thrive Capital.
Established as an alternative to the traditional exit options for accounting and professional services firm owners, Current partners with firms across the country, keeping its partner firms’ leadership, brand, and culture independent while providing access to its national back-office resources and financial backing.
The company also invests in upskilling firms’ employees so they can deliver expanded services to clients.
“Our belief is that the firms that will lead the industry forward are not the largest but the ones closest to their clients,” Stagner added.
Current announced a year ago that it plans to invest more than $500 million in the next two years to acquire accounting firms and equip them with OpenAI-powered artificial intelligence technology to boost efficiency.
“Current’s technology strategy brings together the people building frontier technology with those using it,” the company said on Tuesday. “As an owner-operator of Current, Thrive Holdings and its strategic partner OpenAI have embedded a team of AI engineers and researchers to build tailored AI products in partnership with accountants on Current’s platform, with the goal of freeing up capacity so they can spend more time with clients.”
For the 2025 tax year, Current deployed its first Tax AI pilot at partner firms. Participating firms saw an average of 31% savings in tax preparation time and up to 98% accuracy across the 7,000 returns processed by Tax AI this season, the company says.
Current has more than 2,000 employees at nearly 30 independent accounting firms across the U.S. The network brought in more than $500 million in annual revenue during its most recent fiscal year.
“The roll-up playbook is often cost extraction on a deadline,” Stagner said. “Current’s holding period is effectively forever, which allows us to make investments in people, in ways many short-hold owners wouldn’t. We’re focused on transformative topline growth.”
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Tags: Accounting, accounting firms, Crete, Current, Firm Management, rebrand, rebranding
