Ascend Expands Platform in New York and North Carolina With Two More Firms

June 30, 2025 (Arlington, VA) – Ascend, a strategic partner for regional accounting and advisory firms backed by private equity firm Alpine Investors, today announced the admission of two new firms to its market-leading accounting firm platform, expanding its presence on the East Coast.

Effective July 1, BGW of North Carolina and Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP (“TSA”) in upstate New York 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

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. BGW is headquartered in Charlotte.

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.

“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. 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.”

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."

Tronconi Segarra & Associates

TSA is a full-service accounting and advisory firm with over 150 partners and associates, serving clients across the U.S. Founded in 1985, the firm is based in the Buffalo, New York region, with headquarters in Williamsville.

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.

“Our partners and associates thrive on knowing they are making a difference for our clients and challenge themselves to always deliver their best. Partnering with Ascend ensures we can offer ‘Solutions Beyond the Obvious’ and continue to make a difference for clients for many years to come.”

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."

The Ascend Platform

Ascend’s platform enables regional accounting firms with between $15 and $50 million of revenue, committed leadership, great cultures, and a big vision for their future to remain independent while accessing the deep resources of a large firm to achieve their full potential.

As is common in private equity deals with CPA firms, platform firms adopt an alternative practice structure separating non-attest and attest services. Tax and business advisory services are provided by a new entity affiliated with Ascend. Attest services are provided by an independently owned and licensed CPA firm.

Since launching in January 2023, close to 20 regional accounting leaders have restructured in order to join the Ascend platform. The appeal of the platform as a solution to the challenges of the traditional partnership structure has rapidly driven Ascend into the upper tier of the accounting profession, establishing it as an Accounting Today Top 30 firm and its Founder & CEO David Wurtzbacher as a two-time “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting” in just two years.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

About Ascend

Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a dynamic platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while accessing the resources of a national firm to help them grow. Ascend provides access to growth capital, robust talent acquisition and training, leading quality management resources, best-of-breed technology, AI tools, an offshore captive, shared back-office services, a catalytic leadership system, and modernized equity incentives so that firms can surmount today’s industry challenges to reach their full potential.