Colorado’s BiggsKofford Joins Ascend
November 3, 2025 (Arlington, VA) – Ascend, a strategic partner for regional accounting and advisory firms backed by private equity firm Alpine Investors, today announced the addition of BiggsKofford to its market-leading platform.
BiggsKofford is a premier Colorado accounting firm, founded in 1982. With offices in Colorado Springs and Denver, the firm brings nine partners and over 40 staff to Ascend and adds Colorado to its fast-growing national footprint.
“Our mission at Ascend is to provide independent, entrepreneurial firms with every advantage as they serve their middle-market clients with excellence and create abundant opportunity for their people. Our success in this mission hinges on finding the right firms to partner with – leadership that holds fast to its independence, culture that jumps off the page, a talent strategy that sees around corners, and a client service philosophy that is personal but strategic. BiggsKofford is that firm. Over four decades, their team has earned a reputation as trusted advisors to Colorado business owners by fusing Tax, CAS, and Transaction Advisory into a single, lifecycle-driven client experience. Their approach has created a distinct offering and a wonderful place to build a career. We are proud to build upon that legacy together,” said Nishaad (Nish) Ruparel, President of Ascend.
“Our partnership with Ascend is designed to strengthen, not change, how we serve our clients and our local community. We didn’t want to give up our independence, yet we know we need national-level recruiting, technology, and back-office resources to remain competitive. Ascend provides us with the perfect balance of those key ingredients, giving us the resources we need to thrive while allowing us to independently maintain our client relationships and manage our team and our work,” said Chris W. Blees, CEO of BiggsKofford.
As is common in private equity deals with CPA firms, BiggsKofford has adopted an alternative practice structure separating non-attest and attest services. Tax and business advisory services will be provided by BiggsKofford Advisors, LLC, a new entity affiliated with Ascend. Attest services will be provided by an independently owned and licensed CPA firm.
“Partnering with Ascend allows us to continue operating independently, while gaining the large firm support and resources we need to serve our clients well and continue growing, but which we couldn’t accomplish alone. They have a world-class recruiting team and some exciting incentive programs that will move the needle on our ability to attract and retain great people, which will translate to an even better client experience. At the same time, we preserve our ability to independently manage our employees’ day-to-day workload and performance. We think this strikes the perfect balance of large firm benefits and small firm atmosphere,” Mr. Blees said.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Ascend platform enables regional accounting firms with between $15 and $50 million of revenue, committed leadership, great cultures, and a big vision for the future to remain independent while accessing the sophisticated resources of a national firm to reach their full potential. Ascend platform firms are currently operating in more than a dozen states nationwide.
David Wurtzbacher, Founder and CEO, launched the Ascend platform in January 2023 as an alternative for strong regional accounting firms seeking a modern solution to the challenges embedded in the traditional partnership structure. The appeal of Ascend’s solution rapidly propelled the company into the upper tier of the accounting industry, establishing it as an Accounting Today Top 30 firm and Mr. Wurtzbacher as a two-time “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting” in under two years.