Sorren seeks to redefine the profession’s future.
Consolidated: Sorren, member firms, Kuramoto, and Prager
By CPA Trendlines Research
Backed by DFW Capital Partners, Meridien, Idaho-based Harris & Co. CPAs is leading a roll-up with 12 other firms to create Sorren, a new top-50 firm with $170 million in revenue, 85 partners, more than 1,000 employees, and 20 offices across the U.S.
MORE Mergers & Acquisitions | Ira Rosenbloom: M&A Money’s Easy – Culture Fit’s Hard | The Disruptors | How Private Equity Is Impacting Accounting | Deals 2024: Over 100 CPA Firm Mergers and Acquisitions | Want to Merge? Here Are 23 Things to Request | Richard Kopelman: Inside Aprio’s Bold | Allan Koltin: How Small Firms Can Thrive Against PE-Powered Competitors | Gear Up for Growth Makeover | Accounting Influencers | Should You Merge? Here’s How to Chart Your Path | Exclusive: Eisner CEO Charly Weinstein Explains the Private Equity Deal | Flash Briefing: A “Call to Arms” after Private Equity Deal
SEE The Private Equity Dealflow Timeline here | MORE Private equity ‘s incursion into accounting here
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct reporting that erroneously conflated the background of Michael O’Donnell with another person of the same name. CPA Trendlines apologizes for the error.
The Sorren platform is backed by DFW Capital Partners, which acquired Harris & Co. in January 2024. The investment in Harris remains the private equity firm’s only publicly disclosed deal in the accounting sector. DFW focuses on lower middle-market business services and is leveraging Harris as the foundation for building a national accounting and advisory enterprise.
Representing a new wave of consolidation, the firms retain their branding for now, bringing together some stellar names, including Kenji Kuramoto, founder and CEO of Acuity. Kuramoto has built a national profile at Acuity, a firm specializing in outsourced accounting and CFO services for startups and small businesses. He has served on advisory councils for major fintech platforms, including Gusto, Xero, FreshBooks, and Expensify. Additionally, he is a market director at VentureSouth, a prominent early-stage investment group. He quietly joined Sorren in January 2025. DFW’s executive team includes Brett Prager, an innovative accounting industry consolidator dating back to the 1990s, and a founding executive at what is now CPA.com at the AICPA.
Sorren’s emergence from stealth mode coincides with the news that Baker Tilly and Moss Adams agreed to a $7-billion merger, creating the sixth-largest advisory CPA firm in the U.S. to be operated under the Baker Tilly name, with audit services consolidated into Baker Tilly US, LLP, and advisory services under Baker Tilly Advisory Group LP. Private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and Valeas Capital Partners, existing investors in Baker Tilly, increase their investments as part of the merger. Despite this, the firm’s principals retain majority ownership, ensuring operational independence and alignment with the firm’s strategic vision. The merger adds approximately 4,800 professionals across 30 U.S. locations, bringing the combined headcount to around 11,500, including 600 partners from Baker Tilly and 403 partners from Moss Adams. The firms aim to leverage their complementary strengths to more effectively serve middle-market businesses. Leadership transitions are planned, with Baker Tilly CEO Jeff Ferro continuing in his role until his retirement, after which Moss Adams CEO Eric Miles will assume the CEO position of the combined firm on Jan. 1, 2026.
“What makes Sorren stand out is the way these firms came together—with intention, shared values, and a commitment to staying deeply connected to their local markets,” says M&A advisor Allan Koltin of Chicago. “This group didn’t just merge for size; they united around a common purpose. It’s a blueprint for how innovative firms can grow, while staying true to who they are.”
Founding Firms
Sorren plans to grow through acquisitions, targeting firms with strong client relationships, community roots and technology-driven service models.
The founding firms include:
- Harris & Co., Meridian, Idaho
- Chigbrow Ryan Murata, Boise, Idaho
- SBF Advisors, St. Petersburg, Fla.
- KMA Advisors, Madison, Wis.
- KDP Advisors, Medford, Ore.
- Aycock & Company, Houston, Texas
- Pisenti & Brinker, Santa Rosa, Calif.
- Hoerber Tillman & Company, St. Petersburg, Fla.
- Stockman Kast Ryan & Company, Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Acuity, Atlanta, Ga.
- JRJBF, Chicago, Ill.
- Capital Nomics Valuations, Bend, Ore.
- Roeser Accountancy, Fresno, Calif.
Adopting an alternative practice structure, Sorren CPAs P.C. provides attest services, and Sorren Inc. offers tax, advisory and non-attest services.
DFW operating partner Michael O’Donnell, a Deloitte alumnus, becomes Sorren’s chief executive officer. Josh Tyree, formerly president of Harris & Co., becomes president.
“Sorren is designed to be the best of both worlds. National strength, local relationships,” says O’Donnell.
“As Sorren, our clients still work with the trusted advisors they’ve always known, but now those same teams are backed by enhanced capabilities and infrastructure,” says Tyree.
DFW Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm founded in 1983, focuses on lower-middle-market companies across the United States. With over $2 billion in assets under management, DFW specializes in healthcare, business, and industrial services. The firm typically targets companies with revenues ranging from $20 million to $100 million and EBITDA between $3 million and $10 million.
The firm has a history of supporting consolidation strategies, with a portfolio of 52 companies, comprising 45 funding rounds and 7 acquisitions. Notable investments in DFW’s portfolio include:
- VertexOne: A customer information system software provider and integration services to the mid-market public and investor-owned utility industry.
- Kept Companies: Formerly known as Fleetwash, Kept Companies provides mobile power washing, specialty cleaning, and maintenance services to commercial, industrial, transportation, and government markets.
- Sev1Tech: A provider of information technology, cybersecurity, cloud, and program management support services to the federal government.
- Covenant Surgical Partners: An acquirer and operator of single and limited-specialty ambulatory surgical centers.
- Evolution Research Group: A provider of clinical research site services for special patient populations.
- DFW Capital Partners is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, and maintains an office in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
- The leadership team at DFW includes Managing Partner Keith W. Pennell and Partners Prager, Douglas H. Gilbert, Brian C. Tilley, and DeVer F. Warner.
Bret Prager’s Accounting Connections
Prager, a partner at DFW Capital Partners since 2006, has a notable history in the accounting and technology sectors. Before joining DFW, he founded Theo Capital Partners in 1999, leading investments in service and technology companies. Before that, he was the founder and CEO of three private equity-backed businesses, one in healthcare and another formed to consolidate accounting firms in American Express’s Centerprise model and Mayer Hoffman McAnn’s CBiz. His investment career began with JP Morgan Partners’ private equity group.
In the early 2000s, Prager was the CEO of CPA2Biz, an online portal established by the AICPA to provide CPAs with digital tools and services. Under his leadership, CPA2Biz merged with Rivio, a California-based application service provider for small businesses, in 2002. Prager continued as CEO of the combined entity, aiming to offer an integrated suite of business applications for CPAs and their clients. However, later that year, CPA2Biz underwent a management restructuring. Erik Asgeirsson, previously the vice president of sales and marketing, was promoted to CEO, while Prager transitioned to a consulting role within the company. Prager’s experience with CPA2Biz and his background in private equity have contributed to his role at DFW Capital Partners, where he focuses on investments in the healthcare and business services sectors.
…
Sorren Follows the Ascend Model: Independent CPA Firm Brands
The Sorren deal is part of a broader trend in accounting and a refinement in the PE model pioneered by Alpine Investors’ Ascend unit, where private equity investments are structured to allow firms to retain their brands and operational independence.
For instance, in 2023, Ascend reported a strategic investment in the non-attest business of Opsahl Dawson, a Pacific Northwest firm headquartered in Vancouver, Wa. This partnership enabled Opsahl Dawson to maintain its brand and leadership while leveraging Ascend’s support for growth.
Similarly, San Antonio-based accounting firm ATKG joined Ascend’s platform in 2023, splitting into two entities: ATKG LLP for attest services and ATKG Advisors LLC for tax and advisory services. This structure allowed ATKG to preserve its brand and operational autonomy.
In 2024, when LMC Advisors, a 100-person regional accounting firm headquartered in New York City, partnered with Ascend, founder and CEO Lee Cohen said Ascend’s approach supported LMC’s growth while maintaining its independence and values.
Ascend’s expansion continued along the Eastern Seaboard, adding firms like Blackman & Sloop of Chapel Hill, N.C., and TSS Advisors of Lebanon, N.H., to its platform in 2024.
Eisner Kicks Off New Deal Wave in 2021
The PE phenomenon is just gathering steam.
It kicked off in 2021, when TowerBrook Capital Partners invested in EisnerAmper. This led to the creation of Eisner Advisory Group LLC for non-attest services, while EisnerAmper LLP continued to provide attest services. This structure allowed the firm to maintain its brand and expand its advisory capabilities.
Following a 2021 investment from New Mountain Capital, Citrin Cooperman retained its brand and leadership structure and focused on growth through strategic acquisitions.
In 2022, Parthenon Capital Partners invested in Cherry Bekaert, which continued operating under its established name. The firm structured its operations to separate attest and non-attest services, ensuring compliance with independence standards while leveraging PE resources for growth.
After receiving investment from Audax Private Equity in 2023, Doeren Mayhew maintained its brand identity. The firm continued operating its entities, including Doeren Mayhew Assurance and Doeren Mayhew Advisors, under the Doeren Mayhew name.