CohnReznick acquires Aldrich: price, structure and what it means for accounting firm buyers

Buyer

acquires

The Aldrich group of companies: Aldrich CPAs + Advisors and Aldrich Wealth

Price

Not disclosed

Expected close

Mid-December 2026

Target revenue

$100M+

Target size

500+ staff, 48 partners

AUA

$8B (Aldrich Wealth)

Published 23 October 2026 · Deal announced 2026-10-13 · Acquisitions.com Deal Reports

This report is for anyone buying, selling or rolling up accounting firms, from a first-time buyer of a bookkeeping practice to a small roll-up operator. It sets out what CohnReznick bought, what was and was not disclosed, and why the buyer says it did the deal. At the end you will know what this deal tells you about your own market.

What CohnReznick bought

CohnReznick is buying two linked businesses under the Aldrich name. The first is Aldrich CPAs + Advisors, a tax, audit and advisory firm with more than $100 million in revenue, per the CohnReznick release. The second is Aldrich Wealth, which advises on about $8 billion of client assets. Together they bring more than 500 professionals and 48 partners.

Aldrich is based in Lake Oswego, Oregon, near Portland. The release calls it one of the ten largest firms headquartered on the West Coast. Its offices are in Spokane, Washington; Lake Oswego and Salem, Oregon; Carlsbad, Mission Valley and Orange County, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah. The deal also grows CohnReznick's presence in San Diego and Denver.

The release lists the industry work that comes with Aldrich: private client services, construction, telecom and agribusiness. Accounting Today notes that Aldrich ranked No. 72 on its Top 100 Firms list.

What CohnReznick paid and how

The price was not disclosed. Neither firm has said how the deal is funded, whether Aldrich partners roll equity, or whether any part of the price is paid over time. We do not estimate prices on deal reports, and you should treat any figure you see elsewhere as a guess unless a party confirms it.

What is public is the shape and the timing. It is an acquisition of the Aldrich group, announced on 13 October 2026 and expected to close in mid-December 2026. Dechert LLP is legal counsel to CohnReznick. Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is legal counsel to Aldrich. Guggenheim Securities and Advisor Growth Strategies are named as financial advisors; the release does not say which side each one served.

Why the deal fits, in the buyer's words

CohnReznick's release ties the deal to two goals: a bigger West Coast footprint and a wealth business. Aldrich becomes the base of a new West Region for the firm, and Aldrich Wealth becomes the platform for CohnReznick's wealth management business.

David Kessler, CEO of CohnReznick Advisory LLC, called it "a significant milestone in CohnReznick's growth and an important investment in our future". John Lauseng, CEO and Partner at Aldrich, said the move matters "as Aldrich becomes the cornerstone of CohnReznick's new West Region".

The release also says that organic growth and selective M&A have worked for CohnReznick, and that both were accelerated by its partnership with Apax Funds. Accounting Today reports that the Apax investment came in February 2025, and that CohnReznick acquired Smith Schafer & Associates in Minneapolis earlier this year and added Ham, Langston & Brezina in Texas. The Aldrich deal continues that run.

What it means for buyers in accounting firms

If you are buying a small CPA or bookkeeping practice, this deal is not your competition. CohnReznick is buying a firm with over $100 million in revenue. It will not bid on a $600,000 tax practice in a small town. But the deal shows what has happened at the top of the market, and it moves prices and expectations below it.

Private equity is now a normal owner of accounting firms. Apax backs CohnReznick. Other large firms have taken similar money. Those firms buy mid-sized practices as add-ons, which pushes owners of smaller firms to ask for the same multiples. Expect a seller of a $2 million practice to have read these headlines.

The structure to understand is the alternative practice structure. In general terms, the CPA firm that does attest work (audits and reviews) stays a licensed firm owned by CPAs. The tax, advisory and wealth work sits in a separate company that can take outside owners. The two share staff and a brand under service agreements. This split is what lets non-CPA investors, including private equity and a roll-up operator, put money into the advisory side. Ask your lawyer and your state board how it applies to you before you count on it.

For a small roll-up, wealth is the lesson. CohnReznick bought a CPA firm and a wealth firm together and made the wealth firm its platform. The same logic works at small scale: a book of tax clients can feed bookkeeping, payroll, CFO work and, with the right licence, wealth advice. Our guide to how to do an AI-powered roll-up walks through the add-on and integration steps; roll-up funding covers the money side.

For a first-time buyer, the financing is still ordinary. Most small practice deals are paid for with an SBA 7(a) loan, a seller note and some buyer cash. The SBA's page on 7(a) loans sets out the current terms. Our page on buying a business explains how we take buyers from a buy box to a closed deal, usually in 60 to 120 days.

What to watch

Does it close on time? The target is mid-December 2026. A slip would say little on its own, but watch for any change in the announced scope.

Partner retention. Aldrich has 48 partners. In a people business the price is only worth paying if the partners and their clients stay. Watch for departures announced in the trade press in the first year.

The next West Coast add-ons. A new region is built to be filled. If CohnReznick buys smaller firms in Washington, Oregon, California or Utah in 2027, owners of those firms will have a new buyer to call, and sellers' expectations in those states will rise.

The wealth build-out. Aldrich Wealth is now a platform. Watch whether CohnReznick adds other wealth firms to it, because that would confirm wealth management as a second growth line rather than a one-off.

More PE in the Top 100. Each new PE-backed firm adds a buyer for mid-sized practices. For a small buyer, more buyers one level up means more owners of small firms deciding it is time to sell, and more competition for the ones in the $5 million to $20 million range.