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Welcome to INSIDE the IPA 500, our new series exploring the data, trends and firms shaping the accounting profession.

Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown kick off the series by breaking down the newly released 2026 IPA 500 rankings, highlighting the year's biggest climbers, new IPA 100 entrants, notable acquisitions and the trends reshaping the profession.

Among the biggest takeaways:

• Thirty-five firms from last year's IPA 500 were acquired.
• Every new IPA 100 entrant is backed by private equity.
• Nine of the 10 fastest-growing firms are private equity-backed.
• Organic growth slowed while acquisition-driven growth accelerated.

Whether your firm made the rankings, is working toward them or simply wants to understand where the profession is headed, this episode provides the context behind this year's biggest moves.

View the complete 2026 IPA 500 rankings and learn more about IPA’s benchmarking and analysis at insidepublicaccounting.com.

Chelsea, we've had big names, big exits, new names, 35 firms acquired, private equity everywhere. When you step back from the rankings, what are the big takeaways for our audience?

Yeah, I think I have two takeaways. So first is that growth in the profession is currently being dominated by those private equity-backed firms and acquisitions. So every debut on the IPA 100 list was PE-backed. Nine of the 10 fastest-growing firms were PE-backed. So the capital is really, I think, setting the pace on that.

And the second? Welcome back to the INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast, where we turn the accounting profession's most important data into insights that leaders can actually use. I'm Rob Brown. Today's one of my favorite episodes of the year. The rankings are live. The data is out. The 2026 IPA 500 is here. And we're unpacking who's in, who's out and who's climbing fast.

I'm Chelsea Summers, the executive director of INSIDE Public Accounting. Rob, this is the episode where we go full horse race, naming names. We call out the climbers and we look at the top 500, especially the IPA 100, and what it tells us about where the profession is headed.

And this is the beauty of this report, Chelsea. It's so comprehensive and it goes 500 firms deep. So there's so much to look at. And we'll give the audience a little preview because if last year's story was two blockbuster deals reshaping the top 10, this year's story is going to be written in two letters: PE. Private equity seems to show up in almost every segment of this conversation.

Yeah, it does. And it shows up in the debuts, the fastest-growing firms, even the threshold to make the list this year. Private equity's fingerprints are all over the top 100.

Well, let's start right there with that threshold. What did it take to make the 2026 INSIDE Public Accounting Top 500?

Yeah. So this year's threshold to make the list was $6.1 million in revenue. So here's what's interesting. That's actually down a bit from last year, where it was $6.4 million.

Okay. That surprised me when I first saw that. And if firms are growing, revenue is up across the profession and yet the bar to make the list came down, so what's going on there then?

Consolidation. There's heavy M&A activity in the middle of the rankings this year. In fact, we had 35 firms from the 2025 IPA 500 that were acquired just in the past year. So with that many ranked firms getting absorbed, it opens up slots further down the list and the threshold adjusts a little bit.

So 35 firms out of 500. As a former high school math teacher, that seems like around 7% of the entire list getting acquired in a single year. That's a remarkable number.

Yeah. And it tells you that consolidation isn't just a top 100 phenomenon anymore. It's happening all the way through the rankings. Midsized firms are being acquired by larger platforms, by PE-backed groups and by firms trying to build up that scale really quick.

Nobody is immune from consolidation or private equity or the effects of it, the ripple effects of it. So let's get to the fun part: the debuts, the new entrants. Who cracked the IPA 100 for the first time this year, Chelsea?

Yes, we have four firms making their IPA 100 debut. And I want listeners to notice something as I read them off. So at No. 47, we have Richey May Advisory out of Englewood, Colorado. At No. 56, we have Springline Advisory in Dallas. At No. 89, we have Nichols Cauley from Dublin, Georgia. And at No. 90, Prosperity Partners in Chicago.

So when you ask us to take notice, there's obviously a common theme there. May I guess that all four are private equity-backed?

That would be correct. So last year we had six debuts and they represented a mix of models. This year, the entire debut class has private equity capital behind it.

That seems very interesting. And that Richey May one, they didn't just creep into the list. They debuted at No. 47. That's a massive entrance.

Yeah. And I think it's one of the big stories of the year, in my opinion. Richey May was ranked at No. 102 last year, just outside of the top 100. Then in September 2025, five firms combined into the existing Richey May firm and the result vaulted them all the way to No. 47. Their year-over-year growth came in at over 200%.

Two hundred percent. That's insane. Last year, I remember we looked at Sorren debuting at No. 61 as a bold platform play. This feels like a similar playbook.

Yeah, I think that's right. And it's certainly a pattern to watch. These firms aren't slowly climbing the rankings one organic point at a time. These are platforms that are assembling scale in single years. And so the traditional firm ladder that we talked about last year, I do not think it's coming back.

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No. And for every firm coming in, there's a firm going out. One door opens and another closes. Last year, we had two seismic shifts because Marcum joined CBIZ and Moss Adams joined Baker Tilly. What does this year look like?

So there wasn't anything quite as foundational as those two deals, but we still had four significant exits from the top 100. So Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Horne was acquired by BDO. Miami-based Berkowitz Pollack Brant was acquired by Baker Tilly. Buffalo, New York's Freed Maxick was acquired by WithumSmith+Brown. And then Reading, Pennsylvania-based Herbein and Company was acquired by Cherry Bekaert.

Wait, Herbein and Company, that name rings a bell, doesn't it? Didn't they debut on the IPA 100 list last year, maybe at No. 100 or something?

They did. So one year on the list and then they were acquired. And I think that tells the story of the pace of this market. Making the IPA 100 may put a firm on the radar. And for strong regional firms, the phone is ringing whether they want to take it or not.

And Chelsea, it's worth mentioning IPA is involved in a new show that I'm launching, a video-only show called Backed. And it's looking at power and capital and control in accounting firms and what's going on on either side of the private equity debate, the strategic acquirers and how it's shuffling the pack here. And we're really proud to have INSIDE Public Accounting as our data partner on that because you've got the best data in the industry. So let's just check: Did any of those deals shake up the top 10?

Yeah, so one of them did. The Horne acquisition gave BDO enough scale to move past CBIZ. So now BDO sits at No. 7, with CBIZ at No. 8. But otherwise, the top 10 held steady this year, with Deloitte still holding that No. 1 spot.

Okay. So after two years of dramatic reshuffling at the top, it seems like things have settled down a little bit. So the action presumably has moved to the middle of the list.

Yeah, I think that's a good way to put it. The top 10 caught its breath, but the middle of the rankings did not.

So let's talk about the growth race because this is where private equity really jumps off the page, that theme.

Yeah, it really does. So when you look at the fastest-growing firms this year, with all growth included, that would be organic growth, including raising billing rates or acquiring or getting new clients, as well as acquired growth. So on that list, nine of the top 10 are PE-backed.

Nine of 10. Okay. Give us the names at the top. Let's hear them.

Yeah, so Richey May leads the way at over 200% growth. Behind them, Springline Advisory at 75%, Archer Lewis at 72%, Sorren at 68% and Frazier & Deeter at 58%.

Hang on just a moment. So Archer Lewis and Sorren were both debuts on last year's list. And now they're back on a new list of the fastest-growing firms a year later. So that tells me that these platforms are not just slowing down after they arrive. They're going stratospheric.

No, I don't even think a little bit. Because that's important insight for firm leaders. The PE playbook isn't buy, integrate and then coast. It's buy, integrate and then continue buying. So these platforms are really built for sustained velocity.

Let's drill down a little bit into where this growth is coming from because you're always great at giving context to the numbers. So let's look at the moment. What do the average growth numbers look like across the IPA 100, Chelsea?

Yeah, so we're going to dig more into all of the numbers around the IPA 100 in our next episode. But the average organic growth for the IPA 100 came in at 7.0%, which is down slightly from 7.8% last year. But overall growth, including mergers, hit 12.8%, which was up from 10.4% last year.

So organic growth slowing, total growth accelerating, which means the gap between those two numbers is what, M&A?

Yes. So that gap nearly doubled this year. Firms are growing faster overall than last year, but less of that growth is coming from winning new work and more of it is coming from acquiring other firms. So if you want one statistic that I think captures the state of the profession in 2026, that certainly could be on the list.

Yeah, they're just buying new books of business, aren't they? And if you're a managing partner, firm leader listening to that, it raises a strategic question that should be important for you: Can you compete on organic growth alone at 7% when the firms around you are compounding through acquisition?

Yeah, and I think you can, but you have to be honest about what that will require. So strong organic growth doesn't happen by accident. It takes that pricing discipline, a growth engine and leadership focus on that growth. So we've talked about that on previous episodes. The independent firms that are thriving right now treat organic growth as that deliberate strategy and not just, it's going to happen if we do everything as we've always done.

Yeah, it's fascinating how it's playing out. Okay, to one of my favorite segments: the big climbers outside the top 100. Who made the major moves this year?

Yeah, so some big movement this year. Aline Accounting Partners in Florida made the biggest leap, going from No. 256 all the way up to No. 138. So that was 118 spots in one year.

That's a rocket. I want to bring them onto the Backed show and find out what went on there because that must be such a story. Who else?

So Stephano Slack in Pennsylvania moved from No. 284 to No. 198. So they cracked the top 200 and a fun callback: We highlighted them last year when they jumped 50 spots.

Chelsea, we've had big names, big exits, new names, 35 firms acquired, private equity everywhere. When you step back from the rankings, what are the big takeaways for our audience here?

Yeah, I think I have two takeaways. So first is that growth in the profession is currently being dominated by those private equity-backed firms and acquisitions. So every debut on the IPA 100 list was PE-backed. Nine of the 10 fastest-growing firms were PE-backed. So the capital is really, I think, setting the pace on that.

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So who else made the news?

So that's two big climbs in back-to-back years. We also saw TSS Advisors in New Hampshire climb from No. 385 to No. 261 and Stokes & Company in South Carolina move from No. 458 to No. 394.

That Stephano Slack story is amazing. Two years of sustained climbing is much harder to do than one big jump. That's not just a moment. That's momentum.

Yeah. And this is why we always tell listeners not just to watch the top of the list. Some of the most competitive firms in the country are still on the climb. The IPA 500 isn't just a ranking of who's big. It can be a map of who's moving.

Yeah. And Chelsea, just an aside before we move on, how important do firms feel it is to be in a top 500 or a top 100? How aspirational are they to climb up?

Yeah, they are very excited. I've received several emails prior to the list coming out of, you know, “It is in our strategic plan to get on the IPA 100, the IPA 400, the IPA 500. When is the list coming out? Our whole partner group has waited with bated breath.” So firms certainly take note and await these rankings every year and see how they're moving and where they land on the list. So it is, you know, I'm honored to present that list every year to the firms. And bringing the good news to the firms who've made those big climbs is certainly one of the most fun parts of my job.

For sure. And it is the definitive list, so they are proud to be on it. I do know that. I speak to them about it. Okay, so let's land this, Chelsea. We've had big names, big exits, new names, 35 firms acquired, private equity everywhere. When you step back from the rankings, what are the big takeaways for our audience here?

Yeah, I think I have two takeaways. So first is that growth in the profession is currently being dominated by those private equity-backed firms and acquisitions. So every debut on the IPA 100 list was PE-backed. Nine of the 10 fastest-growing firms were PE-backed. So the capital is really, I think, setting the pace on that.

And the second?

So growth is absolutely possible for independent firms, especially organic growth. But the data is showing that the big movement, those dramatic jumps and the reshaping of the rankings, is really coming from firms with PE capital behind them. If you're an independent firm, the question really isn't, “Can I grow?” It's whether your strategy is intentional enough to compete against those firms that are quickly compounding with all the capital that they have.

That is really well framed. That is absolutely the question. That echoes something you said last year on this show: Don't wait for disruption to find you.

I think that's even more true today. Whether your firm is on the list or climbing toward it or somewhere in the top 10, I think it's time to focus on your model, on your strategy, on your different growth levers. The firms that we highlighted today and that are making headlines are the ones that moved early and had a lot of intention.

And you can see the full IPA 500 rankings at insidepublicaccounting.com. And if your firm didn't make the list this year, remember that IPA offers benchmarking tools so you can see exactly how you stack up and what it will take to get there. That's very important information that will inform your strategic plans.

Yeah. And we'll be digging deeper into all of the data behind these rankings in our upcoming episodes, talking about compensation, leverage and offshoring. So the rankings themselves are just a starting point.

And Chelsea, it's worth saying that we're giving people the highlights here in the podcast, but all of the detail is in this actual report. And it's an investment. There's a fee to this because this is the highest-level data. Firms really invest in this and plan their business by it.

Yeah. If you'd like to order the full analysis of the top 500 firms, reach out to me and I'm happy to get that to you. Or we can put something in the show notes to order it as well.

And there's a lot more in there than just the rankings, right?

Yes, we do full analysis, five-year trends. I write articles on different things I'm noticing. So I highlighted the advisory-focused firms. We looked at governance in the top 100. We looked at all the specific data for PE-backed firms versus non-PE-backed firms and how those data points compare. So a whole lot of analysis goes into that beyond just the rankings themselves.

Yeah, it's phenomenal. Tell us what you think about who's making the boldest moves in the accounting profession right now or what you'd like us to break down in a future episode.

Thanks for listening to the INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast and congratulations to every firm that made the 2026 IPA 500 list. You really earned that designation. Thanks for listening to today's episode. If you enjoyed this podcast, you can click below to subscribe and check out more from INSIDE Public Accounting.