Stout provided comprehensive buy-side financial due diligence services to a national CPA firm in support of its acquisitions of three professional services businesses across H2 2024 and H1 2025. These acquisitions — targeting firms with capabilities in advisory, tax, and assurance — had a strategic emphasis on expanding the company’s consulting service offerings. The consulting practices encompassed business strategy, human capital advisory, financial management, and executive recruiting, with all three targets operating primarily in the southwestern United States.

Stout supported the client throughout the full transaction lifecycle. Core deliverables included detailed quality-of-earnings (QoE) analyses, net working capital and net debt assessments, and transaction support around purchase agreement terms. Each target operated as a closely held business, requiring tailored treatment around cash-to-accrual adjustments, nuanced revenue recognition timing, partner scrape under the client’s model, and normalization of owner-related expenses.

Stout’s work helped support the client’s assessment, valuation, and post-close integration planning through refinements of adjusted EBITDA, working capital target identification, required GAAP accounting changes, and other deal-critical insights.