Armanino Pushes the Boundaries of Accounting with SAOS Merger

The accounting world isn’t slowing down in 2025. CBIZ’s merger with Marcum snagged the newest SEC clients in Q1. OCP, a Moroccan phosphate heavyweight, just reeled in PwC Business Services to tighten its financial grip. And now, Armanino, ranked #18 on Accounting Today’s Top 100 list, is taking its managed services firm to the next level. The San Ramon-based firm announced a strategic merger with SAOS (Strategic Accounting Outsourced Solutions), a fast-growing firm known for its high-touch outsourced accounting model, particularly in the nonprofit and family office space. For finance professionals watching the evolution of outsourcing, this move isn’t just another press release; it’s a crystal ball.

When Culture Clicks and Ledgers Align

Plenty of deals tout “shared values,” but in this case, both Armanino and SAOS walk the walk. SAOS has been on the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing firms list for three straight years, and it’s no fluke. With only one partner, Brittany Russell, and a 26-person team, they’ve built a reputation for being flexible, tech-forward, and people-first. From part-time bookkeepers to outsourced CFOs, SAOS tailored services to each client’s needs like a well-pressed suit. Now? They’re pairing that custom-fit model with Armanino’s national infrastructure, AI tools, and robotic process automation muscle. In other words, clients get the same friendly face with even sharper back-office tools. For firms with nonprofit quirks or family office complexities, that’s a win.

Matt Armanino summed it up with this zinger: “This combo lets us scale faster to meet the growing need in outsourced finance.” Translation: The future isn’t just audits and tax returns; it’s full-service support that feels personal and performs at an enterprise level.

Why Outsourcing Is the New In-House

Let’s be real: outsourced accounting isn’t just for lean startups anymore. Mid-market and even large enterprises are outsourcing everything from payroll to fund administration and HR. And it's not just about cost cuts, it's about control, speed, and getting advisory insight that doesn’t sound like it was pulled from a 10-year-old template. Kim Discenza, SAOS CEO, hit the nail on the head: “This was all about alignment of values, culture, and long-term vision.” In a field often laser-focused on billable hours and compliance checklists, this people-over-process philosophy is refreshing.

And if you’re wondering who helped pull the strings, yep, it’s Koltin again. Allan Koltin of the Koltin Consulting Group has advised on multiple top-tier combos and said the move was a “no-brainer” thanks to both firms’ client-first mindset and hunger for solving real-world headaches.

The PE Playbook

This isn’t Armanino’s first rodeo, and it definitely won’t be its last. Since taking a minority investment from Further Global Capital Management in October 2024, Armanino has been on an M&A tear. This SAOS merger is the third deal since the injection of PE capital, and it’s part of a wider blueprint: to become more specialized, more automated, and achieve coast-to-coast coverage quickly.

Let’s not forget the recent lineup:

• May 2025: Acquired Cooper Savas, a CPA firm in Salt Lake City.
• February 2025: Picked up Boca Raton’s ERP-savvy Complete Business Solutions.
• 2023: Grabbed music and royalty management firms in Nashville and St. Louis.
• 2022: Absorbed Philly-based Drucker & Scaccetti.

With each move, Armanino isn’t just getting bigger; they’re getting more focused, more diversified, and more embedded in niche sectors.

OCP Snaps Up PwC Business Services

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, things are heating up in Morocco as well. OCP, the world’s top phosphate producer, just acquired PwC Business Services, a division that had been exclusively supporting OCP’s internal operations like IT, accounting, and admin. This wasn’t some random acquisition. OCP and PwC Business Services have been working closely for years. The buyout enables OCP to tighten its grip on financial and operational processes, reduce some overhead, and maintain in-house operations. PwC Advisory Morocco, for its part, gets to refocus on high-margin consulting and expand across North Africa.

Talk about mutual benefits. OCP brings home the bacon (or maybe the compost?), while PwC gets to chase more dynamic regional growth. The move also echoes PwC’s U.S. strategy, where its advisory arm just got sliced into eight more focused industry segments, each now embedding managed services into its DNA instead of isolating them.

The Accountant as a Swiss Army Knife

So, what does all this mean for CPAs, CFOs, and controllers who just wanted to survive another quarter-end? It means expectations are shifting. Fast. Clients no longer want compliance. They want foresight. They want advisors who know their sector, can plug into their tech stack, and deliver insights, not just numbers. Whether it’s OCP controlling its ops, CBIZ gobbling up SEC clients through Marcum, or Armanino building the outsourced firm of tomorrow, the trend is clear: the future accountant is less of a paper-pusher, more of a strategic partner. And if you’re still stuck in the “we’ve always done it this way” mindset? It might be time to swap that spreadsheet for a telescope, because this profession is heading somewhere bold.