CBIZ, Baker Tilly take the most new SEC clients in Q2

The first quarter of 2025 saw a major merger shape the landscape for new Securities and Exchange Commission audit clients, and the second quarter of the year was much the same — except that it was two major mergers setting the pace.

Thanks to its merger with billion-dollar firm Marcum, Top 10 Firm CBIZ once again took the top spot for onboarding new clients, adding 124 more engagements. (See "Net engagement leaders.") It was joined at the far top of the list by Top 10 Firm Baker Tilly, which added 65 firms in Q2, 62 of which came from its merger with billion-dollar firm Moss Adams.

The massive gains at CBIZ and Baker Tilly were outliers, with most other firms chalking up much more modest gains. Among the Big Four, for instance, Deloitte held the lead but only netted six new clients. (See "Q2 2025 client gains & losses.") And it's probably worth noting that among the large firms that used to report large numbers of new audit clients, Marcum actually shed 140 — a natural result of merging into CBIZ, though not all of its former clients came along with the merger.

All these merger-related client transfers caused an extraordinary spike in the total number of new engagements, to 361 — almost double the total from Q1, and by far the biggest number since 2020.

New client leaders

As you'd expect, the massive number of new engagements helped CBIZ and Baker Tilly top a number of league tables for the quarter.

CBIZ, for instance, led the rankings for new audit fees, even though most of its new clients' fees were below $1 million, and only eight were above. (See "New client leaders.")

Similarly, Baker Tilly took first in new assets audited — though, again, none of its individual clients accounted for a significant chunk of the total. The firm also came in second in new market capitalization audited and new audit fees.

They weren't the only firms that were high on the league tables, however: KPMG came in first in new market cap, with industrial hardware, software and services company Trimble Inc. standing out with $17.5 billion, and FTAI Aviation, a provider of after-market power and maintenance services for commercial jet engines, accounting for $14.8 billion. Top 100 Firm Cohen & Co., meanwhile, came in second in terms of new assets audited, thanks entirely to $51.2 billion from mutual fund creator Victory Portfolios.

Data for the quarterly rankings are provided by Ideagen Audit Analytics, a premium online intelligence service delivering audit, regulatory and disclosure analysis. Reach them at (508) 476-7007, info@auditanalytics.com or www.auditanalytics.com.