Frazier & Deeter expands in Southeast

• Key insight: Top 50 Firm Frazier & Deeter is rapidly expanding its footprint through acquisition.
• Expert quote: "This combination further expands the reach and service depth for Frazier & Deeter in the southeast and enables Machen McChesney to offer additional support for their growing clients." — Bob Lewis, The Visionary Group
• Forward look: Watch for Frazier & Deeter to continue its active dealmaking.

Frazier & Deeter acquired Machen McChesney and its sister company, FocusPay Solutions, expanding the Top 50 Firm's footprint in the Southeast.

Headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, Machen McChesney offers accounting and advisory services. FocusPay offers payroll, benefits administration and HR services to businesses throughout the state. 

Courtesy of Frazier & Deeter

"Outsourced accounting is a service that a lot of our clients are seeking, and this combination rounds out our capabilities to now include a full suite of back-office support, including payroll," Frazier & Deeter CEO Jeremy Jones said in a statement. "Pairing our comprehensive service offerings with a firm deeply embedded in the community means we can offer an even higher level of hands-on service, backed by the depth and resources to support every stage of growth for our clients." 

Frazier & Deeter, based in Atlanta, ranked No. 45 on Accounting Today's 2026 Top 100 Firms list. It reported $198.5 million in revenue, with roughly 100 partners and 800 employees across 11 offices. In April 2025,  it received an investment from private equity firm General Atlantic.

The firm will continue its  active dealmaking, Jones previously told Accounting Today. Most recently, it added Regional Leader Gray, Gray & Gray in Massachusetts. In May, it acquired Copeland Buhl in Minneapolis, marking its first expansion into the Midwest. Last year, it made three deals, including Regional Leader Rosen, Sapperstein & Freidlander in Maryland; Pesta Finnie in North Carolina; and Anglin Reichmann Armstrong in Alabama.

"We're pleased to join Frazier & Deeter because it means our clients get the best of both worlds: the same personal, long-term relationships we've built in this community for decades, now backed by the resources and expertise of a Top 50 accounting and advisory firm," Mike Machen, managing partner at Machen McChesney, said in a statement. "Together, we're able to continue returning value and offer even more to the people and communities we're proud to serve." 

Bob Lewis, president of The Visionary Group, who consulted for both firms on the transaction, commented, "This combination further expands the reach and service depth for Frazier & Deeter in the Southeast and enables Machen McChesney to offer additional support for their growing clients. Machen McChesney had no shortage of potential partners to choose from, and this is why I am excited to see what these two outstanding organizations will accomplish now that they have joined forces."

Introductory bullet points created by AI with editorial review.