Chicago-based accounting firm Baker Tilly is in talks to merge with Seattle-based Moss Adams, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and others.

Baker Tilly is in talks to acquire Moss Adams for over $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. The acquisition would boost Baker Tilly's annual revenues to over $3 billion, making it the second-largest US firm outside the Big Four, after RSM. The merger aims to create a "powerhouse for the middle market." The deal is not yet finalized, but it is expected to provide significant returns for Moss Adams' 400+ partners.

Bank Director's 2025 Risk Survey examines how bank leaders think about protecting their bank from hackers and fraudsters, as well as credit, liquidity, regulatory scrutiny and more.NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Bank Director, the leading information resource for directors and officers of financial institutions nationwide, released the results of its 2025 Risk Survey, sponsored by Moss Adams LLP. The results reveal cybersecurity and fraud are top of mind for bank leaders this year, as the industry grapples with rising volumes of fraud attempts and evolving threats.According to the survey, more than three-quarters of bank CEOs, senior executives and directors who responded named cybersecurity as a top risk for their institution, and 69% said the same about fraud. Check fraud was top of mind for most respondents, with 94% reporting that their bank or its customers have been directly affected by this type of fraud over the past 18 months.Craig Sanders, a partner at Moss Adams, believes the high incidence of check fraud may be due at least partly to greater sophistication on the part of fraudsters. "The fact that check fraud is on the rise tells me that fraudsters have gotten more technically advanced," he says.Despite concerns about commercial real estate, particularly the office sector, most respondents say they plan to grow CRE loans in 2025; just 19% reduced CRE concentrations in the past year. A majority plan to increase commercial and industrial lending."With large companies such as Amazon.com and JPMorgan Chase & Co. mandating a return to in-office work, pressures on commercial real estate could ease," says Emily McCormick, vice president of editorial and research at Bank Director