Edgewater Strategy Group Supports Cherry Bekaert on Its Acquisitions of Tarsus and Richardson Kontogouris Emerson

RALEIGH, NC (February 17, 2026) – Edgewater Strategy Group (“Edgewater”), a boutique advisory firm specializing in M&A, capital raises and Office of the CFO services, today announced that it supported Cherry Bekaert, the Raleigh-headquartered assurance, tax and advisory firm, with buy-side business and financial due diligence on its acquisitions of Tarsus and Richardson Kontogouris Emerson LLP (“RKE”).

In January 2026, Cherry Bekaert announced its acquisition of Tarsus, an accounting and advisory firm headquartered in Washington, DC, with further offices in California, Missouri and Bangalore, India. Tarsus is known for outsourced accounting and CFO services, working with clients in technology, government contracting, private equity, staffing and professional services. The acquisition builds out Cherry Bekaert’s Outsourced Accounting Services practice and its CFO advisory capabilities.

Cherry Bekaert has now acquired the business of RKE, a public accounting and advisory firm headquartered in Torrance, California, in the Los Angeles area. Since 2006, RKE has helped clients with accounting, tax, litigation support, strategic planning and other financial matters, with a focus on middle-market businesses in industries including real estate, construction, manufacturing and consumer products, and food and beverage. The acquisition extends Cherry Bekaert’s West Coast footprint and strengthens its ability to serve founders, private investors and middle-market businesses in Southern California. RKE will operate under the Cherry Bekaert brand.

Edgewater worked as an extension of Cherry Bekaert’s corporate development team on both transactions, providing buy-side business and financial due diligence. The work included preparing diligence data books, mapping revenue and headcount by service line and across the partner and director group, and analyzing key performance indicators and client cohorts to inform Cherry Bekaert’s assessment of each firm.

“Buying an accounting and advisory firm means buying its people and the client work they lead, so diligence has to go well past the financial statements. Alongside Cherry Bekaert’s corporate development team, our focus was on where revenue really comes from: which partners, which service lines and which clients. Tarsus adds depth in outsourced accounting and CFO advisory, and RKE strengthens the firm in Southern California’s middle market. Each deal serves a distinct purpose, and our job was to test that fit rigorously.”

Hawken LordManaging Partner, Edgewater Strategy Group

Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Cherry Bekaert’s full announcements are available here (Tarsus) and here (RKE).

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