Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, P.A.

What Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, P.A. does

Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, P.A. (BPS) was a regionally focused, full-service public accounting firm headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1991 and operating from 1501 Main Street, Suite 600, the firm provided accounting, assurance, advisory, tax, finance consulting, human capital consulting, cyber risk management, and transaction advisory services to privately held businesses. BPS concentrated on specialized industry verticals—captive insurance, telecommunications, construction, real estate, and manufacturing—alongside forensic accounting and litigation support services for legal proceedings.

The firm organized its practice around eight documented core service lines: Accounting Services, Assurance (audits, employee benefit plan audits, SOC reporting), Advisory (internal audit, litigation support, process automation/improvement), Cyber Risk Management (risk assessments, ISO 27001 certification), Finance Consulting (planning, analytics, treasury, risk, compliance, data visualization, automated reporting), Human Capital Consulting, Tax Services (compliance, planning, controversy, international tax, state and local tax, succession planning, R&D credits, transfer pricing), and Transaction Advisory (financial due diligence, transaction tax). Underlying technology consisted of standard accounting, audit, and tax compliance platforms supporting financial reporting and advisory deliverables; no proprietary technology platform was disclosed. The firm operated from a single Columbia office with nearly 100 CPAs and professional staff.

BPS generated revenue through professional services engagements on a quote-based pricing model, distributed via direct client relationships and supported by industry networking and referrals. BPS was recognized by INSIDE Public Accounting as a Top 250 Firm and one of the largest locally owned public accounting firms in South Carolina. On January 13, 2026, BPS was acquired by Smith + Howard, a nationally recognized Atlanta-based accounting and advisory firm, with the firm subsequently transitioning to the Smith + Howard brand while continuing to serve clients through existing engagement teams.

Name

Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, P.A.

Legal name

Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, P.A.

Website

https://bpscpas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, P.A. was a full-service Columbia, South Carolina-based public accounting firm with nearly 100 CPAs serving privately held businesses in captive insurance, construction, real estate, manufacturing, telecommunications, and forensic/litigation support, acquired by Smith + Howard in January 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Accounting Services: BPS generated revenue through professional accounting and advisory services including audit, tax, forensic accounting, and litigation support. Revenue was generated through client engagements for specialized industry services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

BPS is a public accounting firm delivering accounting, assurance, advisory, tax, finance consulting, human capital consulting, cyber risk management, and transaction advisory services. The firm serves specialized industries including captive insurance, telecommunications, construction, real estate, and manufacturing, and also provides forensic accounting and litigation support services to legal clients.

Product overview

Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, P.A. (BPS) is a full-service public accounting firm offering a unified suite of professional services. The firm provides accounting, assurance, advisory, tax, finance consulting, human capital consulting, cyber risk management, and transaction advisory services to clients across industries including captive insurance, telecommunications, construction, real estate, and manufacturing. As a Top 250 Firm recognized by INSIDE Public Accounting with nearly 100 CPAs and professional staff, the firm has now joined Smith + Howard and is transitioning to that brand following the acquisition in January 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Accounting Services

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Smith + HowardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 January 2026Smith + Howard, a nationally recognized accounting and advisory firm headquartered in Atlanta, acquired Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, P.A. (BPS). The acquisition extends Smith + Howard's geographic footprint across the Southeastern United States and strengthens its capabilities in specialized industries including captive insurance, telecommunications, construction, real estate, and manufacturing, while adding forensic accounting and litigation support services. BPS transitioned to the Smith + Howard brand following the close of the transaction.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Smith + Howard: Acquirer of BPS and direct peer as a Top 500 (#83 on INSIDE Public Accounting) Southeast-headquartered CPA and advisory firm offering accounting, assurance, advisory, tax, cyber risk, and transaction advisory services across overlapping industry verticals.
• Elliott Davis: Top 100 Southeast regional CPA and advisory firm serving construction, real estate, manufacturing, and other industries — directly comparable to BPS in scale, geography, and vertical specialization.
• Cherry Bekaert: Top 25 US CPA and advisory firm with strong Southeast and Mid-Atlantic presence serving closely overlapping industries including real estate, construction, manufacturing, and technology.
• Frazier & Deeter: Top 100 CPA and advisory firm headquartered in Atlanta with deep Southeast presence, providing audit, tax, and advisory services to privately held businesses and industries similar to BPS's verticals.
• Mauldin & Jenkins: Southeast regional CPA firm (Top 100) headquartered in Atlanta with comparable industry specialization in construction, real estate, manufacturing, and government — directly overlapping with BPS's core verticals.
• Carr Riggs & Ingram: Top 25 US CPA firm with strong Southeast footprint, serving closely overlapping industries including construction, real estate, manufacturing, and professional services with comparable firm size.
• Rehmann: Mid-size regional CPA and advisory firm offering comparable services across manufacturing, construction, real estate, and financial services with similar client profile and firm scale to BPS.

Broad incumbents

• Forvis (formerly BKD / Dixon Hughes Goodman): Top 10 US accounting firm formed from the BKD/Dixon Hughes Goodman merger with comparable industry verticals including construction, real estate, manufacturing, and captive insurance — a larger-scale incumbent in similar markets.
• Wipfli: Top 20 US accounting and advisory firm with similar industry verticals including construction, real estate, and manufacturing, offering a comparable service mix but at meaningfully greater scale.

Regional players

• GreerWalker: Southeast regional CPA and advisory firm serving closely overlapping industries including real estate, construction, and manufacturing — comparable in scale, geography, and service mix to BPS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bpscpas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, P.A.