Accordion Acquires ABACI

Acquisition Enhances Firm’s CFO Technology Practice, Making Accordion the Premier Digital Enablement Partner for PE-Backed CFOs

NEW YORK – August 4, 2022 – Accordion, a private equity-focused financial and technology consulting firm, announced today that it has acquired ABACI, an Enterprise Resourcing Planning (ERP) and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) consultancy specializing in NetSuite and Adaptive Planning. The ability for the finance function to digitize is critical to enterprise-wide scaling efforts. Digitization is equally essential for driving operational efficiencies in any economic climate, but particularly in an uncertain market wherein real-time data visibility is paramount for effective forecasting and sustained corporate performance. The acquisition of ABACI, which follows the recent acquisition of Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) consulting firm Platform Specialists, will make Accordion the unrivaled digital-enablement partner for PE-backed CFOs.

The combination of these acquisitions, alongside Accordion’s already-substantive tech advisory and enablement practice, will enable the firm to provide its private equity sponsor and portfolio clients with a singular partner for the full suite of people, process, and CFO technology-related services. Critically, Accordion’s broader expertise in the Office of the CFO will provide clients with essential guidance around what ‘tech-stack’ levers are required, and when and how best to pull those levers, in the context of the broader value creation and operational optimization strategies of the finance team and the organization it serves.

“This acquisition is a perfect fit in our CFO Tech strategy,” said Nick Leopard, CEO, Accordion. “Adding ABACI into the Accordion family completes an essential piece of our functional-specific technology practice. And that technology has never been more important to PE-backed CFOs, or their sponsors. Whether its technology to increase data visibility, to evaluate liquidity, to automate inefficient processes, or to combine operational and financial metrics for a more accurate picture of company performance, the right investment in the right tech stack is critical and urgent.”

“Our clients will benefit from ABACI’s deep familiarity with PE-backed companies and their unrivaled experience implementing NetSuite and Adaptive Planning. ABACI’s clients will benefit from a more holistic suite of CFO services. And all our employees will benefit from the merging of two companies that put their people first. As I said, it’s a perfect fit.”

Accordion’s CFO Technology experts work cross-functionally, alongside practitioners from all corners of the firm, to arm CFOs with the appropriate digital solutions needed to implement business process recommendations, optimize operations, and drive and/or protect value. The prior acquisition of Platform Specialists added EPM capabilities related to technology-enabled forecasting and planning, close and consolidation processes, and reporting and analytics. The acquisition of ABACI adds enhanced ERP capabilities as well as experts who leverage the power of NetSuite and Adaptive Planning to create data transparency in a unified system—thereby enabling PE-backed businesses to succeed in any economic environment.

“From ERP, EPM, analytics, data integration, RPA, and beyond, our CFO Technology Practice can provide finance leaders with a single, objective partner capable of delivering digital enablement from strategy to execution,” said Mike Cochran, Managing Director and Head of CFO Technology, Accordion. “That type of partner is more important now than ever, as PE-backed companies grapple with cost-effectively finding and implementing the right pointed technology solutions to drive transparency, enhance forecasting, and create meaningful efficiencies.”

Continued Cochran: “The right CFO technology is more than a ‘nice-to-have’; sponsors demand, and current market realities dictate, that it’s a ‘need-to-have.’ As a result of the ABACI acquisition, Accordion is now the singular partner that can tell its clients which technology they need to have, which they don’t, when they need to have it, and how best to implement it. Moreover, our expertise extends from guidance to implementation to ongoing managed services.”

The acquisition will add 36 professionals to Accordion’s growing team of delivery consultants and experts in FinTech Advisory and Finance Digital Enablement. It will also increase Accordion’s expanding regional footprint with a formal office in Atlanta.

“Accordion is the right match for our team and our clients, right now and in the future,” said John Moser, President and CEO, ABACI.

“Not only will this acquisition provide our clients with a broader suite of CFO-related technology expertise and more fulsome support for process-driven efficiency, it will introduce them to a like-minded team of experts who roll up their sleeves and do the work.”

He also shared: “Much like ABACI, Accordion values people above and beyond all else. We value creating a performance-based culture, where we can help our people achieve their goals and aspirations, and reward them on their hard work. We value entrepreneurialism and agility, as well as creating an inviting and enticing workplace. We value working alongside the diligent, but often resource-constrained, members of finance teams with whom we get in the trenches and deliver exceptional results. This acquisition makes that ‘we’ bigger and better for our people and our clients. We couldn’t be more excited to be part of the Accordion team.”

About Accordion

Accordion is a private equity-focused financial and technology consulting firm. Working at the intersection of sponsors and management teams, Accordion partners with clients at every stage of the investment lifecycle. The firm’s services span the entire CFO function within the private capital sector, including operational and technical accounting, strategic financial planning and analysis, CFO-driven transformation, CFO technology, transaction execution, public company readiness, interim leadership, and turnaround and restructuring. With a focus on hands-on, results-oriented execution, Accordion is widely recognized as the go-to PE consultancy and the premier digital-enablement partner for portfolio CFOs. In addition, Accordion has been recognized as an employer of choice for pioneering a better way to work in finance. Accordion has a total of 10 offices including its headquarters in New York and locations in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and South Florida.

About ABACI

ABACI (now an Accordion company) is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) consulting firm. Specializing in best-in-breed ERP and EPM technologies—specifically NetSuite and Adaptive Planning—the firm’s practitioners are experts in both business process and technology architecture. For years, the ABACI team has empowered clients by providing the highest level of system expertise on a full suite of cloud-based business management applications, serving as a leader in system implementation, optimization, deployment, and ongoing maintenance. www.abaci-us.com