Top 100 CPA firm Schellman was an early adopter of private equity, striking a deal with Lightyear Capital in October 2021. In March 2026, it became one of the first CPA firms to “flip” from one majority private equity owner to another, accepting an investment from Goldman Sachs Alternatives. (Lightyear Capital stayed on as a minority investor.) Schellman’s CEO, Avani Desai, spoke with CFO Brew about how PE has transformed the firm, and what her plans are post-flip.

How did the first round of PE investment change your firm?

I think the best way to say it is we went from a firm that was probably more of a lifestyle type of business, running like a typical partnership…to really institutionalizing ourselves, to focus on two things. One, how do we scale, and how do we sustain?

We did a lot of transformational projects. One, we got a new CRM system, so really focusing on sales and growth and a go-to-market engine. We put in some new technologies, from an ERP perspective, to really become truly a data-centric organization. Instead of hoping and hustling, what we were able to do is have data allow us to make better decisions and then build out an amazing executive leadership team. Prior to Lightyear it was myself, the general counsel, and the CFO. And now we’ve built out a team that includes a COO, a chief revenue officer, and a chief technology officer.

Keep reading.—CV

Philadelphia is this year’s risk management epicenter; it’s hosting an estimated 10,000-plus attendees of the Riskworld mega-conference as of Sunday. From Middle East conflicts to a massive AI arms race to ongoing tariff whiplash, it’s already been a demanding year to manage enterprise risk.

The conference, organized by RIMS, “comes at a pivotal moment for our industry,” Adrian Hall, US CEO for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, said in a statement, adding that “the risk landscape is becoming more complex, more interconnected, and more volatile.”

Here are just a few of the major themes we expect to dominate this year’s discussions—and why they matter to CFOs.

Interconnectedness. The global economy is in its polycrisis era. This means organizations must navigate “a situation where multiple risks are occurring simultaneously,” according to Manny Padilla, president of RIMS. Risks are “all interacting and being amplified in ways that challenge traditional risk management frameworks,” Padilla told CFO Brew.

Keep reading.—AZ

It’s a question that’s been around as long as lunch money: Do you pay the bully?

Companies impacted by ransomware face this tough decision. Business leaders have to quickly understand factors like downtime and data backups, all while a deadline to pay approaches.

A reader asked during an IT Brew live event in April: When an attack hits and the clock is ticking, who owns the decision to pay—IT, legal, the CEO? How does that actually get decided?

We talked with legal and risk pros about who usually makes the call, and where the IT pro fits in the payment plan.

In the room. When it comes to ransomware, the decision-maker can vary between organizations. Anna Rudawski, privacy and cybersecurity partner at global law firm A&O Shearman, sees the choice to pay or not pay often coming down to some combination of the CEO, CFO, and COO.

Keep reading on IT Brew.—BH

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