Ami Shah CPA Joins PP&Co and Ascend!

August 1, 2026 (Arlington, VA) — Two firms within the Ascend platform have expanded through recent additions. Both moves reflect a growing trend of independent firms choosing to combine with Ascend partner firms to access national-scale resources while preserving the personal client relationships and local identity they built their businesses on.

PP&Co in San Jose, California, has welcomed Ami Shah, CPA, and her team, and LMC in New York City has opened its first Long Island office with the addition of Ricky S. Spike, CPA, and his team. The PP&Co transaction was effective August 1, 2026, and the LMC transaction was effective July 1, 2026. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Ami Shah CPA is a San Jose-based firm specializing in tax planning for high-net-worth individuals and families, with an innovative, holistic approach that seamlessly integrates philanthropy into clients’ financial lives. Ami Shah, CPA, Founder and Principal, joins PP&Co as a Partner, together with 12 members of her team, including four team members based in India.

“Ami Shah and her team have built something special: a firm that knows exactly who they serve and how best to serve them,” said Phuong Mayer, CEO of PP&Co. “Ami’s team also brings a culture that mirrors our own. It is collaborative, high-performing, and genuinely committed to client service and to each other. Together, we’ll continue delivering thoughtful, integrated solutions tailored to our clients’ evolving needs.”

On their new partnership with PP&Co and Ascend, Ami Shah remarked “When a boutique practice like ours hits the glass ceiling, the path forward usually presents an uncomfortable choice: sell out to a massive corporate consolidator and risk losing the heart and soul of what makes you, you. Ascend and PP&Co offered us a beautifully different path, one that perfectly aligns with our vision of serving with abundance. They handle the capital, the technology, and the back-office heavy lifting behind the scenes. This creates massive time savings for us, ensuring that our local leadership, deep client relationships, and the genuine care we’ve built for the last two decades stay exactly where they belong: front and center.”

About PP&Co

Founded in 1951 – with offices in San Jose and Santa Cruz, and remote employees around the world –  PP&Co is a full-service advisory firm with a focus on helping individuals, businesses, and organizations navigate complex financial landscapes. With a commitment to integrity, innovation, and personalized service, PP&Co serves a diverse range of clients across industries including real estate, construction, manufacturing and distribution, hospitality, technology, and business intelligence.

About Ascend

Ascend is a private equity-backed platform for regional accounting firms, funded by Alpine Investors, that has been steadily expanding its network of partner firms since its founding in January 2023. The platform ranked No. 24 on Accounting Today’s 2026 Top 100 Firms list, reporting $590.5 million in revenue at the time and nearly 3,000 employees. Earlier this year, Ascend added Jackson Thornton in Montgomery, Alabama, and William Vaughan Company of Toledo, Ohio, to its partner firm network, and California-based LevitZacks and Georgia-based Wilson Lewis each completed additional add-ons. For more information, visit www.ascendtogether.com.

Meet Ami Shah, PP&Co’s newest partner.