If you’ve spent any time in the beltway or tracking the mid-market consulting scene lately, you’ve probably heard the name Srikant Sastry. He’s the Managing Partner of Advisory Services at Cherry Bekaert, and honestly, he's basically the architect behind why that firm looks so different today than it did five years ago.
It isn’t just about the numbers, though the numbers are pretty wild. We’re talking about taking an advisory practice from $50 million to $250 million in half a decade. That doesn’t happen by accident.
Most people look at a massive jump like that and assume it’s all just aggressive private equity math. While Cherry Bekaert did get a boost from Parthenon Capital, the strategy Sastry implemented was much more about shifting the firm's identity. He didn't want it to just be "the tax and audit shop." He wanted a digitally driven, industry-aligned powerhouse.
Why Srikant Sastry and Cherry Bekaert are Obsessed with Trust
You might think an advisory leader would spend all day talking about EBITDA or CAGR. Sastry does that, sure. But lately, he’s been on a bit of a mission regarding something much more abstract: public trust.
It’s kinda fascinating. He’s been co-authoring pieces with folks like Ed DeSeve (from the National Academy of Public Administration) about how the federal government is basically in a trust tailspin. He isn't just complaining about it from the sidelines, either.
- The NAPA Partnership: He helped ink a strategic deal between Cherry Bekaert and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).
- The Mission: They’re looking at working capital fund management and cost allocation at state and local levels.
- The Goal: Basically, if the government can’t manage its money transparently, nobody is going to trust it. Sastry argues that "measurable improvements" in how services are delivered is the only way to win people back.
He’s been pointing at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a rare success story. He specifically highlighted how they’ve improved the "customer experience" for veterans. It's an interesting lens—treating a citizen like a customer to ensure they actually get what they were promised.
The Career Path That Built the "Managing Partner"
Sastry didn't just wake up and decide to run a multi-million dollar advisory wing. He’s got the pedigree to back it up.
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Before the Cherry Bekaert era, he was the National Managing Principal of Advisory Services at Grant Thornton. While he was there, he nearly doubled their revenues from $400 million to over $700 million. He seems to have this "Midas touch" for growth, but if you look closer, it’s always about the same thing: building a full-service consultancy that targets the Russell 2000.
He also spent time at IBM Business Consulting and PwC. But here’s the kicker—he started in the federal government. He worked at the EPA, the IRS, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
That’s why he gets the public sector so well. He’s been inside the machine.
The Acquisition Spree
Under Sastry’s leadership, Cherry Bekaert hasn't been shy about opening its wallet. They’ve been buying up specialized firms to fill gaps in their resume.
Take Accume Partners, for example. They bought them back in 2022 to beef up their risk and compliance game, especially for financial institutions. Then there was Treacy & Company, which added a serious layer of growth strategy and innovation consulting.
Sastry’s logic is pretty simple: mid-market clients are navigating the same "disruptive trends" as the giants, but they often don't have the same internal resources. By snapping up these boutiques, he’s basically giving mid-sized companies access to "Big Four" level strategy without the "Big Four" price tag or bureaucracy.
What Most People Get Wrong About His Strategy
A lot of folks think "Advisory" is just a catch-all term for miscellaneous consulting. At Cherry Bekaert, Sastry has sliced it into very specific, high-growth segments.
- Digital & Tech: This isn't just "fixing the Wi-Fi." It's about ERP cloud migrations (like Oracle NetSuite) and digital transformation.
- Cybersecurity: Obvious, but they’ve tied it directly to risk advisory.
- Specialty Tax: This is where the old-school accounting roots of the firm meet the new-school advisory world.
- Transaction Advisory: Helping private equity firms and businesses actually make sense of their M&A deals.
The Human Side of the Leader
It’s easy to get lost in the corporate bio, but Sastry is pretty active in the community too. He’s the Chairman of the Board for CAM-I (Consortium of Advanced Management-International). He’s also heavily involved with the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.
He’s an Indiana University guy (O’Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs), and they actually gave him a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019. He also holds a J.D. from George Washington University. So yeah, he’s probably the smartest guy in most rooms he walks into, but he tends to lead with a "collaborative teams" vibe rather than a "top-down" hammer.
Actionable Takeaways from the Sastry Playbook
If you’re running a business or looking at how professional services are evolving in 2026, there are a few things you can actually learn from what’s happening at Cherry Bekaert:
Prioritize Outcome over Output
Sastry’s focus on "restoring trust" via efficiency is a lesson for any service business. It’s not about the report you hand over; it’s about whether the client's problem actually got fixed.
Don't Ignore the "Middle"
The most interesting growth isn't happening at the massive conglomerates or the tiny startups. It’s the mid-market. If you can provide high-level strategy to companies that are too big to be small but too small to be huge, you’ve found a goldmine.
Niche Expertise Wins
You can't just be a generalist anymore. Whether it’s GASB 101 compliance for governments or DCAA audits for contractors, Sastry’s team wins because they know the "boring" technical details that actually keep a business alive.
Digital isn't Optional
If your advisory services aren't "digitally driven," you're basically selling a typewriter in a smartphone world. Every acquisition Sastry has led has had some element of technology or data analytics baked into it.
The bottom line is that Srikant Sastry has turned Cherry Bekaert into a case study on how to evolve a traditional accounting firm into a modern consultancy. It's a mix of strategic M&A, a deep understanding of government "trust" issues, and an aggressive focus on the mid-market.