# Boulay

The tax structure first, then QoE and the books.

A Minnesota CPA firm with a search fund practice that runs the whole arc. Entity and payroll setup come during the search, the tax analysis of a deal structure before the LOI, the quality-of-earnings engagement, and then purchase price allocation, funds flow accounting, the opening balance sheet and the working capital true-up after closing. Its own page says it has served the search fund ecosystem since 2005.

- Category: Diligence & Earnings Review
- Pricing model: Custom Pricing
- Where it fits: Set Up & Fund the Search, Diligence & Close the Deal, Operate & Grow the Business
- Website: https://boulaygroup.com/services/search-funds/

## At a Glance

Worth a call when the tax structure is the open question, which on an SBA-financed purchase it usually is. The choice between an asset deal, a stock deal and an [F-reorganization](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/f-reorganization) moves the after-tax price further than a point of interest does, and this is a firm that names those elections on its own page rather than waiting for a buyer to raise them. Quote the [quality of earnings](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/qoe) separately from the ongoing accounting, and ask which of the named partners is on your file.

## What It Costs

Nothing is published. The search fund page ends at a phone number and a request-a-meeting form, so the price for every service here arrives by call. That is the usual shape on this shelf and the opposite of the two providers that print a band, which is the comparison to make before booking.

## Best For

A [searcher](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/searcher) who wants the tax structure of the deal decided by the same firm that will write the quality-of-earnings report and file the returns afterwards, and who is comfortable getting the price by phone

## Pros and Cons

- Pro: The scope is written stage by stage on the firm's own page, from formation and Forms [K-1](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/schedule-k-1) through pre-[LOI](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/loi) conversations to the post-close opening [balance sheet](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/balance-sheet), so you can see where it helps before the call
- Pro: The tax side is written for this deal rather than for deals in general: the page names 338(h)(10), 336(e), F-reorganizations, Section 1202 and the stock versus asset choice, which is the analysis that decides what a purchase is worth after tax
- Pro: The [search fund](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/search-fund) team is named partner by partner with each one's role, including the two transaction advisory partners, so you know who the work sits with before you call
- Pro: It writes for this reader rather than about itself, with search fund articles through 2026 including one on what an accountant does after the deal closes
- Con: No published price for any of it, so the priced providers on this shelf give you a number before this firm gives you a call
- Con: Hundreds of ETA entrepreneurs and a start date of 2005 are the firm's own claims, with nothing behind either that a reader can check
- Con: One firm sells the structuring, the quality of earnings and the books afterwards, which is convenient and is also a firm marking its own homework; take the diligence and the ongoing accounting as two decisions
- Con: Every office is in Minnesota while the search fund work is described as reaching the United States, Mexico, Canada and Europe, so ask who staffs your deal and where they sit

## What Searchers Say

What is checkable sits on the firm's own site: a search fund team named partner by partner with roles, three Minnesota offices with a published phone number, and search fund articles dated through 2026. No independent client account turned up in a scripted read, so weigh the named team and the published scope rather than a track record.

## Compared With

- Which firm should scope the deal, write the quality of earnings, and then keep the books? (https://searchspheresource.com/resources/compare/boulay-vs-midwest-cpa.md)

## Sources

- https://boulaygroup.com/services/search-funds/
- https://boulaygroup.com/how-accountants-support-search-funds-after-the-deal/

Also on this site: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/category/diligence.md
Source: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/boulay
Last checked: 2026-08-28

Site index for machines: https://searchspheresource.com/llms.txt