Adam Shay believes he has found the perfect vehicle to take his CPA business in additional directions. Earlier this month, businesswoman Gretchen Roberts purchased Adam Shay CPA, which has been rebranded as Red Bike Advisors LLC.

Shay will move from his current managing partner role to lead virtual chief financial officer services, “providing strategic financial services for growing businesses to help entrepreneurs achieve their business and personal goals,” according to a news release, which added that partner Caroline Montgomery will remain in her role of tax manager. Roberts will step in as CEO of Red Bike, leading marketing and sales, operations and client services. The firm will maintain its offices at 1721 Allens Lane #210 in Wilmington.

“We’ve always billed ourselves as the ‘CPA Firm for Entrepreneurs,’ and I like to think of myself as an entrepreneur who serves entrepreneurs,” Shay said in the release. “Now I’ll be able to focus on providing strategic financial advice full-time.”

In an interview last week, Shay expanded on that statement.

“My focus will be on developing and promoting virtual CFO services for businesses that need help,” he said. “I’ve done a bit of that previously and I’m looking forward to really being able to roll that out. In the past 13 years of operating this business I have gone from being in a single room to having a team of 18 people, well-positioned for a sale. There are things I can share [with clients] from that journey."

Roberts said she, as an entrepreneur at this stage of her career, had two options: start a business or buy one.

“I made the decision to buy an existing firm to capitalize on everything Adam and Caroline have done to date,” she said during the same interview. “They have a fantastic client list and high-caliber team. I can jump into this business that’s already up and running and can expand our client services with virtual CFO offerings. Like many of our clients, I’m a small business owner who knows that strategic financial and income tax planning is the key to business growth and success.”

Roberts' experience extends beyond being a small business owner. She brings about 20 years of experience in “all kinds of business environments, from large public companies at the director and senior director level to running my own small business, and everything in between,” she said. “In particular, I bring client and customer marketing experience to the firm.”

Red Bike Advisors will continue to provide business and individual income tax planning and preparation, bookkeeping and accounting services, tax controversy and resolution, fraud investigation and forensic accounting services, the officials said. Its virtual CFO services will provide such a specialist to companies under $20 million in revenue that can’t afford a full-time CFO and staff to analyze, predict, and optimize their finances.  

Roberts emphasized that Shay and Montgomery will remain with the firm. “This is not a takeover raid, stripping and making a shell of the firm,” she said. “It’s just a rebrand and the addition of services.”