John Bly, CPA, CVA, CM&AA, CGMA

Of the hundreds of mergers and acquisitions success stories that John Bly can tell, the most compelling story may be his own. After starting his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, John left to found Bly & Bly CPA with his wife, Darci. Under his entrepreneurial leadership, the family-owned bookkeeping and tax services business became one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in North Carolina, landing on both the Charlotte Business Journal’s Fast 50 and Inc. 5000 lists.

John engineered the firm’s growth both organically and through M&A, merging with 14 firms since 2004 and ultimately leading to the combination with Aprio. As Regional Managing Partner for the Carolinas, he leads Aprio’s offices in the Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Mt. Airy and Asheboro markets. He applies his experience analyzing financial information to advise buyers or sellers in M&A transactions.

In 2014, John published his first book entitled Cracking the Code: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Growing Your Business Through Mergers and Acquisitions for Pennies on the Dollar. The book provides growth-motivated entrepreneurs with a strategic, step-by-step blueprint for sourcing, analyzing, financing and closing the right deals. Considered a thought leader on a wide range of business topics, including taxation, business valuation and mergers and acquisitions, John is a frequently requested presenter and speaks globally sharing business ideas and growth strategies.

John graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bryant College with his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and Computer Information Systems. He went on to earn a Masters of Science in Taxation from the University of Denver and complete the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Leadership Academy and EO Master’s Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. John is a former member of the Global Board of Directors for EO where he served as one of nine members who make strategic decisions for the organization.

In addition to being a CPA, John is certified in business valuations and mergers and acquisitions advisement. He is a Chartered Global Management Accountant and representative of Series 7 General Securities and Series 66 Uniform Combined State Law. He is a member of the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.