PAY & COMPENSATION

NEW SURVEY: CPA Firm Growth Rates Hit a Wall

Organic growth drops under 5% while mergers surge to 30% of new revenue per firm.

Rosenberg MAP 2005 to 2014 growth rates
Growth rates level off for CPA firms to 6.7% (Rosenberg Map Survey, firms over $2 million/year)

By CPA Trendlines
Annual MAP Survey

The new 2015-2016 annual MAP survey presents news both good and bad—and more of the latter than the former.

  • The good news: CPA firms revenues and profits increased last year.
  • The bad news: The increase in revenues was less than in the previous year, a lot of it was only due to mergers, and growth was lowest for the smallest firms. And the increase in Income per Equity Partner was especially sluggish.

Most worrisome was the finding that organic growth— which is to say real growth not generated artificially by mergers—was actually a bit lower than in 2013, dropping from 5.2 percent to 4.7 percent, according to the new Rosenberg MAP Survey, available exclusively from CPA Trendlines.

More on the  2016 Outlook & Forecast: CPA Firm Growth Rates Hit a Wall  |  The Five Treacherous Factors Hobbling Today’s CPA Firm  |  Sam Allred: Change Agents Needed  |  Tamera Loerzl on Growth, Succession Plans Critical for Firms  |  Allan Koltin on Talent Wars Go from White Gloves to Boxing Gloves  |  Get the full report: The Rosenberg Map Survey

Is this really The End of The Golden Age for the profession?