Most successful mergers take several months – or longer.
By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide
So, you’ve met a potential merger candidate. Great!
MORE ON MERGERS: 13 Reasons Accounting Firms Merge | Mergers 101: When Negotiations Aren’t Really Negotiations | 5 Steps to Take Before Merging
But wait! Curb your enthusiasm long enough to take an objective look at the future, using at least these 14 sets of questions: READ MORE →
When the deal is done: A 24-point checklist for the morning after.
By August Aquila
Creating the Effective Partnership
Congratulations! After years of planning and months of tough negotiations, you’ve finally closed the deal on merger of your CPA firm.
You might be thinking the most difficult work is behind you. Think again! You now have to move your eye from the financial to the human side of the merger.
MORE for PRO Members: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall | 6 Steps to Handle Staffing Problems in a Merger | New Times Call for New CPA Firm Metrics | 6 Reasons Why CPA Firms Fail in Innovation | 7 Signs Your Firm Is Headed for an Implosion | Why Is It Always about Partner Compensation? | Why Merge and What to Watch Out For | 13 Steps to Fool-Proof Mergers and Acquisitions | 13 Questions To Ask Yourself for Personal Growth | Partner Problem? First, Ask Yourself These 21 Questions | 12 Reasons CPA Firm Staff Meetings Are a Waste of Time | The Managing Partner’s Secret Weapon in Change Management | The 10 Basic Ways to Boost Profits at an Accounting Firm | 12 Must-Do Items for Your Partner Retreat Agenda
Your work in this area has just begun and may last for 12 months or more. The so-called soft side of doing a merger is just as important, if not more important, than the financial side. Just like with an iceberg you don’t know what lies beneath the surface. Just ask the captain of the unsinkable Titanic. Don’t let this same danger destroy your practice
In order to make sure your merger has a better than average chance of succeeding, here are 24 key items to be addressed: READ MORE →
Bonus checklist: 17 minuses. Turn-ons and turn-offs.
By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide
What make a firm most attractive to a merger partner?
MORE ON MERGERS: 13 Reasons Accounting Firms Merge | Mergers 101: When Negotiations Aren’t Really Negotiations | 5 Steps to Take Before Merging
These apply to all types of mergers. READ MORE →
CPA Trendlines joins with The Succession Insititute to launch new Practice Management Resource Center for firms of all sizes. CPA Trendlines is pleased to offer growth-minded firms a vast new set of resources through a special alliance with the Succession … Continued
And a merger is really an acquisition. Plus: The six top issues in the negotiations.
By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide
At some point, many CPA firms and sole practitioners will be in a position to consider a merger.
MORE: COVID Drives New M&A Trends | When Managing Partners Can’t | Don’t Let Exiting Partners Double Dip | The 13 Signs You Have a Partner Problem | COVID-19, Adversity and Innovation | Networking for Fun and Profit | Why Consultative Selling Works | Eleven Ways to Jump-Start Your COVID Comeback | How Covid Impacts Partner Retirements | Three Tough Questions in Partner Buyouts | Is Mandatory Retirement a Best Practice? | COVID-19: How Your Firm Can Respond | Reward Partners for Performing Like Partners | Checklist for Implementing a Merger | Practice Continuation Agreements and Why Solos Need Them | How to Merge Sole Practitioners | 13 Questions Between Merger Equals | Thinking ‘Downstream’ Merger? Check These 25 Potential Problems First
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
There are numerous types to think about:
Learn how to ask the right questions.
By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide
As a generation of aging Baby Boomer partners marches towards retirement, thousands of firms are seeking the only exit strategy available to them – merge into another firm. Thus has a voracious appetite for mergers been created at all size levels, particularly:
Here are just 19 factors.
By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor
QUESTION: I am in process of buying a practice and would like to know how much to pay.
MORE PRACTICE DOCTOR Q&A: When Fees Don’t Keep Up With Cost Increases | When Large (or Any) Clients Need Backup Assurances | 18 Ways to Blow a Partnership Opportunity | 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Making Small Business Clients Happy | 10 Ways to Get New 1040 Clients | Before You Even Think about Selling Your Practice…
ANSWER: An alternative question is how much to sell it for. This is a complicated issue with many important variables, some of which are:
The answer is personal, but certain questions can help you decide.
By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor
QUESTION: I have a 20-person, five-partner firm, and am frequently approached by larger firms that want me to merge into them. I own 60 percent of the practice, and am 20 years older than the next oldest partner. Should I merge? I am happy with my situation and am inclined to let my younger partners decide what they want to do. READ MORE →