Ask CPA Trendlines
Now, with smarter search, deeper analysis, more detailed responses (v.2.7).
Today's Features
PE Deal Tracker Update: Alan Whitman Plants a Flag in the Private Equity Landscape
Tracker surges into 2026 with more than 200 transactions.
In January alone, dozens of private-equity-backed deals surfaced — more than a quarter of all 12 months last year. And it hasn’t slowed down yet.
By CPA Trendlines Research
Cornerstone Reports
Former Baker Tilly CEO Alan Whitman is returning to the center of accounting’s private equity vortex with a new mandate and a new sponsor, taking the helm of a newly capitalized triple-threat CPA firm, insurance agency, and transaction consultancy.
MORE Alan Whitman: Breaking the Mold with PE Backing | Holistic Guide | Whitman: Build Culture on ‘Progress,’ Not Change |Moss Adams-Baker Tilly Merger: Bigger Isn’t Better. Better Is Better. | Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management | Cornerstone Reports | Private Equity
In the new edition of the CPA Trendlines PE Deal Tracker™, Madison Dearborn Partners, the Chicago-based private equity firm, founded in 1992 and managing more than $28 billion in assets, is backing the combination of Nichols Cauley, a Georgia-based CPA firm, with Partners Risk Services and JGH Consulting in a three-entity formation designed not as a tuck-in acquisition but as an integrated advisory foundation from inception.
At Nichols, an eight-office regional leader, Whitman may be inventing more than the next generation of CPA firms. It could be a new breed. “It’s going to be a lot of fun scaling a new product,” Whitman tells CPA Trendlines’ Rory Henry in the latest episode of The Holitic Guide to Wealth Management. “It’s kind of a new category in the space.”
The CPA PE Playbook: Private Equity 2026 Outlook & Strategy Guide
[PRO Members-Only Bonus]
The Definitive Guide to Private Equity’s Transformation of the CPA Profession
Exclusively for PRO Members Only, here
Not yet a PRO Member? Go PRO here
By CPA Trendlines Research
The accounting profession is changing faster than at any time in its modern history—and private equity is driving the shift. More than $30 billion in new capital has entered CPA firms since 2020, igniting a powerful wave of consolidation, modernization, and strategic reinvention. Firms that once relied on incremental growth and traditional partnership structures are now operating as high-performance platforms built for scale, technology adoption, and national reach.
The CPA PE Playbook is the most comprehensive analysis available today on this historic transformation.
If you want to know where the profession is heading, how PE-backed firms are competing, and what it will take to thrive in the next decade, this is the report you need.
Exclusively for PRO Members Only
(PRO Member Log in required)
Not yet a PRO Member? Upgrade with one of today’s great offers here.
Why Tax Clients Fire Their Accountants
Here are 21 complaints. What could you be preventing?
By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide
Clients have many choices, including the choice of a tax preparer. Every new client an accountant gets is because that client left – fired – their previous accountant.
MORE by Ed Mendlowitz
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
So why do clients leave?
Here are 21 good reasons why they should: READ MORE →
Want Better Leaders? Grow Your Own
A development academy might be the answer.
By Domenick J. Esposito
8 Steps to Great
When it’s time to make decisions about new partner admissions, here is what senior leadership at many small and midsized CPA firms often hear:
- “If Mary doesn’t make audit partner this year, she will leave the firm. We can’t afford to lose her as she gets all the work done at ABC Manufacturing Corporation, who pays us over $300,000 a year. Without Mary, this client will leave the firm” and
- “We need to make Joe a tax partner this year because he is the only one in the firm who understands ‘C.’ Without him, we will have a big hole in our tax department capabilities. It could put a big hurt on the firm.”
MORE by Domenick J. Esposito
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
In their guts, these leaders know that, while both Mary and Joe are solid professionals, there is little chance that either of them will develop beyond client service partners.
READ MORE →
Jody Padar: The New Playbook Is AI-Powered and Human-Centered | Big 4 Transparency
AI Won’t Replace Accountants. Instead, It Will Rewire the Business Model.
This is a preview. The complete episode is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by The Balanced Millionaire: The Advisor Edition by Dr. Jackie Meyer | See Today’s Special Offer
Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS.
Big 4 Transparency
With Dominic Piscopo, CPA
Jody Padar, widely known as “The Radical CPA” and author of Radical Pricing, argues the future of accounting won’t be won by automation alone, but by a business model shift that elevates human judgment, advisory, and client relationships.
MORE Dominic Piscopo | AI | Pay & Compensation
In the new episode of the Big 4 Transparency Podcast, Padar joins host Dominic Piscopo to trace her path from early cloud-firm pioneer to venture-backed operator and to explain why her newest venture, Xcel Labs, is focused on training CPAs to think and lead differently in an AI-first world. Xcel Labs’ Navi aims to build empathy and leadership at scale.
Six Vital KPIs for Advisory-CAS Success
Plus four client outcomes for measuring impact.
By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide
Client Advisory Services (CAS) are truly changing the way we see accounting. Now, it’s less about the hours you put in and more about the positive difference you make. The success of CAS isn’t just reflected in financial reports or dashboards, but also in how well clients do and how much the firm grows overall.
MORE by Hitendra Patil
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
To reach your goals, it helps to measure carefully. Keep track of key signals and use them as a guide to improve how you serve, grow and create meaningful value. According to our CAS survey, 49.6 percent of firms say the most important success metric is becoming more of a “one-stop shop” for clients, while 14.6 percent focus on solving more problems for clients.
Let’s explore how you can set up measurements for your CAS practice.
READ MORE →
The Six Stages of 401(k) Audits
Keep the process from dragging on.
By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud
As with any service area, it’s important to have a solid process in place. Without one, it can be a little bit like the Wild West! The 401(k) audit process involves six stages, which are typically completed within four to eight weeks.
MORE by Jody Grunden
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
Once a prospective client confirms they want Summit to complete their audit, we send them the engagement letter and the questionnaires along with the governance planning memo that we’re required to give them.
READ MORE →