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The CPA PE Playbook: Private Equity 2026 Outlook & Strategy Guide
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The Definitive Guide to Private Equity’s Transformation of the CPA Profession
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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.
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Trusts Aren’t Just for the Wealthy
Six ways they can be used.
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Danny Lohrfink is the co-founder and chief product officer of Wealth.com. Previously, he was business lead of SoFi’s wealth management division, SoFi Invest, and held several roles at Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, including VP on the PWM Management team. |
By Danny Lohrfink
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management
Contrary to popular belief, a person’s net worth is not the only – or most important – factor when deciding if a trust is appropriate for them. After all a trust is simply an agreement between someone who owns an asset and a trusted person whom they choose to hold and manage that asset for them.
MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management
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This common misconception that trusts are only for the wealthy has long prevailed as a leading narrative because of the historically high costs associated with establishing and managing a trust. These costs presented a barrier for many individuals who lacked the financial resources to hire an expensive estate planning attorney. The result was that only the wealthy had these vehicles because they were the only people who could afford them.
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Three Steps to Better Client Communication
What can you anticipate and prepare for?
By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud
Clients desire transparency. Being transparent with clients and having open, honest communication with them helps build really strong, healthy working relationships. It’s never been so important for us to have open communication channels with our clients at all times no matter what form of communication is being utilized.
MORE by Jody Grunden
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In some organizations, people hide behind their computers if they feel too busy or if they don’t want to face the client because they aren’t able to meet a deadline. We, on the other hand, make it a priority to be available to our clients at all times.
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K-1 Chaos: IRS Throws Rocks at Hornet’s Nest
Don’t get stung. Here’s how.
By CPA Trendlines
CPA Trendlines Academy
CPA Trendlines Academy
Bradley Burnett doesn’t start his 2025 Form 1065 program with a code section. He starts with a warning.
“Throwing rocks at a hornet’s nest,” says Burnett, JD, LLM, is what the IRS is doing to tax preparers. And then he delivers the line that drives the room quiet: “IRS has the bug spray, not us.”
2025 Forms 1065 and K-1s: IRS Throws Rocks at Hornet’s Nest with Bradley Burnett, J.D., LL.M
Full webinar on demand (any time, any device): Learn more | Buy now
The metaphor isn’t about audits. It’s about penalties. The practical risk of partnership returns has less to do with aggressive positions and more to do with incomplete disclosures, mismatched coding and mechanical errors. The danger is not interpretation. It’s the process.
“If the preparer does not do everything that IRS asks us to do,” Burnett warns, “it’s the taxpayer and preparer that get stung.”
Five Solutions for Price-Sensitive Clients
Do they see the ROI?
By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms
No matter how small or large your practice is or how experienced you are, you’re probably going to meet some prospect or clients this busy season who are price-sensitive. Many of you try to run from them as far away as possible, and others of you tell me you have to take these clients or you wouldn’t have a full practice.
MORE by Sandi Leyva
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So you might already have a solution to dealing with price-sensitive clients that you’re happy with. If you don’t, or are ready for more ideas, this post is for you.
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Bissett Bullet: Build On Their First Impression
Today’s Bissett Bullet: “The great proposal document is one that recreates, in part, the empathy and resonance that the prospect experienced when they met us in person.”
By Martin Bissett