Accounting Firms Face Up to Private Equity

It should be a record year for M&A.

By Allan Koltin
The Rosenberg MAP Survey: National Study of CPA Firm Statistics

If the last 12 months was the “calm before the storm,” the next 12 months will be the start of the storm! I think we will see some of the Big 4 entering into a “conscious uncoupling” and tax planning and consulting going “left” and assurance going “right.”

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I also think we will see some of the Big 4 firms truly coming together as one global firm. Today we have global brands but the firms operate as separate partnerships and don’t operate as one firm when it comes to partner compensation or decision making. I think this will change and ultimately a majority of the Top 10 firms will in fact operate as global businesses. I also think we will see a majority of the Top 20 CPA firms go the way of private equity (that’s not a typo!).

Posted on October 12, 2022

Allan D. Koltin

About the Author

Allan D. Koltin, CPA, CEO of the Koltin Consulting Group, is a nationally recognized speaker and industry analyst, he has appeared on the CNN, WGN and Fox Television networks and has been quoted frequently in such media as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and New York Post, as well as Bloomberg News, BBC World Service, Business Week, Forbes and Reuters. He has also spoken nationally and internationally at hundreds of conferences including those held by the AICPA, international CPA associations, and state CPA societies. For fifteen consecutive years, Allan has been named by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the accounting profession. In 2010, he was the only consultant among the top 10 vote-getters, which include such notables as President Barack Obama, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, SEC Chair Mary Schapiro, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman and AICPA President Barry Melancon. Koltin was also voted one of the 10 Most Recommended Consultants for the tenth straight year in the "Annual Survey of Firms" conducted by INSIDE Public Accounting. In 2012 through 2014, Allan was named by CPA Practice Advisor as one of the Top 25 Thought Leaders in the profession. He was one of the first inducted into the Accounting Marketing Hall of Fame by the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM). He has also been a recipient of the NACVA Instructor of the Year Award and winner of the Journal of Accountancy Literacy Award. Previously he was recognized by the Illinois CPA Society with the Distinguished Service Award for outstanding service and commitment to the profession. Koltin is the author-editor of three books for professional services firms: CPA Firm Merger Strategies That Work, CPAs That Sell and the AICPA's Marketing a Consulting Niche. He serves or has served on the editorial advisory boards of CPA Practice Management Forum, the Journal of Accountancy, Accounting Today, Public Accounting Report and Law Firm Management. He is a founding member of The Advisory Board, a think tank for the accounting profession, and has served on various advisory boards, including Outsource Partners International (OPI), the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM), the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA) and H&R Block (HRB Business Services). Previously, Allan was the President and CEO of PDI, Global, Inc. which was the largest publisher of marketing newsletters for professional services firms, prior to its sale to Thomson Reuters in January of 2011. Prior to that, Allan was a Senior Partner in the Chicago-based accounting and consulting firm of FERS, where he served as the leader of the Investment Banking Group, as well as the Law Firm Consulting Group. At age 27, Allan had the distinction of being named the youngest partner in the history of the firm and was also a member of the firm's Executive Committee. FERS was acquired by H&R Block in 1998.

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