How to Disengage Clients

BONUS: Two sample letters.

By August Aquila
MAX: Maximize Productivity, Profitability and Client Retention

Disengaging clients in a professional services firm is a sensitive process that requires careful consideration to maintain positive relationships and uphold your firm’s reputation. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it professionally:

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Review Contracts and Agreements: Begin by reviewing the terms of your engagement contracts or agreements with the client. Understand any clauses related to termination or disengagement and follow those guidelines.

Posted on September 3, 2025

August J. Aquila

About the Author

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MAX: Maximize Productivity, Profitability and Client Retention

The New Growth Engine. Complete with Strategies, Tools, Checklists, and Action Plans

August J. Aquila is an internationally known speaker, consultant and author and has held leading positions in the accounting profession for more than 25 years. He is CEO of AQUILA Global Advisors, a full-service consulting firm to accounting and other professional service firms in the US, Canada UK and India. August focuses his consulting on designing compensation plans, resolving organizational and partner issues, transition planning and developing strategic plans.

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Before starting AQUILA Global Advisors, he held several executive leadership positions with American Express Tax and Business Services, Inc. He was also a partner in a top 50 firm and regional marketing director for Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC) in Chicago. In 2003, he was elected into the Association for Accounting Marketing’s Hall of Fame and was selected as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in The Accounting Profession” by Accounting Today for several years.

He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on practice management, mergers and acquisitions, and compensation plan designs. Recent books include The CA Firm of the Future (Bombay CA Society, 2013), Performance is Everything (AICPA 2012), Compensation as a Strategic Asset (AICPA 2007) and Client at the Core (John Wiley & Sons 2004). August is also a co-author, with Robert J. Lees and Derek Klyhn, of Leadership at its Strongest: What Successful Managing Partners Do (Bay Street Group LLC, 2013), the ground-breaking research on how managing partners drive improvements in their firm’s competitive and financial performance

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