CPA Firm Ownership Under Fire | ARC

As private equity reshapes the profession, accounting leaders debate who should hold the keys to ownership.

Sponsored by The Small Office / Home Office Cyber Protection Plan – Learn more here

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: AppleGoogle/YoutubeSpotifyiHeartDeezer, Amazon Music, AudiblePlayer FMAudacy, RSS.

Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

When New York passed the first CPA licensure law in 1896, the goal was simple: protect the public by ensuring financial professionals met high standards. More than a century later, that mandate is at the heart of a heated debate about who should be allowed to own CPA firms.

MORE Accounting ARC: Walking Violation: When Showing Your CPA Gets You in Trouble | Audit Bags to TikTok Tags, Gen Z Talks Success | Students Challenge Accounting’s Traditional Career Path | True Grit: Recognizing Struggles That Shape Our Successes | More Admins, Fewer Students, No PlanWhat Career Advice Gets Wrong for Gen Z – And How to Fix It |Your Identity is Not a LiabilityWhat Happens in Vegas… Gets Reported on a Tax ReturnBurnout, Be Gone: Accounting Needs a Boundary BreakthroughThe Ultimate Business Hack You’re Probably IgnoringResilience, Real Talk, and the Road to Mental WellnessBlockchain Could Still Reshape AccountingWhat Gen Z Wants from Business | Firm Differentiation Depends Upon Client Service

In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Liz Mason, CPA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, explore the evolution of firm ownership rules and their implications for the profession.

READ MORE →

Thirteen Reasons Why Accounting Firms Merge

Executive woman and man in business meeting

Check your motivation, then create your strategy.

By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide

Why do firms merge?

Whether you’re looking to acquire a smaller firm, merge upward into a larger one or join forces with an equal, answering this basic question honestly and objectively is key to laying the groundwork for a successful merger.

MORE by Marc Rosenberg
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

In the chart below, the main reasons that firms seek mergers are listed. Some of these objectives will benefit all parties across the board, while others provide the greatest advantage to one or the other of the merger partners based on their unique situation.
READ MORE →

Ruparel: Boost Productivity by 3X | Big 4 Transparency

Equity pathways, training, and culture—not payouts—will determine which firms thrive in the PE era.

This is a preview. The complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by “It’s NOT Just the Numbers: How to Move Beyond the Numbers and Deliver REAL Value for Your Clients.”
by Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead. See Today’s Special Offer

Stream, listen, download, and subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: AppleGoogle/YoutubeSpotifyiHeartDeezer, Amazon Music and AudiblePlayer FMAudacy, RSS

Big 4 Transparency
By Dominic Piscopo, CPA
For CPA Trendlines

Brace yourself: Revenue per employee is projected to grow 2.7 times over the next decade, while 87% of the workforce will have less than 10 years of experience by 2035.

That dual pressure, Nishaad Ruparel, president of private equity-backed Ascend, tells Dom Piscopo in today’s episode of Big4 Transparency, demands a rethinking of ownership, training, and culture across the profession. And it’s why the most progressive firms are not grabbing payouts—they’re betting on equity pathways, people-first strategy, and selective centralization to compete in the PE era.

MORE Dominic PiscopoMORE Private EquityMORE Pay & Compensation

“These firms are looking at their clients and saying, ‘I’ve served this market for 50 years – how do I keep doing that in a way that’s synonymous with excellence?’” Ruparel explains. “Then they look at their people, at their deep bench, and ask how they can secure their future. And they realize: the cost of independence is rising fast.” 

READ MORE →

Six Questions for Assessing a Merger

Two men shaking hands as woman stands with one

And three reasons that firms hesitate.

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:

  • Sellers who are sole practitioners and multipartner firms under $2 million
  • Buyers with annual revenues of $3 million and larger

MORE by Marc Rosenberg
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

Do mergers work?

Ask a partner from a smaller firm that merged upward whether the match has proven successful, and the likelihood is you’ll get a less than enthusiastic response. Why isn’t this partner jumping for joy? Is it because the merger didn’t work? Usually not.
READ MORE →