MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Dillon: A Sustainable, No-Debt Path to Firm Expansion | Big 4 Transparency

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Acquisition isn’t assimilation—it’s alignment.

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Big 4 Transparency
By Dominic Piscopo, CPA
For CPA Trendlines

On the latest episode of The Big 4 Transparency Podcast, Marcus Dillon, founder and president of Dillon Business Advisors, offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the art of accounting firm acquisitions and what happens after the deal closes. Having completed 15 M&A transactions, Dillon has quietly built a hybrid growth model that blends strategic purchasing with equally strategic divestitures, helping him scale while staying lean and focused. 

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Dilon’s approach flips conventional acquisition thinking on its head. Rather than simply absorbing the full book of business, Dillon’s team audits each client against their firm’s service model and values, and often sells off the clients who don’t fit. “We apply the 80/20 rule early in the due diligence phase,” he explains. “Twenty percent of the clients typically generate 80 percent of the revenue, and the rest are often where the frustration lies.” That filtering strategy, he says, allows for faster onboarding, better client service, and less internal chaos

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Considering a Merger? Be Smart About It

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view from below of four people, each holding a jigsaw puzzle piece and matching it to the others

Plus 10 tips for buyers.

By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide

“Alone we can do so little but together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

“When you look at a deal and its structure looks like an octopus or a spider, just don’t do it.” – Timothy Sloan CFO Wells Fargo

All businesses boost their top and bottom lines with mergers. It’s a common strategy for growth and strong performance.

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CPA firms largely failed to recognize this until the start of the century. Today, firms clearly understand that mergers can and should be a major contributor to growth, profitability and success.
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Succession Takes the Driver’s Seat in Private Equity Boom

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PE Specialists: Top row: Fligel, Pellen, Onefater. Bottom: Whitman, Wurtzbacher, O’Donnell

As Wall Street turns its eyes on mid-sized firms.

By CPA Trendlines

Succession is fast emerging as the defining force behind the private-equity-fueled M&A surge, transforming the accounting profession.

Partners in their late 50s, 60s, and 70s — many of whom never documented a transition plan — stare at retirement without successors. That urgency is pushing small and mid-sized CPA firms into the arms of private equity buyers and national consolidators at unprecedented rates.

GET MORE: Ask CPA Trendlines about the private equity boom

ALSO: Private Equity in Accounting | Private Equity Update: 53 Deals, $29 Billion | Deal or No Deal? The P.E. Dilemma for CPAs | Johnston: Private Equity, Shady Vendors, and Broken Software | Brannon Poe: PE Drives Prices–And Change | Behind Sorren’s Roll-Up: $170 Million, 1,000 Employees, 85 Partners | Kopelman: Culture & Capital Fuel Aprio’s Rise | Gear Up For Growth | Ira Rosenbloom: M&A Money’s Easy – Culture Fit’s Hard | Gary Shamis: The Private Equity Hazards for Young Partners | Alex Drost: Firms Get Scrappy Against PE-Backed Competitors | Tim Brackney: Don’t Blame Private Equity. Blame the Accountants |

“It’s no longer a question of whether you need a plan — it’s whether you have the right one,” says James S. Pellen, managing partner at Hertz Herson CPA LLP, speaking at a New York CPA society event. “Succession isn’t just about retiring; it’s about ensuring the firm survives and thrives after you’re gone.”

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Brannon Poe: PE Drives Prices–And Change | Accounting Influencers

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What forces are really driving firm sales—and what separates the sellable from the stagnant?

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Accounting Influencers
with Rob Brown

The great reshuffle in accounting is underway.

With three-quarters of the profession approaching retirement age and M&A activity reaching historic highs, many firm owners ask the same question: What’s my practice worth?

Brannon Poe, CPA, founder of Poe Group Advisors, joins the Accounting Influencers to offer a rare, inside look at how deals are being made, what buyers are looking for, and how firm owners can prepare for a successful exit, whether it’s five weeks or five years away.

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