MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Call and Geraci: Future-Proofing Without P.E. | Gear Up For Growth

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Reserves, credit lines, and leadership pipelines fuel expansion.

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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

“Fiercely independent isn’t a strategy, it’s a stance,” says John Geraci, managing partner of LGA CPAs & Advisors. “To truly remain independent, firms must be strategic about how they differentiate themselves, understand the threats posed by private equity, and have the conviction to invest in their people and future leaders.” 

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Geraci and Jeff Call, managing partner of Bennett Thrasher, were guests on Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing.  

As private equity continues to reshape the accounting profession, both leaders agree on two critical factors for firms choosing to remain self-owned: independence must be intentional, and culture is the ultimate differentiator. 

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Avoid These Fifteen Merger Deal Breakers

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man tearing a piece of paper in half

PLUS: The proper process in 21 steps.

By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide

It’s important to understand the flow of the entire merger process.

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Every merger has its unique aspects. It’s impossible to choreograph, from A to Z, exactly how the process for all mergers will work. The steps in the process listed below appear in the order of how they commonly occur.

But again, because all mergers are different, the flow of the steps might vary from merger to merger.

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Shein: No PE? No M&A? No Problem | The Disruptors

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There’s more than one way to scale.

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The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Steve Shein thought small accounting firms need a different option than private equity or the traditional M&A route. So he founded Franklin Alliance, which operates differently from either of those models.  

Unlike traditional private equity models that typically focus on cost reduction and mandate immediate process changes, Franklin Alliance operates as an investment partner with a fundamentally different structure. “We’re trying to build this intentionally, with the goal of being a differentiated partner, specifically for small firm owners who care about things like culture, autonomy, and their firm identity,” Shein explains. 

MORE STREAMING: Hood and Weber: Time to RISE | Proctor: Turn Dumb Ideas into Brilliant Solutions | Carter-Gray: How 1 Poor Review Strengthened the Firm | Hartman: Upwork to “40 Under 40” in 3 Years | Telka: Transform Fear into Fuel | Woodard: Move Past Reports; Deliver Results | Baker: Find True Purpose to End Burnout | Brolin: The W.I.N. Leadership Formula | Gertrudes: How EOS & “Unreasonable Hospitality” Reshaped GrowthLab | Vilms: The Power of People in a Tech-Driven World | Dickerson: From Diagnosis to Disruption | Kapilovich: Treat People Like People | Martha Yasso: From Wall Street to Main Street | Jackie Meyer: Tax Plans in 90 Seconds? Believe It  | Erica Goode: Build a $200K Firm in 15hrs/Week |

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“We built this platform as an operating company specifically so we’re not a fund,” Shein explains. “It’s backed by venture capital and family offices, which basically means that the profile of the investors that we’ve taken capital from has a longer-term time horizon.” 

This structure enables what Shein calls a “culture of growth rather than a kind of cost rationalization,” which is a better fit for many small firms. The approach contrasts with acquisitions by regional firms, where acquired firms are generally forced to adopt new processes, workflows, and technology within 90 days. 

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How to Attract the Best Merger Candidates

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Man's hand sowing wheat

Never stop looking.

By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide

Firms that are serious about merging in smaller firms on a regular basis understand that doing mergers is all about planting seeds. A buyer has to have this attitude:

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Every day of every year, at least one firm decides to test the merger waters. If our efforts to identify sellers are made continuously throughout the year, every year, sooner or later, we will find at least one interested merger candidate and probably more than one.

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Four Steps to Finding a Seller

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Businessman stacking coins

BONUS: A sample letter to send.

By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide

In all areas of mergers and acquisitions, it’s always much more difficult to find sellers than buyers. This is certainly true in the case of CPA firms.

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CPA firm merger consultants and brokers can do a great job finding buyers, but they are limited in their ability to dig up sellers. This is because the vast majority of all mergers and sales take place when buyers or sellers who “know each other” get together on their own without the help of a consultant.

One way to identify sellers is to do a snail mail solicitation. Here’s the four-step process:
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Win at M&A without Overpaying

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https://cpatrendlines.com/2021/11/09/why-its-time-for-an-acquisition/

Seven tips for being a strong acquirer.

By Ira Rosenbloom

In today’s hyperactive CPA firm M&A market, buyers are circling many of the same opportunities. Private equity and alternative investors can often offer more cash but that doesn’t mean they always win – or that the highest offer does.

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Securing the deal you want depends on the right ingredients for a strong outcome. Based on our knowledge of the success factors for winning, we offer the following recommendations – especially if you are a more traditional acquirer:
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Tyree: Cracking the Code for Successful M&As | Gear Up For Growth

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Trust, values, and local connections are fueling the national rise of one of accounting’s newest Top 50 firms.

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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

4ImpactData: 10X Your Advisory. Not Your Headcount

“If we say we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it. And that’s how you build trust,” says Josh Tyree, president of Sorren, during an episode of Gear Up for Growth. Host Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing, sat down with Tyree to discuss how the newly-formed Top 50 firm – created by the combination of 13 BDO Alliance firms – is navigating large-scale integration while laying the foundation for national growth. 

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The conversation reveals two critical lessons for CPA firms considering mergers or expansion.

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CPA Firm Ownership Under Fire | ARC

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

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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 Plan | What Career Advice Gets Wrong for Gen Z – And How to Fix It |Your Identity is Not a Liability | What Happens in Vegas… Gets Reported on a Tax Return | Burnout, Be Gone: Accounting Needs a Boundary Breakthrough | The Ultimate Business Hack You’re Probably Ignoring | Resilience, Real Talk, and the Road to Mental Wellness | Blockchain Could Still Reshape Accounting | What 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.

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Thirteen Reasons Why Accounting Firms Merge

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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.

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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.
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