Eighteen Stumbling Blocks to Merging in Smaller Firms

Man rubbing his eye and holding glasses while looking at computer with notes stuck to side

Fortunately, they all can be overcome … if everyone is willing.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Practice Management Library

Though not universally true, larger firms will find many aspects of smaller firms to be below their own standards.

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The questions that the acquiring firm needs to ask are:

  • How severe are these weaknesses?

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Jeremy Dubow: Raising the Bar for Talent | Big 4 Transparency

Why equity is the new standard for talent retention.

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Big 4 Transparency
By Dominic Piscopo, CPA
For CPA Trendlines

Jeremy Dubow, CEO and co-founder of Chicago-based, private-equity-backed Prosperity Partners, explains how entrepreneurship in accounting has shifted from demand-driven to capacity-constrained, and why transparent equity programs are becoming the new standard for talent retention.

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Dubow joins Dominic Piscopo on Big 4 Transparency to discuss how accounting-firm entrepreneurship and the operating model required to scale have changed since he co-founded NDH in 2003. NDH later sold to private equity and rebranded as Prosperity Partners, which Dubow described as a case study in how firms are adapting to labor constraints, expanding client complexity, and rising expectations around technology and talent strategy.

Quotables
“The demand for accounting services is greater than it ever has been. The challenge is providing the service at a high level in a labor-constrained environment.”
“AI in and of itself is not right now the solution to solve all our problems. Using automation and offshoring gives us the operational leverage to create that capacity.”
“I recognize that my people are being attempted to be poached every single day of the year.”
“Why have a stock price if you don’t disclose what it is?”
“‘’If I worked that 80-hour week, you should too.’ Well, guess what? That doesn’t work anymore.”

Dubow argues the profession has shifted from a demand constraint to a capacity constraint. Client needs continue to expand, but firms increasingly struggle to staff and deliver services proactively at scale.

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Twelve Great Reasons to Merge In a Smaller Accounting Firm

Silhouetted figures against US outline map

Obtain a niche, acquire talent and more.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Practice Management Library

If an opportunity to merge in a smaller firm were presented to you, would you be interested in pursuing it?

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My guess is that in excess of 90 percent of all CPA firms would answer this question with a resounding “yes!”
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Merging Up? Settle These Twenty Items

green marker checking boxes

 

The smaller firm gets a say, so decide what you want.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Practice Management Library

When a small firm considers merging upward, they listen to the terms offered by the larger firm and decide whether they can accept them. Through a combination of face-to-face meetings, negotiation sessions, telephone calls and review of materials, the seller should be comfortable with each of the following:

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1. Hopefully, you have identified the problems and the goals you have for the merger (retirement, access to staff, technical expertise, management capabilities, etc.). Do you see each of these problems and goals actually being addressed and resolved with the merger?
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