Today's Features
OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Private Equity’s Accounting Playbook Is Shifting from Dealmaking to Operating Systems

Prove It: PE-Backed Firms Must Now Deliver on Their Big Strategies

CPA Trendlines CPA-PE Deal Tracker™ — May 2026

Target Platform/Buyer Sponsor Funding Strategy
Jackson Thornton Ascend Alpine Investors PE-backed Wealth management, Gulf Coast expansion
Jefferson Wells U.S. Sikich Bain Capital involvement Institutionally backed Consulting and staffing capabilities
Copeland Buhl Frazier & Deeter — Conventional M&A First Midwest footprint
Price Kong Aprio Charlesbank PE-backed Arizona and cannabis specialization
SWKJD Citrin Cooperman Blackstone PE-backed South Florida expansion
Gorfine Schiller & Gardyn Sorren DFW Capital PE-backed Mid-Atlantic expansion
Gordon Advisors Cohen & Co. Lovell Minnick PE-backed Michigan expansion
ArightCo Abbott Stringham & Lynch — Conventional M&A CAS and fractional CFO scaling
ASO Advisors Windsor Path Family-office backed Private capital Platform’s second deal
GBC Advisory Springline Advisory Trinity Hunt Partners PE-backed Oklahoma expansion
MCA Connect Grant Thornton Advisors New Mountain Capital PE-backed AI and digital transformation
Burke & Associates Platform Accounting Group / Shoreline Cynosure Group Private capital Massachusetts expansion
Of the month’s notable deals, 10 are funded by outside capital, led by Grant Thornton’s deal for a tech consultancy and Sikich’s for a staffing service.
Half “decidedly opposed” and the other half in favor, in talks or done. (CPA Trendlines Research)

By CPA Trendlines

Marking a new phase in the private equity takeover of the CPA business, the next test for accounting platforms will be proving that serial acquisitions can be converted into integrated firms, not just larger collections of offices, partners and legacy systems.

MORE CPA-PE DEAL TRACKER™: How Big Buyouts Are Turning the Profession into a Platform |  PE Wars: The CPA Platform Economy Is Concentrating Fast | Alan Whitman: Why the Next Big CPA Firms Won’t Look Like CPA Firms | The PE Takeover: Audit Problem? What Audit Problem? | 1,000 Deals Show Where PE Money in Accounting Really Goes. | The 7.6x Machine: How Grassroots Firms Are Taking Private Equity for a Ride | Deal Tracker(™): PE Platforms Accelerate the Grab for CPA Firms | With Apax Sale, CohnReznick Starts Building a National Platform | PE Deal Tracker™ for Feb. 2026: 57 deals in 60 days | PE Deal Tracker™ Update: Alan Whitman Plants a Flag in the Private Equity Landscape | Alan Whitman: Breaking the Mold with PE Backing
MORE Private Equity

Call it: The Implementation Imperative. It’s the place where grand schemes on paper meet the concrete realities of running a business. The first phase was acquisition. The second was consolidation. The next is all about making it work.

The May 2026 edition of the CPA Trendlines CPA-PE Deal Tracker™ illustrates the change. And a CPA Trendlines survey in April shows 44% of accountants are eager, open or already closed on a deal.

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MARKETING & SALES

Are You Asking Enough Life Cycle Questions?

Green "opportunity" highway sign with sunrise background

Use them to raise client awareness of services.

By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor

Part of selling is to have existing clients use more of your services. To do this they must be told the breadth and depth of your firm’s activities. It should be a major goal of every meeting with a client.

Here are a few ways to do it.

MORE by Ed Mendlowitz
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Tax Return Preparation Interviews

The tax return preparation interview, the purpose of which is to gather information, is a tremendous opportunity to find out the concerns of the client and where you can help. The assistance you give can sometimes provide a life-changing benefit to the client while enabling your firm to increase its service base gaining additional revenues. READ MORE →

PRO Member Exclusive

Remove Rocks in the Path to Firm Growth

large rocks in road

Six types and how to move them.

By Domenick J. Esposito
8 Steps to Great

“Tiger Woods did not always win majors with ease; after his narrow victory in the 1999 PGA, he slumped and sighed as if he’d been carrying rocks uphill all afternoon.” – John Updike

MORE by Domenick J. Esposito
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A CPA firm must move many rocks that are on the path to growth. If a firm doesn’t effectively address these rocks, it will not be able to grow at a satisfactory rate.
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ADVISORY & CONSULTING

Make Clients Feel Seen, Heard and Helped

three magnifying glasses leaning on sidesUse a three-lens model for CAS conversations.

By Hitendra Patil

Many client accounting services professionals are eager to offer “advisory,” but they sometimes struggle to make their conversations truly feel like advice. The tools are available, and the data is clean, yet something still feels a bit off.

MORE by Hitendra Patil
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Why? Because most client interactions rely on reactive reporting, when they should be guided by proactive exploration, and that’s the problem. CAS is far more than just about what you say. It’s about how your insights meet your client’s world.
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ADVISORY & CONSULTING

Make Your Clients Look Forward to Meeting with You

illustration of the progression of economic value

Every interaction is an opportunity.

By Rory Henry
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

In tracing the trajectory of economic evolution, each phase represents a profound transformation, often driven by technological advancements. For instance, the Industrial Revolution transformed the U.S. from an agrarian economy to a manufacturing economy that created tangible assets (i.e., finished goods) out of raw materials. In recent decades, the U.S. went through a digital revolution, moving us from a manufacturing economy to a service-based economy that produces intangible assets.

MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management
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This shift was emblematic of a broader transition from making tangible goods to delivering intangible services. The service economy burgeoned, with a focus on delivering services, e.g., tax services, financial services and estate planning legal services.

Now, we are in the midst of another paradigm shift. Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming us from a service economy to one based on providing the consumer with experiences and guiding them through life transformations. The AI era is not just about automating routine tasks, but fostering an environment in which we transcend traditional service delivery.
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