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.
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 →
Young accountants still want to become leaders. They just don’t want to work the way many of today’s leaders do.
A 2026 KPMG intern survey cited by burnout coach Lynnette Oss Connell finds 92% of interns aspire to reach the C-suite or another senior executive role. Yet the workplace behavior they most want eliminated is an “always-available” culture.
For accounting firms worried about keeping their next generation of managers and partners, Oss Connell says younger professionals hear firms encouraging boundaries and work-life balance while watching managers and partners remain constantly connected, work long hours and push through stress.
Sustainable growth comes from cultivating trust over time—not collecting contacts, memorizing sales scripts or forcing professionals into uncomfortable networking routines.
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MOVE Like This With Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk
For CPA Trendlines Research
In this episode of MOVE Like This, Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk sits down with Leah Yoneda, founder and CEO of Golden Ginkgo Group, to explore why so many talented accounting professionals struggle with business development and why the problem often has less to do with personality than with how firms define, teach, and reward growth.
Yoneda argues that firms frequently wait until professionals are on the doorstep of partnership before introducing business development, then expect them to master an entirely different skill set with little guidance or support.
Rather than treating relationship building as a long-term professional competency, many firms reduce it to a one-time training session or a list of networking tactics. She believes this approach sets professionals up for unnecessary stress and overlooks the fact that meaningful business development takes years to develop.
A significant portion of the conversation focuses on introversion and the misconceptions surrounding it.
The same services that deepen client relationships can create new risks unless firms establish clear procedures and accountability.
Akalp
By Nellie Akalp
Nellie Akalp is the CEO of CorpNet.com, which handles business formation, tax registration and ongoing government compliance filings nationwide, selling many of those services through accountants and other professional advisers.
As accounting firms expand their client offerings to include services such as registered agent representation, business formations, and annual report filings, they encounter new compliance responsibilities along with opportunities to generate additional revenue.
Compliance no longer applies only to tax laws and professional standards. Firms offering a broader range of business services may need to address regulatory requirements, operational controls, risk management, data protection, and technology governance.
‘Growth can create problems as readily as it creates opportunities.’
This evolution creates a need for a compliance stack that allows a firm to grow without unnecessarily increasing its exposure.
A compliance stack is the collection of policies, controls, processes, documentation, technology, and external resources an organization uses to meet its compliance responsibilities. Together, these components provide the infrastructure needed to deliver additional services consistently and manage the risks those services introduce. Without that infrastructure, growth can create problems as readily as it creates opportunities. READ MORE →
But CBIZ Was Already Looking for a Way Out When Grant Thornton Called
A galaxy of firms involved in the CBIZ-GT deal.
The board rejected $47, $52 and $54.30 a share — and asked for $56 — before a June 8 “best and final” $55.
By CPA Trendlines Research
Special Report
CBIZ was looking for a way out of its predicament months before Grant Thornton called, and longer still before an activist investor wrote to tell the board what to do. In the end, CBIZ took $55 per share from Grant Thornton, but only after rejecting three lower offers from the firm.
MORE Special Report on the CBIZ-Grant Thornton Deal:
COMING NEXT: Was CBIZ CEO Jerry Grisko Worth It? MOREPrivate Equity
In March, with the stock at $27 and falling toward $25 — roughly 70% below its February 2025 peak — CBIZ’s board went to Goldman Sachs for a preliminary view of what the company was worth and what its strategic alternatives were, “if any.”
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