2026 outlook

2026 Outlook: Why Small Firms, PE Giants, and the Middle Are Headed in Different Directions

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A profession splitting in three.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The U.S. accounting profession is no longer moving along a single growth continuum. It is splitting into three distinct economic paths—each governed by a different logic, facing different challenges, and offering different prospects. In 2026, these paths are likely to diverge further.

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At one end, solo and micro-firm accountants are increasingly choosing independence and control over scale. At the other end, large firms backed by private equity are consolidating aggressively in areas where profits are already concentrated. Between them sits the traditional mid-size firm, caught between two models that are pulling the profession apart.

For many mid-size firms, 2026 will force a choice: Grow larger and enter the consolidation race? Or deliberately shrink, specialize, and adopt a more solo-like economic model?

For smaller practices, it means they will find a supportive environment, provided they specialize and price their services intelligently. Large firms will accelerate consolidation and extract scale-driven returns. And mid-size firms will face increasing pressure to choose a direction. READ MORE →

Whitman: New Firm Deals: Flexibility, Culture, and the Rise of “31 Flavors” | Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

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Firms that prioritize, listen, and align position themselves for better long-term outcomes.  

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By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™
For CPA Trendlines

Phil Whitman, President and CEO of Whitman Advisory, works with hundreds of CPA firms and more than 230 strategic investors across private equity, family offices, wealth management aggregators, and publicly traded consolidators. He sees a profession undergoing unprecedented transformation, and Whitman has a front-row seat.

In this episode of Holistic Guide to Wealth Management, Whitman shares his observations with me from his unique vantage point.  

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Whitman points to 2021 as the inflection point for the profession’s transition. That’s when EisnerAmper became the first major CPA firm to accept private equity (PE) investment, followed shortly by Citrin and Cherry Bekaert. Those deals opened the gates for capital providers and ignited a wave of consolidation across firms of all sizes. The profession hasn’t looked back since. 

Transaction activity has since accelerated, creating unprecedented competition for deals and pushing accounting firm valuations into territory the profession has never seen before.

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The 8 Mega Trends Every CPA Needs to Understand before 2026

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What happens to accountants when AI agents run the economy.

By CPA Trendlines Research

For most of the past decade, “digital transformation” meant faster systems, better dashboards, and incremental automation layered on top of human decision-making. By 2026, that framing will no longer hold.

The defining shift now underway is not simply more technology, but who—or what—executes economic activity. Across finance, operations, compliance, and professional services, autonomous systems are moving from support roles into execution roles. Software is no longer just informing decisions. it is initiating them.

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That transition is reshaping how work is done, how risk is distributed, and how trust is established. It is also quietly repositioning the tax and accounting profession—from recordkeeper and reviewer to certifier of machine-driven outcomes.

CPA Trendlines believes eight mega trends will define 2026—not as isolated developments, but as a converging system change. READ MORE →

What’s In, What’s Out for the Digital CPA in 2026

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Cloud Foundations Out, AI-Powered Growth In.

People you know: Some of the CPA Trendlines contributors and collaborators on the agenda at the 2025 Digital CPA conference.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Tax and accounting firms appear poised in 2026 to double down on AI-driven services, accelerate developments in blockchain accounting, add new automations to CAS platforms, pursue transformative audits, and reimagine talent pipelines.

MORE: Tech and Fintech

If this year’s Digital CPA Conference in Washington, D.C., is any indication, then 2026 will be characterized by AI ubiquity, CAS at the core, and strategic boldness.

Comparing the 2024 and 2025 events back-to-back reveals a dramatic evolution in themes, speakers, and firm strategies — effectively a “what’s out vs. what’s in” for the profession.

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