private equity
Goldman Bets $75 Million on Fieldguide: AuditTech Comes of Age
Jeremy Dubow: Raising the Bar for Talent | Big 4 Transparency
Poe: What P.E. Really Wants from Firms | The Disruptors
Beyond revenue and margins, buyers are scrutinizing teams, culture, and operational health.
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The Disruptors
With Liz Farr
Brannon Poe, founder of Poe Group Advisors, says the key to a successful firm transaction is fit.
“I think having a good deal is really about having a good fit,” he says. Besides technical skills, “you have to have management styles that mesh well, you have to have client service philosophies that are aligned,” he explains.
MORE STREAMING:MORE STREAMING: Oliver: Build a Biz that Runs Without You | Daiber: Use Succession as a Growth Strategy | Cannon: Busy Season is Self-Inflicted | Carroll: When One Person Can Break the Firm | Rampe: Build a Roadmap Even When the Road’s Not There | Chang: Killing SALY, One Agent at a Time | Vanover: 5-Star Firms Don’t Bill by the Hour | Kless: Profit Is a Result. Flourishing Is the Purpose | Whitman: Build Culture on ‘Progress,’ Not Change | Shein: No PE? No M&A? No Problem | 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 |
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For sellers, choosing the right buyer matters as much as the price. “I find that the sellers in particular, who keep their focus on fit and choose the right buyer, usually are the happiest with their exit.”
The last few years have created favorable conditions for accounting firm sales, but not for everyone.
Regulators Put PE Under the Microscope
Private equity meets public trust.

By CPA Trendlines Research
The nation’s accounting regulators are signaling that private equity’s rapid expansion into CPA firms has reached a point that demands closer scrutiny.
MORE Private Equity
In a new white paper, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy lays out a framework of questions that could shape the next phase of regulation for firms backed by private equity or operating under alternative practice structures. At the same time, senior officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission are warning CPA firms to remain focused on “the basics.” The AICPA is also considering revising its independence regime.


