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It will be decades before the jury is finally in on private equity's impact on the accounting profession, but the preliminary verdict lies somewhere between PE "far outweighing" expectations, and it's being a "dumpster fire."
That's according to Accounting Today's "State of PE in Accounting 2025" survey, which revealed a huge disparity in feeling among partners and staff at PE-backed accounting firms.
At some, respondents report excitement, more staff engagement, and "much-needed financial rigor," while others report "dumpster fires" and cultures grown toxic.
None of this, of course, is conclusive. Compared to the roughly 44,000 accounting firms in the country, vanishingly few — less than 400, by many estimates — have signed up with PE. The accounting practices that have taken deals so far have tended to be high-performing firms, and the majority of them have tended to be larger firms that were able to do extensive due diligence and have a stronger say in the terms of their deal.
As more and more deals are signed between the flood of PE firms looking to copy early pioneers' deals and a broader universe of practices that are smaller and, in many cases, less successful, the possibility of feelings tipping more decisively in one direction or another will grow.
Nonetheless, the thoughts of partners and staff at firms that have been working with PE since it came on the scene in 2022 offer a glimpse of the range of possible outcomes.
The pros
Just under a third of respondents to the Accounting Today survey reported that partnering with private equity had been good for their firm and its culture.
"It has changed for the better," enthused a partner at a large accounting firm. "We historically primarily focused on getting the work done and serving the clients. We didn't spend much time on culture, but we did have a good culture. Our HR department is now forcing us to have offsite meetings to set the value we will focus on for the year. We have more fun events. It's actually refreshing to be a part of a bigger group. The actual benefit has far outweighed the expected benefit."
"Our best people are more engaged and we are achieving more success than we knew we were capable of," said a leader at another large firm. "Not everyone likes the change of pace or accountability, but the best people do."
Both in the survey and in general, one of the most commonly cited changes that PE brings to accounting firms is greater accountability and a higher level of reporting.
"PE investment has brought much-needed financial rigor, processes and infrastructure, which will allow the firm to provide high-quality service to clients and improve the user experience for them and the professional staff," reported a partner at a third large firm.
While not all the respondents who were positive about PE were partners, it's worth noting that partners in general were far more likely to report that they are happy with their firm's experience, with over two-thirds saying they were somewhat or very satisfied, and only 15% of all other employees saying the same.
The cons
Just under half of respondents from firms that had taken deals reported that their cultures had suffered.
"It is a dumpster fire," said one director at a large firm. "Low morale, people leaving, bonuses cut, pay raises eliminated or lowered."
"It's horrible and dysfunctional," agreed a director at very large firm. "Losing clients. Staff leaving. Partners pay more attention to their bank account than taking care of staff. Most partners are counting the days until they can leave with their money in hand."
(Read more from the 2025 'State of PE in Accounting' survey: "
Respondents commonly complain that financial results now matter more than the familial, collaborative culture that many firms have prided themselves on.
"The culture is now profits over people," said a manager at a very large firm. "Leadership doesn't have enough leverage to make important culture decisions. There is very little room for error when it comes to utilization. If you're under your utilization goal by a certain amount for a period of time, they will not hesitate to let you go. You won't be promoted higher than manager unless you are involved in proposals or selling work."
For all the changes that a PE deal may mandate, however, when it comes to specific areas of firm strategy and operations, respondents generally felt that their firm had retained at least some control of most of them.
And lest it seem as if only directors and managers were unhappy, it's worth noting that partners had complaints as well.
"[Our firm now] cares less about serving clients and more about meeting the PE's required metrics," said a partner at a large firm.
And a partner at a very large firm complained, "Partner compensation has taken a large hit, which has affected the engagement of many partners. Most of the extras are also reduced or eliminated."
(Read more: "
In between
Finally, roughly a fifth of respondents reported that they hadn't seen any major changes at their firm.
"There hasn't been a noticeable difference in culture since the PE investment," said a partner at a large CPA firm.
And a partner at a large firm added they haven't seen any major cultural changes: "Not really yet. If anything, there is a slightly greater focus on the things we were already focused on (growth/revenue)."
In all the discussion about how PE will change accounting overall — and there are plenty of concerns there (see below) — it's worth pointing out that any change at an accounting firm will have both fans and detractors.
Even the most traditional merger between two accounting firms, for instance, will have its opponents inside one or both parties, and given the many negative stereotypes about private equity that are currently afloat, it's not unreasonable to suggest that at least some firm employees will never be happy with it.
As one partner at a very large firm put it, "I can't say that it has really changed other than people liking to blame PE for something that feels new - like realization and utilization were always important to us as a firm, but now 'It's PE's fault' that we care about it."
