Rehmann CEO makes plans for 2026

Rehmann CEO Stacie Kwaiser is planning for the New Year as the Top 50 Firm deals with the many changes from the past year.

The firm, based in Troy, Michigan, also has offices in Ohio and Florida. For next year, Kwaiser is expecting to see the fast pace of 2025 continuing, as Rehmann keeps up with all the changes in technology and the expectations of clients and associates. "All of it comes down to communication and really being aware of what they're looking for and meeting their needs," she said.

Changes have been occurring rapidly in areas such as tax laws, regulation, artificial intelligence and the talent pool available to firms. "What attracts talent is a lot different than what it was five or 10 years ago," said Kwaiser. "They're looking for the continued pursuit of work-life integration, and the amount of flexibility that they would like in trying to find that balance of the professional and personal."

She noted that Rehmann continues to be committed to flexible and alternative work arrangements, with benefits that include extra holidays, paid time off and caregiver support through a service called Cariloop. The firm has a "people first" philosophy.

"We've long been focused on how to support our working parents in building their families, but now it's kind of that circle of life where you're supporting them on the overall family environment, whether it be helping older parents and really navigating that full life cycle, as well as just the overall wellbeing," said Kwaiser. "Compensation is important, but overall benefits allow them to meet that work-life integration that they're looking for. Also from a talent pool perspective, making sure we're continuing to grow our commitment to that culture of putting people first and being open to a more diverse workforce and understanding their needs, that's really just been a continuum. One of our values is putting people first, so continuing to learn more about each other and what drives us. To me, all those things lead to providing career pathing for our associates. The overall associate experience has changed dramatically in my almost 30 years of being in this profession."

Technology changes

The firm has been seeing rapid transformations in technology, and that's likely to continue in the year ahead. "Technology, it goes without saying, is changing faster than ever," said Kwaiser. "As we're looking forward to '26, I think we're in a unique time where you have to execute faster on all the changes that you're putting in play, but you also need to be looking forward to what's coming next. You have to be careful that you don't get distracted by all of that change going on — that you can execute on the goals that you've set, the changes that you've put in place — but make sure you've got a core piece of your team that's also looking forward, trying new applications. We don't ever want to lose that entrepreneurial spirit in working to do things differently."

She believes that as firms make technology changes, they also think about their users, both internal and external. Kwaiser recently wrote a blog post about the need to put people first in digital transformation.

"I think a lot of times organizations think about technology in terms of what it can do internally, but not necessarily what that means for the client experience," she said. "We're seeing a lot of technologies thrown at us and working really hard to become more efficient internally with them, but sometimes what you roll out from a client experience standpoint may not be easy for the end user."

Artificial intelligence has also played a growing role in the accounting profession, but so far Rehmann is using it to a limited extent.

"Our firm has put in policies and guidelines for using it, and it is built into many of our vendor purchase applications," said Kwaiser. "Our vendors continue to invest in how they can use AI to help make us more efficient. And similarly, independently, part of our technology team is looking at how we can leverage AI to allow us to operate more efficiently and effectively."

"We're in the early stages as a profession of figuring out where AI is going to take us, and we have to be open to try and do things to really maximize the power of it," she added. "But we always have to remember it's an assistant and it's not the solution."

Staying independent

One of the main changes in recent years in the accounting profession has been the increasing amount of private equity investment. So far, Rehmann has remained independent, but Kwaiser has mixed feelings about its benefits and drawbacks.

"I would say it, overall, has had a positive influence on our profession, and by that I mean, whether you decide to move forward with private equity or stay independent of that, it's required all of us to change and make sure we're being attractive to that next generation and that we're implementing the technologies, that we're creating that experience for the clients that they want to be part of," she said. "And so whether you choose to go in that direction or not, I think it has helped everybody realize that for our profession to be successful, you need to change and continue to change. I feel like Rehmann has long been open to change. We get better every single day, but it's required us as a whole, as a profession, to change."

Rehmann has not received any private equity funding to date. "We continue to monitor the private equity activity within our profession, and at this time, we're not pursuing it," said Kwaiser. 

Rehmann has a long history of doing mergers, and it did M&A deals earlier this year with Martinet Recchia in the Cleveland suburb of Willoughby, and with Kmetz, Elwell, Graham & Associates in Vero Beach, Florida. Another deal, announced in November with Teeling & Co. in Tampa, is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. 

"M&A has been a big part of our firm's practice," said Kwaiser. "In the last 20 years, we've done 30 mergers of various sizes, so it will definitely continue to be part of our growth strategy, but an organic focus on client service and expanding client relationships will always be the primary focus."

Taxes, tariffs and CPA licensing

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Congress passed in July was one of the biggest changes over the past year, with changes to both individual and business taxes.

"There are changes caused by the Big Beautiful Bill," said Kwaiser. "Some impact broadly many of our clients. Some have a very narrow focus. But either way, our technical teams are very closely monitoring the developments and ultimately the passing of the Big Beautiful Bill, and focusing on working closely with our clients, not only one on one, but also just through various means of communications of all the changes. But first and foremost is spending time with our clients and really making sure we can help them navigate successfully the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill."

Clients have also been feeling the effect of tariffs while trying to plan around the constant changes in tariff policy.

"Obviously tariffs are impacting many of our clients," said Kwaiser. "And the nice thing about us as an organization is you can build subject matter experts in various industries. Those experts are closely monitoring changes and continuing to work very closely with clients that are impacted by that, and helping them navigate that more in a proactive way than a reactive as much as can be managed."

Rehmann is continuing to build its presence in Michigan, Ohio and Florida, and complement its industry specialties. The changes in recent years in CPA licensure requirements may help the firm with its recruiting efforts. "I definitely like the direction that many states are going in terms of creating alternative paths to licensing," said Kwaiser. "In our footprint, Ohio has passed that, and at this point, Florida and Michigan have not yet. It's a state-by-state change, and we do look forward to state legislators moving in that direction. It requires legislative action at the state level. But there is no doubt that the alternative pathways — where it's a bachelor's degree plus two years of work experience versus 150 credit hours and one year of work experience — I definitely think is appealing to students and future CPA candidates."

She supports the efforts of the AICPA's National Pipeline Advisory Group to grow the number of CPAs. "I think the work that they did to identify some of the challenges related to attracting candidates to our profession or students to our profession, and some of the changes that they've put in place or recommended to overcome some of the challenges, are working."