The accounting profession is known for being cautious and consistent, but it's getting more and more difficult to ignore that firms that aren't actively growing are slowly becoming obsolete. I'm not just talking about increasing revenue — I'm talking about building resilience, attracting talent, staying relevant to clients and creating a firm that lasts. If your firm is standing still, you're not maintaining; you're falling behind.
Growth used to be something we planned for when we had time. Today, it must be baked into your leadership mindset, culture, structure and daily decisions. So let's look at the paths forward and what every firm leader should consider right now.
Mergers and acquisitions continue to dominate headlines, and for good reason: They can help you expand into new markets, build service line depth or access a broader talent pool. But M&A only works if the integration process is intentional and strategic.
Private equity is another avenue reshaping the profession. PE-backed firms are building infrastructure rapidly, investing in technology and talent and pushing the profession to think differently. Whether you view PE as a disruptor or an opportunity, the pressure is real. If you're competing with a firm that has capital to burn and growth at the center of its model, the status quo won't be enough.
Of course, not everyone wants (or needs) to merge or sell. Organic growth is making a comeback as firms invest resources into internal innovation, cross-functional collaboration and client experience. The firms that succeed are the ones that put structure around growth, not just inspiration.
Embedding growth behaviors in firm culture
If growth feels like something you talk about once a year during strategic planning, it's time to shift. High-growth firms are weaving growth behaviors into their culture at every level. That means:
- Proactively identifying opportunities within existing clients.
- Empowering team members to bring ideas forward — and rewarding them when they do.
- Encouraging entrepreneurial thinking and experimentation.
- Shifting the mindset from "We sell services" to "We solve problems"
Cultural transformation doesn't happen overnight. It takes leadership commitment, repetition and accountability. But once it's embedded, it becomes self-reinforcing, and your people start driving the growth.
Talent strategy = growth strategy
Talent is a crucial growth lever. If your people don't see a path forward at your firm, they'll find it somewhere else or leave the profession entirely. That's why growth has to show up in your approach to several areas.
For example, consider your career paths and learning plans. Are you growing leaders or just managing staff? Simply ensuring every team member meets the state-mandated minimum CPE hours isn't enough. You need to consider what skills (both technical and success skills) your people need to lead, advise and sell.
Another area to consider is accountability. Is everyone clear on who owns what and how you will measure success? You must equip your team with the tools to foster a culture of ownership and follow-through.
Leadership sets the pace
It's tempting to delegate growth to a marketing team, a business development partner or a "growth committee." But sustainable growth happens when leaders at every level see it as part of their job.
Leadership must model behaviors like curiosity, collaboration and calculated risk-taking. These activities make growth possible. You also need to make growth expectations visible: Create shared goals across departments, track KPIs that go beyond realization rates, and build reporting that supports strategic conversations, not just compliance.
Leaders also need to create psychological safety for experimentation. Growth is messy. Not every initiative will succeed. If your team only hears about "what went wrong," they won't keep trying.
Create, protect and promote IP
One clear sign that your firm is investing in growth is building assets (not just billing hours). The most entrepreneurial firms create intellectual property that differentiates them from competitors and generates new revenue.
This could be:
- Proprietary frameworks for client work;
- Automated toolkits and dashboards;
- Industry-specific methodologies; or,
- Subscription-based content or services
When you create IP, you increase firm value. But protection and promotion matter just as much. That means documenting what you've built, assigning ownership, protecting the IP legally and ensuring your team knows how to use and market it.
Growth can't be an afterthought
The firms that survive the next decade will be the ones that treat growth as an operating system. That means aligning leadership, culture, training, talent and IP creation under one vision: forward motion.
The question isn't, "Should we grow?" It's, "How will we grow, and who's responsible for making it happen?"
If your answer feels murky or conditional, it's time to take a hard look at your structure and strategy.
Start by asking:
- Do we have a shared definition of growth?
- Who in our firm is accountable for driving it?
- Are we investing in our people and platforms to support it?
- How are we measuring progress?
Growth won't look the same for every firm. But staying still is the one move none of us can afford to make.
