Private equity and other nontraditional CPA firm owners have become increasingly active in the accounting industry. While PE tends to dominate the headlines, it's only one part of a broader shift redefining the profession. New ownership models and capital partners are reshaping the landscape, bringing both opportunity and disruption.
Whether or not you seek outside investment, this is your opportunity to boldly shape your firm's future with purpose, not just react to market forces.
Here are 10 key consequences of this wave of investment and what you can do about them.
1. Increased accountability for sellers
Firm owners who sell to PE are held to a higher standard of revenue growth and profit enhancement, with increased scrutiny on performance metrics.
What you can do: Start to raise the bar on performance. Select meaningful KPIs and create customized approaches to achieve and excel.
Use a goals system. Monitor and mentor for success at least quarterly. Ensure all partners and owners are held to standards. Reward superstars and be aggressive about the consequences of noncompliance.
Accountability will be more of a natural and necessary culture the more active PE and other new players are.
2. Liquidity and incentive
Entrepreneurial sellers welcome the opportunity to take money off the table upfront while continuing to participate in future firm appreciation through equity rollovers.
What you can do: If you're aiming to pursue this type of opportunity, the window to act may be now. PE interest in accounting is especially strong, and that demand could lead to inflated valuations at least in the short term.
Sellers should work with advisors to understand the valuation metrics PE firms prioritize (e.g., EBITDA margins, recurring revenue, client retention rates) and build toward those over the next six to 12 months. Don't wait to become a perfectly valued firm. Become a more deliberate one.
3. Talent attrition among rising partners
Increasingly, younger partners and those in training are choosing to leave, either just before the deal closes or within the first year, citing uncertainty around the more corporate direction.
What you can do: Firms seeking to remain independent need to proactively build a proposition that makes high potential talent excited about your firm and motivated by the upside.
A well-defined compensation and governance system with meaningful authority levels will be vital. Heighten visibility and drive social media. Consider fractional partners, as these roles offer meaningful ownership and responsibility while adapting to lifestyle or career stage needs.
4. Senior staff resistance to scale
Long-tenured staff often struggle to see their place in large investor-owned firms, leading to departures.
What you can do: Engage HR consultants and industrial psychologists to understand and counter the pain points that drive folks away.
No matter what the pain is, money will be part of the remedy. Build a transparent, firmwide compensation plan that exceeds market benchmarks by 10–15%, but don't stop there.
Incentivize long-tenured staff to mentor others, lead special initiatives, or refer like-minded peers from other firms. Make profit escalation a mindset — but make purpose and belonging a priority, too.
5. Mega-investor advantage
Large investors are disrupting the market by escalating scale, diversifying holdings and implementing corporate methodology. Local firms are often targeted to fuel further growth — but, in many cases, the fit is not there.
What you can do: Build strategic partnerships of your own. Explore joint ventures with consulting providers, tech companies and niche service specialists to help you compete. Highlight your agility and depth of relationship.
Investing in positioning and talent development in nontraditional areas will make you a stronger candidate for any future deal — and a more resilient and independent firm.
Consider setting aside a fixed percentage of annual revenue, say 3-5%, as a capital holdback. Rather than drawing out all profits at year-end, maintain a strategic fund to support innovation, talent upgrades or future M&A. It's a simple but powerful way to self-finance growth and avoid unnecessary dependency on external capital.
6. Increased offshoring
To meet aggressive growth mandates and margin expectations, many PE-backed firms are accelerating the use of offshoring and third-party service providers. This trend is also creating a broader market of outsourcing solutions.
What you can do: Offshoring isn't just for mega-firms anymore. Collaborate with peers to vet and co-invest in offshore relationships, possibly even sharing a project manager across firms. Not ready to offshore? Start with third-party outsourcing partners that specialize in CPA firm work. The key is to test options, track performance and improve margins gradually.
7. Rapid deployment of AI and automation
With greater access to capital and a focus on efficiency, PE-backed firms are fueling rapid implementation of AI tools, forcing others to keep pace or risk falling behind.
What you can do: Don't wait for a capital infusion. Define your Technology Mission Plan to identify where and how technology including AI can accelerate delivery, improve accuracy and elevate the client experience.
Form an advisory board that includes technology-forward voices to guide decision-making and hold the firm accountable. Position your firm as a regional innovator in technology adoption and treat your strategy as both a recruiting and marketing asset.
8. Client flight to local firms
Some clients of newly consolidated firms are not advocates of a corporate, ultra-large platform. This shift creates organic growth opportunities for independent and boutique CPA firms.
What you can do: Firms seeking to remain independent must clearly identify their ideal clients. To upgrade your client base, build a recurring profitability review ideally twice a year to identify and address underperforming clients. Design a profitability plan for clients you want to keep and those to let go.
Relatedly, sharpen your marketing focus to attract and retain ideal clients. If you don't have a marketing lead, hire one part-time.
9. Increased focus on advisory services
As PE investors introduce new capabilities and expertise, firms are leaning more heavily into high-margin advisory services, fueling a more competitive landscape for traditional consulting and niche practices.
What you can do: Advisory services are no longer optional. Audit your current service mix and identify where advisory conversations are already happening informally.
Consider operational partnerships with providers in HR, cost segregation, cybersecurity and wealth management, especially when clients need help beyond compliance. Build advisory capabilities into your firm's DNA.
Experiment with pricing models that better reflect your value, including subscription, membership and concierge structures. Hourly billing can understate the worth of complex advisory work and penalize efficiency. Advisory services deserve advisory pricing.
10. Succession conversations initiated by clients
Many "A-level" clients of local firms seek assurance that their trusted advisor relationship won't be upended by an abrupt outside acquisition.
What you can do: Get ahead of the conversation. Create a formal succession plan, even if you're not retiring soon. Consider adding fractional partners or non-CPA equity roles to diversify your leadership pipeline. Join peer networks or associations to give clients confidence that you're future-ready. When appropriate, assemble a board of advisors who can help shape your next chapter.
Final thoughts
Ultimately, how these developments are perceived depends largely on your vantage point, but their impact is real.
Whether you're preparing to sell, grow or simply navigate the shifts, the smartest move is to turn disruption into advantage. Certain size firms will be able to capitalize on opportunities better than other firms. Customize your approach but don't just watch; the time to act is now.
