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Private Equity & CPA Firm M&A: What Owners Need to Know
Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE
In this crossover episode, Rob Brown welcomes Brannon Poe of the Accountants Flight Plan Podcast for a wide-ranging, practical conversation about what’s happening right now in CPA firm M&A and why private equity continues to accelerate consolidation across the profession.
Brannon shares what he’s seeing in the market and why accounting checks so many boxes for investors: recurring revenue, a fragmented marketplace, and plenty of opportunity to improve systems and scale. But as Rob and Brannon point out, not every deal is a good deal, especially when firm owners get pulled in by the “headline offer” without slowing down to evaluate fit, culture and the fine print behind earn-outs and performance targets.
They break down how PE-backed transactions differ from traditional firm-to-firm deals, why diligence can feel intense (and exhausting), and how competition in the process can protect sellers from getting “pulled around” late in the game. From there, the conversation shifts to timing: when is it actually time to sell and how much of that decision is less about money and more about time, lifestyle and opportunity cost?
You’ll also hear what buyers value most today (profitability, low owner dependency, strong teams and curated client bases), why the jump from $2.5M to $5M can be a “hard stretch” for growing firms, and a simple but powerful takeaway for firm leaders: boundaries matter—around time, pricing and priorities.
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By INSIDE Public AccountingEarn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE
In this crossover episode, Rob Brown welcomes Brannon Poe of the Accountants Flight Plan Podcast for a wide-ranging, practical conversation about what’s happening right now in CPA firm M&A and why private equity continues to accelerate consolidation across the profession.
Brannon shares what he’s seeing in the market and why accounting checks so many boxes for investors: recurring revenue, a fragmented marketplace, and plenty of opportunity to improve systems and scale. But as Rob and Brannon point out, not every deal is a good deal, especially when firm owners get pulled in by the “headline offer” without slowing down to evaluate fit, culture and the fine print behind earn-outs and performance targets.
They break down how PE-backed transactions differ from traditional firm-to-firm deals, why diligence can feel intense (and exhausting), and how competition in the process can protect sellers from getting “pulled around” late in the game. From there, the conversation shifts to timing: when is it actually time to sell and how much of that decision is less about money and more about time, lifestyle and opportunity cost?
You’ll also hear what buyers value most today (profitability, low owner dependency, strong teams and curated client bases), why the jump from $2.5M to $5M can be a “hard stretch” for growing firms, and a simple but powerful takeaway for firm leaders: boundaries matter—around time, pricing and priorities.