this is no time to sell for local firms. instead, it’s time to re-tool.
by rick telberg
the rosenberg national map survey
it has been said that when you buy a nice, old, colonial house, you’re buying somebody else’s problem.
more from the map survey: 2019: more focused training | 2019: expect more alliances | 2019 trends: client service changes | 2019: shifts in hiring & office space | 2019: firms grapple with change | staff policies improve, but not mentoring
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
the same can be said for buying a cpa firm with no succession plan.
the world of mergers and acquisitions is hot and getting hotter. big firms are on the hunt for small firms—but not just any small firm. they have plenty to choose from, and they can afford to be picky.
and what they’re picking, says terry putney, of transition advisors, is firms that
- have decent revenues,
- serve the buyer’s strategic purpose, and
- aren’t going to cause succession headaches.
in other words, putney says, revenues alone do not a merger make.
trying to keep up
american business, as you may have heard, is getting complicated. it’s changing at a revolutionary pace, and cpa firms are trying to keep up. to adapt, they are offering new kinds of services that go on beyond standard compliance work. to adapt fast, they often look to buy boutique firms that have already developed niche expertise.
featured in the new rosenberg map survey, putney says, “firms that can be acquired to help grow and launch non-traditional, non-compliance oriented services are in high demand.”
in that same survey, marc rosenberg, of the rosenberg associates, says: “there are so many sellers that buyers are rejecting more and more previously attractive merger candidates than ever before because they find even better ones. for more and more firms – even local firms – they aren’t as interested in adding clients and profits as they used to (buyers are still interested in this, but not like before). now, it’s a cultural and strategic fit. firms are asking: “how will this firm make us better and different? what do they bring to us that we don’t now have?”
one thing nobody wants an incoming firm to bring is a problem. and succession, putney says, is “a huge issue” for smallish firms with fewer than ten partners. no acquiring firm wants to spend the next five or ten years nurturing a chain of succession. nor do they want to deal with antiquated owner agreements.
it’s the fast-growing firms that are most likely to have succession problems. too often their problem is an inherent part of their success. like a teen with jeans that no longer reach the ankles, their original owner agreement no longer fits the firm. they can’t beef up their bench any more than the kid can lengthen his pants.
tweaking agreements
putney says that tweaking old owner agreements to make a buyout more affordable won’t work. nobody buys a problem just because it’s cheap. a better plan is for the smaller firm to remain independent for a while longer, continuing to prove its revenue acuity while putting on its big-boy pants.
in today’s over-supplied market, taking the time necessary to build the bench, and hammer out long-term big-boy owner agreements may be the best strategy. using that time to develop new niches and services will help, too. as the firm grows more solid and the market thins out, the firm will increase in value.
and that’s the time to sell.