survey shows few firms will be left untouched today’s m&a tsunami.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the world of accounting firm mergers is churning, and whether you’re in the market for a deal or not, the frenzy will affect your practice.
a third of accountants see a very active or extremely active m&a market in the works, and more than half say the trend is accelerating, according to the new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 mergers & acquisitions survey, conducted in conjunction with capstone marketing.
the survey, which delves into the attitudes and behaviors of the m&a phenomenon like no other study, is yielding a raft of surprising findings.
join the survey. get the results.
your competition and client market are going to shift around, with smaller firms disappearing, then popping up inside bigger firms, and clients dragged here and there, some of them looking for new cpas. and if you’re scouting for talent, it could get hard to rope them in.
“the big 4 and regional firms are buying smaller firms making it very hard for a small firm to compete,” said one cpa who has been involved in more than one merger. “additionally, the biggest firms pay salaries that smaller firms can’t afford, and they are hiring so many young professionals that talent is in extreme shortage. smaller firms will find it almost impossible to stay in business.”
mergers and acquisitions are nothing new in the accounting industry. in fact, the marriage of firms is more commonplace than in most other businesses. the survey finds that 69 percent of respondents have been through a merger or acquisition, a quarter of them more than once. in 22 percent of the cases, the respondent was on the team driving the deal.
“i have sold my practice three times,” one cpa says. “i still have some clients left. i’m working on merging some of my other non-client activities with some partners for economies of administration.”
and no wonder mergers are so common. an accounting firm can be a one-person shop in a basement, a regional powerhouse, or a multinational giant employing thousands. whatever the size, merging with (or swallowing up) another firm is natural, logical, and, when done right, beneficial.
a merger can look good on paper—a quick way for a seller to make some money and maybe get out of the business, or for a buyer to scoop up clients or expand a stable of talent.
sometimes it works out that way. sometimes it doesn’t. eight percent say they have never gotten involved in a merger—and they never will. three percent say they have been through the process and never will again.
yuliya moody at b&a in jacksonville, fla., is one who’s content to keep things simple. she says, “i think partnerships are difficult.”
yes, indeed, they can be. and every marriage of firms is a hope for the best and a risk of the worst.
the worst? one respondent in the never-again group says, “seller defrauded me out of a quarter-million dollars, leaving me with a huge debt on which i had to declare bankruptcy. due diligence can’t force performance on the seller.”
less egregious results included comments that “it did not work out well,” “management style was not compatible,” and “it was a disaster.”
timothy s. watson, a partner with benford brown in chicago has enough vicarious experience to understand the advisability of a merger—how it can help and how it can go wrong.
“my experience is through others who have been a part of mergers, large and small,” he comments in the survey. “mergers are necessary for firms that intend to grow in the current marketplace. however, the process is often difficult for many of those involved due to the changes in culture, operational procedures, financial results, etc. nevertheless, i do expect to be a part of the m&a process in the near future either via my firm or individually, or both.”
not surprisingly, 61 percent agreed to a merger or acquisition for purposes of firm growth. also not surprising is that 49 percent sought out a merger for purposes of retirement or succession.
what’s interesting is that a full third of respondents had acquired another firm, not for the clients, the turf, or retirement, but to secure new talent and skills.
twenty-five percent were looking to open new career opportunities for staffers.
except for a smatter of personal reasons, the least common reason, given by only 25 percent, was to acquire new clients.
solo practitioner sandra elle sees a merger as a way out, telling us, “i am taking early retirement from tax practice. i am finished with participating in the federal nonsense.”
bruce ekmanian, principal of the still small california firm ekmanian tax and accounting arroyo grande, calif., says a merger “hasn’t happened yet—but i’m thinking about it.”
albert harrison, at a andrew harrison, cpa, p.c., hasn’t done it yet but is ready to go. “if given the chance to be involved with a merger or acquisition,” he says, “then i will jump at it.”
he’s in brooklyn, n.y., if you’re interested.
one response to “why firms merge: hint, it’s not for the clients”
ed kless
and none merge for the only valid reason to merge – providing better results for their customers. this is why most mergers are failures, they fail to take into account the needs of customers.
one exception is those who are retiring.