lease renewals trigger this concern, but they’re not a good reason.
by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice
question: i signed up with a broker who introduces buyers and sellers of cpa practices, to find someone who would buy my practice when i want to retire. i don’t want to retire yet, but am starting to think about it. the broker suggested a merger now combined with a buyout deal when i am ready to retire. am i going about this in the right way?
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response: i get a lot of calls similar to this when lease renewals are coming up, or a tenant is lost and a merger could fill up the space, a key employee is lost or a major client is lost. in my opinion, these are not reasons to merge. merging is a major change of life and needs to be done with great care.
after questioning the cpa, who is a sole practitioner with a few staff – professional, paraprofessional and administrative – it appears he doesn’t want to retire but seems to be overly concerned about his lease coming up, needing more space and hesitating about the commitment. he told me that he likes what he does, doesn’t have any major interests to occupy himself if he retires and has some family financial obligations. he knows a couple of cpas who expressed an interest in acquiring his practice when he is ready, but they are close in age to him.
i don’t want to go into all the reasons why you should or shouldn’t merge, but i would like to share some of the advice i gave this colleague.
- write out what you really want for yourself and practice. jot your “ideal” situation – it is your piece of paper – fantasize and put down your wildest dreams, professionally that is.
- look at what you wrote and convert it to a plan for the next few to five years.
- think about starting to implement the plan. take the first step.
- if a merger is part of your plan, then start figuring the type of person you would like to “get in bed with” and work toward that.
- if a merger is not part of your plan, then drop the idea and work out your practice’s plan that will now have to include moving, expanding, contracting or doing whatever needs to be done. this will probably mean doing some things you will find unpleasant, but most likely you will have no choice in the matter, and you might as well get to it. your choice could end up being to pick the least offensive. keep in mind that these are business decisions and try to think impassively even though you might be setting your course for the next few years.
- actually, your future can be somewhat of a blank slate with the starting point where you sit right now. alternatively, it could be an albatross around your neck and drag you down. it’s your choice. excitement and growth, or settlement with discontent. i hate to use a cliché, but when you stop growing you die!
- if there is a concern about what would happen to your practice if there were a premature death, then you should enter into a practice continuation agreement similar to what i have previously posted. if you still haven’t done anything, do it.