What’s Your Practice Really Worth? The CPA Valuation Playbook [Episode 69]
What’s Your Practice Really Worth? The CPA Valuation Playbook
Valuations for CPA firms have never been higher, and the reasons have very little to do with tax returns.
Matt Ackerman is joined by Geoff Bruskin, founder and managing partner of White Tiger Connections, along with John Pastore and Clint Mills of Integrated Partners’ CPA Alliance, for a candid look at what’s driving value in accounting practices right now.
Geoff has closed 23 CPA transactions in the last 36 months, and he brings the numbers with him: private equity’s arrival in 2021, the jump from an 11.5x to a 14.5x multiple on a single marquee deal, and PE buyers now knocking on the doors of firms with as little as $300K to 400K in adjusted EBITDA. The panel walks through how the profession moved off the old “one times gross” rule of thumb, why buyers now blend gross revenue and adjusted EBITDA multiples, and the specific traits, digitized workflows, remote staffing, recurring and value-based billing, leadership depth, complementary service lines, that separate a firm that trades well from one that doesn’t.
The heart of the conversation is the gap between two professions. A CPA firm doing $5 million in revenue might trade around $10 million; a wealth management firm with the same economics might trade at $20 million. Jeff makes the case that the most underappreciated asset in any accounting practice is the trust and financial visibility already sitting inside the client relationship — and illustrates it with a $1,000 tax client whose $1.5M IRA represents a $15,000 relationship somewhere else.
Also covered:
- Whether AI is coming for the profession
- The wealth segments nobody is servicing well
- Why “fiercely independent” firms should think like private equity firms
- How to know whether it’s time to build, buy, partner, merge, or stay put.
Whether you plan to sell in three years or never, this is a conversation about building a practice that you can’t afford to miss.
Disclosure:
Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Investment advice offered through Integrated Partners, a registered investment advisor.
White Tiger Connections along with its representative, Geoff Bruskin, are a separate entity and not affiliated with Integrated Partners.
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