Ten of the top twenty CPA firms in the country are now owned, in whole or in part, by private equity. Crowe sold a majority stake to KKR for roughly three billion dollars. Eide Bailly sold a majority share to Reverence Capital for close to two billion. January 2026 alone produced more than twenty five private equity backed accounting deals, nearly a third of everything recorded in all of 2025.
Every trade publication is covering the mega deals. Almost none of them are asking the question that actually matters to you: what happens to the small, independent firm that has no interest in selling.
The Squeeze is Real, and it’s Not About Clients
The immediate risk to independent firms is not client poaching. It is talent. Private equity backed firms are flush with capital and building aggressive recruiting and retention packages, right as the profession faces its worst staffing shortage in decades. Burnout driven turnover in public accounting already runs fifteen to twenty five percent a year, and replacing a single senior accountant now costs fifty to one hundred thousand dollars, with manager level departures running well past that.
If a PE backed regional firm can now outbid you on salary, signing bonuses, and career ladder promises, your best senior associate has one more reason to leave. That is the fight small firms are actually in right now, and most owners are not framing it that way.
Why Independence is a Message, Not Just a Structure
Here is the angle most owners miss. Staying independent is not a defensive position, it is a selling point, if you say so out loud. Clients who choose PE backed firms often do so for scale and breadth of service. Clients who choose independents do so because they want a partner who answers the phone personally, remembers their history without a system prompt, and is not managing the firm toward an exit event. That is a real, marketable difference, but only if you actually market it.
What to Do About It, Starting Now
First, name your independence explicitly in client communication and business development. Do not assume clients know or care that you are not PE backed. Say it plainly: your incentives are aligned with their long-term relationship, not a private equity return timeline.
Second, get serious about retention economics. If replacing a senior person costs six figures, spending real money on compensation, flexibility, and a visible growth path is not generosity, it is the cheaper option.
Third, look at what PE backed firms are actually offering staff, not just clients. Flexible schedules and clear advancement paths are now baseline expectations, and firms that treat them as perks instead of standard practice will keep losing people to the ones that do not.
Fourth, consider whether a niche makes you less vulnerable. PE money is chasing scale and breadth. A firm with a sharp specialty, in a specific industry or a specific type of tax work, is a harder target to compete against on generic terms, and a more attractive one to a client seeking real expertise.
The consolidation wave is not slowing down. But it does not have to be a threat. For the firm willing to say clearly what it offers that a PE backed competitor cannot, it might be the best marketing opportunity independent practices have had in years.
Dr. Christine Gervais is a licensed CPA, using her skills to help businesses grow and achieve their fullest potential. Christine has a Master’s degree in accounting from Southern New Hampshire University in addition to holding her CPA license for over a decade. Notably, Christine is a nationally recognized speaker providing education to other CPAs on how to best serve clients as well as instruction on a wide variety of topics for business owners on how to maximize success. Christine prides herself on the value she can bring to clients with her extensive tax knowledge and provides strategic, forward-thinking financial strategies to help clients grow. When not behind her desk, you can find Christine spending quality time with her daughter and stepson or tending to the family’s excessively loved farm animals.
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