The accounting profession is experiencing an unprecedented transformation driven by a major trend: the surge of private equity (PE) investment. Although this surge in M&A activity presents several growth opportunities for firms, it’s also creating challenges that are reshaping the industry’s competitive landscape.
To successfully grow and compete in the industry, accounting and PE firms will need to move away from traditional, manual collaboration processes and adopt advanced, centralized solutions. By investing in technology like Intapp Collaboration, your firm can enhance its business model, improve its operational framework, and take full advantage of PE investment.
Reshaping firm dynamics though private equity
PE investment has become a mainstream approach for accounting firms seeking accelerated growth and strategic transformation. But what’s driving PE firms to invest in accounting firms in the first place?
Simply put: Accounting firms provide steady revenue, making them safe investments. From 2020 to 2023, the Big Four’s total revenues grew from approximately $157 billion to more than $200 billion, while the Top 100 firms’ revenue grew by 12.88% in 2023 — the second-highest rate in a decade.
Accounting firms have their own reasons for seeking PE investment. According to Allan Koltin, CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, three critical factors are driving accounting’s growing interest in seeking PE backing:
- Talent — Accounting firms are struggling to address the shrinking talent pool and aging workforce.
- Technology — Firms require substantial technological investments to keep up with industry and client expectations.
- Transformation — Clients are pressuring firms to diversify service offerings.
These three factors make it difficult for firms with traditional structures to compete effectively. But with PE backing, accounting firms can invest more in talent and technology and offer more services — giving them a competitive edge and boosting profits. For example, PE-backed firms like EisnerAmper, Citrin Cooperman, and Cherry Bekaert all significantly increased revenue within just a year or two. In fact, Cherry Bekaert’s revenue nearly doubled from $293 million to $585 million in 2023.
This momentum shows no signs of slowing. In 2024, global PE- and venture capital–backed deals in the accounting sector totaled $6.31 billion. The Financial Times also projects that one-third of the 30 largest U.S. firms could soon be operating with PE backing. But expanding services relies on increasing collaboration between different lines of service, which requires improved connectivity within the firm.
Evaluating private equity opportunities
PE isn’t a simple financial transaction: It’s a strategic partnership that can accelerate growth, enhance technological capabilities, and address talent acquisition challenges. But although the allure of PE investment is compelling, it demands careful strategic consideration.
Firm leaders should conduct a thorough evaluation that extends beyond immediate financial gains and focuses on long-term implications. Here are four steps your firm leaders should follow when assessing PE investment opportunities:
- Evaluate your firm’s trajectory to ensure the investment strategically aligns.
Does the PE investment complement your existing growth strategy, or would it force an uncomfortable pivot? Is your firm operationally ready to take on the changes brought on by the investment? And do you have buy-in from key stakeholders? - Carefully consider the cultural implications of the investment.
PE ownership often introduces metrics-driven management approaches that can clash with traditional firm cultures. Can your firm successfully maintain its core values while embracing necessary changes? - Review how the investment will affect your governance model.
Partners must understand how PE ownership will reshape everything from compensation structures to promotion paths. This new governance model requires your firm to carefully maintain professional independence while satisfying investor expectations. - Create an exit plan for long-term success.
PE firms typically seek exits within 5 to 7 years, making it essential to understand potential outcomes. Will your firm pursue a public offering, seek another PE investor, or explore strategic acquisition? Each path carries distinct implications for partners and staff.
Turning firm onboarding into a catalyst for growth
Once a PE firm has invested in an accounting firm, firms leaders must address another complex process: onboarding. During the onboarding process, both firms often contend with disparate systems, data silos, and inconsistent processes — especially across different service lines — making it difficult for teams to efficiently collaborate with one another.
To overcome this challenge, both PE and accounting firms need to invest in a centralized, scalable collaboration platform.
A single collaboration solution can improve transparency, allowing teams to find and collaborate on content more efficiently rather than manually search across disjointed systems. Firms can also simplify new firm onboarding, standardize processes — whether for one firm or many — and reduce management overhead and optimize IT resourcing.
Accounting firms with advanced tech stacks also tend to attract more PE investments. These tech-empowered firms are better able to meet the growing client demands around transparency and faster service — increasing client satisfaction, business and revenue, and, consequently, interest from PE investors.
Intapp Collaboration, a scalable collaboration hub tailored for accounting, is especially valuable for firms that rely on Microsoft, as it enables secure access to Microsoft 365 applications. The solution also ensures consistency across firms with the automatic creation of workspaces, helping firms maintain compliance across all lines of business.
Plus, Intapp Collaboration drives firms towards AI-readiness. When data is centralized in one place, AI technology can search through and analyze that data faster. And, because centralized data is easier to manage and update, your AI- and data-driven insights and recommendations are more likely to be accurate.
Looking ahead at the future of accounting
As we move into 2026, private equity investment and modern collaboration technology will continue to reshape the accounting landscape — not as separate trends but as complementary forces. Accounting firms will need to effectively leverage PE partnerships while moving away from manual collaboration methods that hinder growth.
Ultimately, the future belongs to firms that can balance aggressive growth with operational excellence, turning traditional challenges into strategic advantages. Learn more about Intapp Collaboration for accounting firms, or contact Tom Koehler or Brendan Ridge for a personalized consultation.
