Episode 408: How Private Equity Changes Everything

Changing the way firms are structured, operated, and financially managedWith Steven SacksFor CPA TrendlinesThe CPA profession is entering another period of shifts in how firms will attain growth levels – the main force being the influx of private capital entering the accounting profession, according to David Bergstein, CPA, CITP, CGMA.See more hereNew, external investments will change the way firms are structured, operated, and financially managed, as well as granting them increased capabilities to make more strategic decisions, Bergstein tells Sacks for CPA Trendlines.Bergstein is a veteran technology executive at a number of tax and accounting software companies, including Intuit, Walters Kluwer, and Thomson, and is now an independent author, educator, and advisor.David Bergstein’s Takeaways:Disruption is what smart business people see in a profession that is ripe for change because the traditional CPA series of audit and tax will move to the back burner. The real value of services will be in consulting services.CPA firms will split in two – separating the traditional services from consulting to ensure that there will be avoidance of client/service conflicts, and to make the investment more attractive.Baby Boomer partners who are a few years from retirement see the infusion of private equity as a way to reformulate partner agreement that were overdo for such a review.Technology will continue to be a driver of how firms will change the way they operate and the greater efficiencies accrued will go for additional services that can be outsourced.CPAs who break off and begin their own non-CPA-advertised consulting firms will be more apt to hire non-CPAs because of their broader educational experience.