My experience rolling up accounting firms

April 03, 2024

by a professional from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in Cochranville, PA 19330, USA

I've seen a few posts about the potential in rolling up accounting firms.

I now have bought 3, and I do not recommend this, especially if you have no accounting expertise and if you are looking to buy small.

If I didn't have my experience or industry reputation, I'd be broke several times over now.

The two articles below summarize my experience. Each is a 5 min read.

So… You Wanna Buy an Accounting Firm?

redacted@benjamin-wann1/so-you-wanna-buy-an-accounting-firm-5bd9c5676261?sk=18d5c2ded276722b848335fb5d34cd0e

In 8 months, I built an accounting firm of 3 offices, 23 staff, & $2M in revenue

redacted@benjamin-wann1/in-8-months-i-built-an-accounting-firm-of-3-offices-23-staff-2m-in-revenue-db357bd58048?sk=6911724458c545f7542fb4e1d4f33701

Any other questions or thoughts for me on this industry?

Reply by a professional
from University of New Haven in Cromwell, CT, USA

Doable - but there is plenty of competition - what you will find are some sole pracs for sale that cannot find a buyer to pay their price and have the ability to retained the talent and clients. I have little experience in this as I have acquired a few firms and sold mine to an international CPA firm.

Reply by a searcher
from University of Virginia in Washington, DC, USA

Thank you for sharing your journey, Ben! It’s enlightening to hear about the hurdles and setbacks, not just the success stories. Did you always plan to acquire multiple firms, or did this strategy evolve, especially after the initial acquisition turned out smaller than expected?

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