A buyer wants to know what still works after the selling partners change roles. These seven questions get close to the answer.

1. Revenue they can see coming

Monthly CAS gives a buyer visibility. Annual tax and attest work can also be remarkably durable if retention and pricing history support it. One large buyer said it would consider compliance-heavy practices because it values the client relationships and opportunities to serve them more broadly.

2. Client relationships that will transfer

Ask who your best clients call before a big decision. If it is always one partner, the relationship is vulnerable. Introduce a second trusted person and document what matters to each client while the partner is still there to make the handoff.

3. People who can run the work

Who handles staffing problems? Who reviews difficult work? Who keeps clients calm during busy season? Buyers want to see managers and partners already doing those jobs, not a plan to hire them after the sale.

4. A service mix that makes economic sense

Tax, attest, CAS and advisory each have different staffing needs, margins and seasonality. The label matters less than what the work earns, how often it repeats and how hard it is to deliver.

5. No single point of failure

A large client, one rainmaker, one niche or one indispensable employee can change the risk of the entire firm. Concentration doesn’t always kill a deal, but buyers will price it or protect against it in the terms.

6. Numbers that hold together

Revenue by client and service line should reconcile to the financial statements. Partner compensation, add-backs, A/R and WIP should be explainable without a scavenger hunt. When the numbers are hard to follow, buyers assume there may be more they haven’t found.

7. A firm that runs on more than memory

Document workflows and the judgment behind them, especially a senior partner’s niche playbooks and precedents. AI may help the next generation find that knowledge, but the firm first has to capture it accurately and protect client information.

Four questions worth answering honestly

  • For each of your five largest clients, can you name a second trusted person—and the last consequential decision the client discussed with your firm before making it?
  • Can you produce revenue, retention and profitability by client and service line?
  • Could the firm operate for 90 days if you were unavailable?
  • Do your managers have authority, or only more tasks?

Sources and context

Research on accounting-firm growth and operating priorities

Educational material only. A firm’s value and transaction structure depend on its specific facts, buyer universe, market conditions, tax considerations and legal requirements.