• videocam On-Demand Webinar
  • signal_cellular_alt Intermediate
  • card_travel Accounting
  • schedule 110 minutes

Tax and Accounting Firm M&A: Performing Due Diligence

Current Trends in Accounting Firm M&A Deal Structuring and Negotiations

$197.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CPE
ALL
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About the Course

Introduction

This webinar will discuss the due diligence process for M&A involving CPA firms. Our panel of astute transaction advisers will cover the history and current trends in accounting firm M&A, critical succession planning considerations, deal structuring, and the tax implications of these arrangements.

Description

Performing due diligence for M&A is a multi-faceted process. There are unique considerations when these acquisitions involve accounting and tax firms. While accountants might be familiar with financial statement audits, performing due diligence is a distinct and often foreign process. Due diligence is the careful process by which you confirm that you are getting what you pay for and are not accepting unnecessary risks and liabilities.

Due diligence should always include financial, tax, operational, and risk assessments. For CPA firms, as well as other professional service providers and service companies; however, their people might be considered their most valuable asset. Understanding the practice niches and billing structure of a target company is critical for buyers, as is the state of the files and working papers. Furthermore, understanding what you can and cannot do to retain employees is also critical. Also, understanding the lack of restrictions on employees that choose to exit the company after the transaction also is critical. For sellers, investing in due diligence could reduce risks and realize a greater selling price. Both buyers and sellers are concerned with the tax implications of the arrangement.

There are steps that acquirers and target firms can take to facilitate the transition. Appropriate documentation and a valuation should be obtained and analyzed, and the tax impact of the agreement on the buyer and seller should be determined. Steps to integrate the companies post-transactions must also be considered.

Listen as our panel of M&A experts explains performing due diligence for tax and accounting firms and offers pre-planning advice to facilitate these acquisitions.

Presented By

Ryan Babiak
Partner
Anchin Block & Anchin, LLP

Mr. Babiak, CPA, MST, is a Tax Partner and member of the firm’s Professional Services and Technology Groups. He brings more than 15 years of experience in public accounting to the firm. Mr. Babiak specializes in strategic tax planning, tax compliance, and state and local tax matters for entrepreneurial, venture capital and private equity-backed businesses ranging from start-ups to growing and established technology companies. He works closely with founders, advising them on tax strategies and complex equity and debt considerations. In addition, Mr. Babiak specializes in working with blockchain and digital assets, SaaS, e-commerce, and consumer product companies.

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David R. Johanson
Chair Employee Benefits & ERISA Group
Hawkins Parnell & Young

Drawing on 40 years as an advisor and litigator, Mr. Johanson provides strategic and practical legal counsel on employee ownership, executive compensation, equity incentive plans, non-qualified deferred compensation, and employee stock ownership plans. He advises on mergers and acquisitions, tax planning, business succession, estate planning, shareholder disputes, and non-competition issues, among other corporate and ERISA-related matters. Mr. Johanson defends companies and executives in complex business, employment, and class action disputes in federal and state courts nationwide. He has represented clients before regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, handling tax controversies, felony criminal indictments, and diverse ownership and business dispute resolutions. He also routinely defends ERISA fiduciaries, plan sponsors, selling shareholders, and investment and valuation advisers in high-stakes litigation spanning ESOP valuation disputes, fiduciary responsibilities, disclosure obligations, and investment issues. In addition, Mr. Johanson has argued cases before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits and filed multiple petitions for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court. Nationally recognized for his expertise and leadership in the ESOP field, he leads an innovative team that has handled more than 750 ESOP transactions. 


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Jonathan Moore
Partner-in-Charge of Advisory Services
PKF O'Connor Davies, LLP

Mr. Moore provides accounting due diligence services in connection with mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and carve-out transactions initiated by private equity firms and strategic investors.

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Credit Information

  • BARBRI is a NASBA CPE sponsor and this 110-minute webinar is accredited for 2.0 CPE credits.

Date + Time

  • event

    Thursday, October 23, 2025

  • schedule

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

I. History of CPA firm transactions

II. Overview of current trends in accounting firm M&A

III. Strategic objectives for buying and selling

IV. Succession planning considerations

V. Preparing for the transaction (sellers)

VI. Preparing for the transaction (buyers)

VII. Deal structuring and negotiation

VIII. Post-transaction considerations (including equity incentives and the like)


The panel will cover these and other critical issues:

  • When to consider an acquisition
  • KPIs acquiring firms should consider
  • Steps to ensure a successful transition
  • Unique M&A considerations for accounting and tax firms

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Target potential companies for acquisitions
  • Identify trends in accounting firm M&A
  • Determine key documents that should be obtained and analyzed
  • Decide when a firm should consider an acquisition
  • Ascertain steps to facilitate integration of firms post-transaction
  • Field of Study: Accounting
  • Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
  • Advance Preparation: None
  • Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
  • Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
  • Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
  • Prerequisite:

    Three years+ business or public firm experience, preparing reviewed, compiled, and audited financial statements and the relative disclosures. Specific knowledge and understanding of GAAP, SSARS, and peer review policies.

BARBRI, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

BARBRI CE webinars-powered by Barbri-are backed by our 100% unconditional money-back guarantee: If you are not satisfied with any of our products, simply let us know and get a full refund. Contact us at 1-800-926-7926 .