Trends in Firm Structure, Succession, and Mergers

Source: CPA Firm Statistical Analysis Reference Handbook 2008, excerpted and reprinted with permission.

• The corporate model has gained popularity at CPA firms with 30.9 percent having a CEO or COO and board of directors.
• The traditional managing partner without a board still exists at 27.8 percent of reporting firms.
• Between these two is the managing partner and executive committee structure, where the committee makes decisions and the MP is primarily an administrator, found at 23.7 percent of the respondents.
• At 26.7 percent of the respondent firms there were formal succession plans as part of the partnership agreement or incorporation documents.
• Only 9.4 percent of respondents expect a merger in the next year.
• Alliances are gaining in popularity with 19.2 percent of respondents having formed alliances with CPA firms, and 25.3 allied with other CPA firms and other professional firms such as law firms. The most popular alliances are in consulting, audit, tax, and Sarbanes-Oxley engagements.

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From CPA Firm Statistical Analysis Reference Handbook 2008, Institute of Management & Administration, Inc., 3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5902, www.ioma.com/CPA.

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