Handing over to someone you’ve worked with – someone you trust with the business you have built, who is known and liked by clients and who is deeply familiar with your culture, team members and systems – is an excellent outcome when the time comes for you to ease out the door. It’s clean, personal, and less disruptive than selling to an external party … if it’s done right and prepared well in advance.

When two geographically distant accounting firms combined, the resulting organisation was far greater than the sum of its parts. Success had a lot to do with excellent advice that ensured mutual growth in culture and capability.

After decades in practice the thought of stepping away, of relinquishing control, can be daunting. But for Graham Gunn, having been at the helm of Sydney-based Gunn & Co. for 48 years, there was great comfort around the idea of passing management responsibility on to a new owner.

Christmas of 2023 wasn’t a time of rejuvenation for Andrea Pearce, whose accounting and business advisory company Dream Accounting had become more like a nightmare. That holiday period was a time of reckoning. She faced the return to work feeling burnt out, burdened by financial debt and not sure of where to turn.

My office has a proven track record of working with accountants who are buying, selling or merging and, for well over a decade, have successfully produced sustainable outcomes for clients across all three transaction types.

Employee entitlements and consultation are often overlooked during a deal, giving rise to numerous issues. Fortunately, says employment relations specialist Rachael Smith, getting it right is easier than you think.

While it’s not unusual for an accounting firm to invest in various types of software to increase efficiency, gather valuable data and automate low-value tasks, many are still hesitant to embrace technology that automates engagement and prevents scope creep.

Estate planning around your accounting practice shouldn’t be daunting or difficult, but it must be done right. Clear instructions on the succession plans or sale of a company can save that business. However, a lack of specific direction can result in messy legal and financial complexity, and tangled relationships.

The sale of an accounting firm requires careful planning and strategy. Transaction advisor Kev Ryan shares his insight into the essential ingredients for sale success.

For a successful strategic partnership after a merger, flawless due diligence and complete cultural alignment are essential.

Many think the biggest challenge in selling an accounting business will be in haggling over the price. But agreeing value, Kev Ryan says, is the easy part. Rather than wondering whether they’re paying the right amount for an accounting business, says transaction advisor Kev Ryan, buyers are instead focussing deeply on the target company’s “fit”.

When the demands of his accounting business became overwhelming, Maurice Sucevic found a way to continue doing what he loved, without all the admin.