Most firms don’t fail at M&A because of bad intentions. They fail because they didn’t know what they didn’t know.

If you're a CPA firm leader thinking about buying or selling a firm but you're not sure where to start or what traps to avoid you're not alone. M&A gets talked about as a strategic growth lever or a retirement solution. But when it shows up in real life, it’s rarely smooth or simple. Deals stall. Cultures clash. Clients leave. Partners second-guess each other.

Whether you're considering selling your firm or acquiring another, there’s a good chance you’ve already felt some of the friction. Below are a few of the most common concerns we see and a way to gauge how prepared you really are.

If You’re Considering Selling, How True Are These Statements?

• I have no idea what my firm is actually worth.
• What if my clients or staff leave when I start to step back?
• I don’t have a clear successor and I’m getting tired.
• I’m too busy running the firm to even think about selling it.

If you nodded to two or more, your firm may not be sale-ready yet. But you’re asking the right questions.

If You’re Considering Buying, How True Are These?

• We want to grow, but the right deals just aren’t out there.
• The last firm we bought was chaos to integrate.
• I’m worried we’ll overpay and lose clients anyway.
• Our partners can’t agree if we should even be doing this.

If your head nodded on a few of those, you might have the desire but not the alignment, strategy, or infrastructure to move forward confidently.

And Then There’s the Universal Stuff Buyer or Seller:

• We don’t have a real M&A process we’re just winging it.
• We’re afraid of making a bad deal that messes up the culture.
• We don’t have anyone we trust to guide us through this.

Even one or two “yes” answers here should prompt a deeper pause. The stakes are too high to fake your way through this.

So, What Now?

Try this quick self-check:

Count how many of the above statements you answered “yes” to.

• 0–2: You may be in good shape, but a second opinion never hurts.
• 3–5: There are likely gaps worth addressing before you proceed.
• 6+: You’re not alone. Many firms start here. Now is a great time to step back and build a clearer roadmap.

You don’t need to have all the answers. But you do need to ask the right questions before signing a letter of intent.

If this helped you think through things more clearly even a little then it’s done its job.

If you'd like a simple checklist to evaluate your M&A readiness, just reach out to me at dlandrum@integratedgrowthadvisors.com.

We’ve built one specifically for CPA firms to help avoid the common pitfalls. It's our mission to support CPAs in making better decisions and it's my pleasure to provide the checklist with no strings attached.