Did you hear/read the big news? I’m sure you have by now. But if not, private equity-owned Grant Thornton said Wednesday it has a deal in place to acquire fellow top 10 firm CBIZ for $5 billion, which if it goes through, will likely place Chicago-based Grant Thornton right behind the Big Four in the U.S. accounting firm revenue rankings.
It’s the largest M&A deal in the accounting profession in more than 25 years. It also involves the only publicly traded accounting services provider (CBIZ) in the U.S.
News of the deal has sparked various opinions over the last 24 hours about private equity reshaping the accounting profession, firm consolidation, and how the profession is evolving at a rapid pace.
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Below is reaction to the deal from people inside the profession—either commentary emailed to CPA Practice Advisor or posts on LinkedIn:
Allan Koltin, CEO, Koltin Consulting Group
Just when you didn’t think the accounting profession couldn’t get any crazier (when it comes to change and transformation), the “unimaginable” becomes a reality!
There are so many interesting things about this deal to note.
First, it’s the first type of CPA firm deal where a public company [CBIZ] essentially becomes private.
While this is interesting, I don’t think it means that larger (private equity-owned) CPA firms won’t exit via an IPO.
I still believe in the next 3-5 years we will have 7-10 IPOs in the accounting space (4 of those being the Big Four).
Second, until today I would have said the only thing that Grant Thornton and CBIZ had in common is that they both pay dues to the AICPA!
Grant Thornton is focused on the larger middle market and tries to compete with the Big Four and CBIZ plays in the lower to middle part of the middle market.
What is happening here is that Grant Thorton (CBIZ, New Mountain Capital, and other investors) realize they are going after the same market, just different “weight classes.”
They all have significant capital needs for continued investments in (what I call the 4 T’s) Technology (AI); Talent; Transformation (Industry and Service Line Specialization depth); and Territory (Geographic expansion in the US and Globally) so why not combine forces and be “better together.”
Candidly it’s a brilliant strategy and it isn’t all that different to the consolidation in the 1990s when the Big Eight became the Big Four (five if you include Arthur Andersen).
Lastly, I don’t think many in the accounting profession understand that by July 29, 2030, accountants won’t be “making the sausage” anymore and the compliance part of tax returns, financial statements, and outsourced accounting will all be done by AI and related agents.
It begs a bigger question which is, “what then will accountants be doing?!
The harsh reality is that the accounting profession is no longer insulated from the 4th Industrial Revolution and is migrating from being the client’s “most trusted advisor” to the client’s “most valuable advisor,” and those firms that have great AI solutions and a platform of value-added services to offer their clients will have a huge competitive edge in the marketplace.
Let’s just say, what got us to the dance will no longer keep us at the dance—sadly, some firms are so busy “grinding” away (and making money) that they won’t see the “storm” coming their way.
It doesn’t mean they have to do a PE deal or an IPO but rather embark on being a “Day One Company” focused on putting their old CPA firm out of business!
(Via emailed statement to CPA Practice Advisor.)
Ben Christopher, Senior Manager, M&A, West Monroe
AI is making accounting firms more attractive investments, not less. Some accounting firm owners are more motivated to sell because they don’t want to make the investments AI requires, while private equity has both the capital and appetite to modernize those firms, creating a tailwind for M&A.
Accounting offers the best of both worlds for private equity via dependable cash flow today and meaningful upside tomorrow. Clients rarely switch firms for core services like tax and compliance, while the fragmented market creates opportunities for acquisitions, cross-selling, and AI-driven productivity gains.
The private equity playbook is already proving successful. Firms like EisnerAmper and Cherry Bekaert have each completed more than 25 acquisitions since 2021 under private equity ownership, rapidly scaling into billion-dollar businesses. That’s exactly the type of value creation private equity is looking for.
This deal moves Grant Thornton into a different competitive tier. Combined with CBIZ, it’s now one of just a handful of firms generating more than $5 billion in revenue and is much better positioned to compete with the Big Four. The New Mountain investment also gives Grant Thornton the capital to keep making acquisitions and investing in AI, technology, and expansion.
(Via emailed statement to CPA Practice Advisor.)
Gary Lu, CPA; CFO, ConsumerDirect
Welp, there you have it, Grant Thornton is acquiring CBIZ and the accounting industry is changing fast.
Just two years ago, CBIZ transformed itself by acquiring Marcum LLP in a transaction valued at ~$2.3 billion, propelling the firm to become the 7th-largest accounting firm in the U.S. and leapfrogging Grant Thornton (US) Thornton in the rankings.
In a very PE driven, not so fast moment, GT just announced it’s $5 billion acquisition of CBIZ which will create a combined organization with ~$7.5 billion in annual revenue, operations spanning more than 20 countries and territories, and to take the number 5 position among U.S. professional services firms, trailing only the Big Four.
I love rankings, but this obviously is a private equity story.
When New Mountain Capital made its majority investment in Grant Thornton in 2024, many viewed it as another example of private equity entering the accounting profession. Looking at this announcement, it’s becoming much clearer what that capital was intended to do.
We’ve seen this playbook across countless industries. Capital enters a fragmented market, creates larger platforms through strategic acquisitions, invests in technology and talent, and fundamentally changes the competitive landscape. Accounting is no exception to this.
As CFOs, this matters because the firms advising our organizations are evolving just as rapidly as the businesses they serve. The expectations placed on professional services firms continue to expand, and size increasingly provides the ability to invest in AI, data, specialized expertise, and broader client capabilities.
As an ex-Big 4 guy, I have mixed feelings on where the industry is going.
Either way, crazy but not really crazy news.
(Via post on LinkedIn)
Vijay Narayandas, Founder and CEO, Global Tax Professionals Hub
Grant Thornton’s $5 billion acquisition of CBIZ is the largest accounting sector takeover in more than 25 years and a clear signal that scale, technology, and strategic investments will define the future of professional services.
As firms continue to consolidate and private equity reshapes the industry, the race to build stronger, more diversified businesses is accelerating. This deal isn’t just making headlines—it could reshape the competitive landscape for years to come.
(Via post on LinkedIn)
Ron Abraham, CPA; Partner, KSDT CPA
$5 Billion.
Grant Thornton just rattled the accounting industry.
Grant Thornton is acquiring CBIZ in one of the most significant transactions our profession has ever seen.
CBIZ is jumping roughly 15% in pre-market trading, reflecting the premium GT placed on the deal.
A few things make this transaction particularly interesting.
CBIZ was the only publicly traded accounting firm in the United States for nearly 30 years.
Just two years ago, it acquired Marcum in one of the largest accounting firm combinations in recent history.
Now, Grant Thornton is acquiring CBIZ, creating the fifth-largest professional services firm in the United States and the largest outside of the Big Four.
The accounting profession is evolving much faster than most people realize.
I have a feeling this won’t be the last headline of this magnitude we’ll see over the next few years.
(Via post on LinkedIn)
Jack Castonguay, PhD, CPA; Associate Professor of Accounting, Hofstra University
In the short term I anticipate mergers and PE investments will continue to accelerate. Over the longer term, this puts more downward pressure on the partnership model and the hourly bill model. Consolidation in the middle has been overdue. The GT CEO said their plan isn’t to compete with the Big-4 and instead they want to grow market share in the middle market, which currently makes sense. But the combined firm is now one more merger away from being able to compete with the smallest of the Big-4 firms, KPMG, as this merger doubled their revenues overnight.
I can’t predict the future, but it’s going to be more interesting than the recent past.
(Via post on LinkedIn)
Adam Tahir, CPA; Founder and CEO, Bizora
By year end, the fifth largest accounting firm in the country will belong to a private equity fund.
Grant Thornton announced this morning it is acquiring CBIZ in a $5 billion all cash deal. CBIZ shareholders get $55 per share, roughly a 54% premium to the 30 day volume weighted average. The stock delists.
GT sits at No. 9 on Accounting Today’s 2026 Top 100 with $2.5 billion in revenue. CBIZ is No. 8 at $2.8 billion. Combined, the firm expects more than $5 billion domestically and $7.5 billion globally.
The buyer behind the buyer is New Mountain Capital, a New York firm managing roughly $60 billion. They bought a majority of Grant Thornton’s US arm in May 2024, reportedly around 60% and centered on the advisory and tax business, with CDPQ and OA Private Capital alongside. The FT reported at the time that proceeds would fund a war chest for acquisitions.
This is that war chest.
New Mountain has run this play before. They took control of Citrin Cooperman in 2021 at a $500 million valuation, grew it to $850 million in revenue, and sold to Blackstone in January 2025 at roughly $2 billion. First time a PE firm ever flipped an accounting firm to another PE firm.
The other side of the table is what makes today different. CBIZ never had a sponsor. It came public through a chain of spinoffs out of Michael DeGroote’s Republic entities in the mid 1990s and has been publicly traded ever since. In November 2024 it bought Marcum’s advisory and tax business for $2.3 billion in cash and stock, clearing $2.8 billion in revenue and 10,000 people.
So the largest independent consolidator in middle market accounting just agreed to become the acquisition.
It will be interesting to see how the remaining year plays out with the consolidation in the space.
(Via post on LinkedIn)
Vishant Mehta, CPA; Co-Founder, Valim
Twenty-five years ago, a deal like this would have been unthinkable. This week it happened.
For years, the picture was simple. The Big 4 sat at the top, and everyone else lined up beneath them. That picture is starting to crack. The pressure is no longer coming from the giants at the top. It is coming from the firms quietly stacking up in the middle, one acquisition at a time.
And this feels like the beginning, not the end.
(Via post on LinkedIn)
Photo credit: Keith Chapman/LinkedIn
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