Hitendra R. Patil, CEO of Accountaneur Advisory, has announced the launch of an online self-scoring tool, the Enterprise Attractiveness Score, that reveals exactly where a firm stands across the 10 dimensions similar to what Private Equity buyers evaluate, and what to fix before they enter any PE conversation. Patil’s view is that the gap between CPA firm leaders’ and PE buyers’ viewpoints has become the baseline for mid-market firm owners nationwide.
The numbers behind that view are moving fast. Private equity has reshaped the accounting profession more quickly than most expected. In 2019, there were only four private equity-backed accounting firm deals. By 2025, that number jumped to 179. In January 2026 alone, there were 36 transactions, the most ever in a single month. By the end of March 2026, the CPA Trendlines PE-CPA Deal Tracker had logged 72 transactions in the first quarter alone. Nearly half of the top 30 U.S. CPA firms have now taken PE capital or shifted to an alternative practice structure. Five years ago, none of this was on the radar. Over roughly 6 years, PE groups have invested more than $50 billion in CPA firms, and the first 200 deals have led to nearly 900 secondary roll-ups.
“The valley between what’s actually happening on the PE street and what firm owners/leaders understand about it is wide enough to cost them real money,” Patil said. “I am not here to tell anyone PE is a stealth beneficiary of accountants’ value, and I am not here to tell anyone to stay independent at all costs. Both of those framings treat the firm owner as a passive observer. My aim is to level the playing field so both sides get optimal value.“
At the center of the launch is the Enterprise Attractiveness Score™ (EAS), a system Patil built over the past two years. It maps a firm against the ten dimensions, similar to what PE diligence teams use to put a number on a practice. A firm owner can learn more in one focused session than in the previous two years of running the firm. EAS ships the PE Readiness Score to the firm instantly, also giving the #1 value gap the firm must close to optimize its PE worth. Early access to the EAS system is now available at no cost for a limited time.
Getting clear on the EAS score changes how firms read the PE interest letters they are awaiting. And that can mean a significant difference between opening and closing the deal. “I am not going to tell anyone what to decide,” Patil said. “I want to give them what they need to decide well and decide it unbiased.“
Firm owners can claim complimentary early access to the Enterprise Attractiveness Score™ (EAS) at https://www.accountaneur.com/pe-in-accounting/pe-readiness-scorecard.
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