Volume 38, Issue 8 | INSIDE Public Accounting Monthly

The IPA 100 Accounting Firms Top 100 Special Edition • August 2024 • Vol. 38, Issue 8

a look

INSIDE

AUGUST 20 24

Vol. 38, Issue 8

A PICTURE OF THE IPA 100

4 IPA 100 Thrive Despite an Uncertain Business Environment and Persistent Labor Pressures

6 IPA 100 Facts and Figures THE IPA 100 RANKINGS

9 The Complete Listing Of The 2024 IPA 100 13 IPA 100 Five-Year Trends 15 Staffing Solutions 16 The IPA 100 – Multi-Year Analysis 18 IPA 100 Fastest-Growing Firms 20 Revenue Bands and Competitive Pressures 22 2024 IPA 100 Comparison of Profit Indicators 23 Association Affiliation Among The 2024 IPA 500 24 Concerns Abound Over Impact of PE While Firms Prepare to Compete on Culture

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IPA 100 Thrive

Despite an Uncertain Business Environment and Persistent Labor Pressures BY: CHRIS CAMARA

The IPA 100 accounting firms are thriving despite the labor shortage and the rising costs of labor and capital.

“Firms have continued to get creative to pivot and adapt,” says Chelsea Summers, INSIDE Public Accounting’s director of survey operations. “One way is by greatly increasing their use of offshore talent to handle their busy workload.”

Offshoring jumped significantly this year.

Seventy-three percent of the IPA 100 utilized offshore FTEs at their firm, up from 53% last year. Additionally, 69% of the IPA 100 firms outsourced some of their tax returns this year, an increase from 43% last year.

The growing influence of private equity is by far the most talked-about development in the profession this year. In these arrangements, the private equity-backed firms create alternative practice structures, with the licensed accounting firm providing attest services, and an advisory group providing non-attest services.

EisnerAmper started the private equity wave in 2021 with its deal with TowerBrook Capital Partners. As of July 2024, nine of the IPA 100 firms have accepted private equity infusions. After Eisner Amper, Schellman, Warren Averett, Citrin Cooperman, Cherry Bekaert, Baker Tilly, Grant Thornton, Sikich and Aprio followed suit These firms have said the influx of cash will help them make major

4

AUGUST 2024

investments in technology, staff and acquisitions.

“Private equity investments are enabling firms to adapt as needed,” says Summers. “These investments include hiring additional staff, both domestically and offshore, investing in technologies, culling clients, and continuing to increase their consulting and advisory work," says Summers.

Another noteworthy trend is the slowing, but still robust, growth among the IPA 100. “The organic growth rate for the IPA 100 this year is 10.6% versus 14.4% last year,” says Summers. Also, income growth is 7.8% versus 11.5% last year.

Additional highlights of the IPA 100, which cumulatively represent $130.6 billion in revenue: Î The minimum revenue to qualify for the IPA 100 this year was $53,193,000, up from $48,843,552 last year. Î Sixty-four of the IPA 100 exceeded $100 million in net revenue. Î Twelve firms outside of the Big 4 are now larger than $1 billion in revenue. Î The revenue per FTE for firms in the IPA 100 is $234,977, holding pace with the $234,723 from last year. Î Personnel costs are continuing to rise this year, making up 53.1% of total revenue. This is up from 52.7% last year and 51.1% in 2020. Î Leverage (total firmwide personnel divided by total equity partners) is greatly increasing, from 14.0 in 2020 to 15.6 in 2023 to 16.7 this year.

In this issue, INSIDE Public Accounting offers a look at what the IPA 100 firms have reported in the IPA Practice Management Survey from their most recent fiscal yearends, between June 2023 and May 2024. All data excludes the Big 4, unless otherwise stated. 

100 DEBUTING ON THE IPA 100

No. 75 Sensiba LLP / Pleasanton, Calif.; No. 95 Windes / Long Beach, Calif.; No. 97 BMSS LLC / Birmingham, Ala.; No. 99 Tanner LLC / Salt Lake City; and No. 100 Smith + Howard / Atlanta

NEW IPA 100 LEADERS

Bill Thomas, KPMG LLP; Jason Drake, Plante Moran; Vicken Haleblian, Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP; James Meade Jr., LBMC PC; Laura Sprouse, Brown Edwards & Company LLP; Richard Wright, Freed Maxick CPAs PC; and Thomas Milburn, YHB CPAs & Consultants

EXITING THE IPA 100

New York-based Mazars USA LLP was acquired by FORVIS LLP. Redwood City, Calif.-based Seiler LLP was acquired by Chicago-based Baker Tilly.

Louisville, Ky.-based MCM CPAs & Advisors LLP was acquired by Raleigh, N.C.-based Cherry Bekaert. 

INSIDE PUBLIC ACCOUNTING (IPA) is proud to celebrate 34 years of identifying and analyzing the nation's largest public accounting firms. We thank the 629 firm leaders who continue to participate in the annual IPA Practice Management Survey and appreciate your willingness to help IPA conduct a comprehensive examination of the accounting profession. Please feel free to contact our team with any questions, suggestions or comments.

Respectfully, the IPA team.

Editorial Note: All metrics in this issue exclude the Big 4 unless otherwise noted. All averages throughout this issue are trim averages - the average of the 90% in the middle of the data set.

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5

IPA 100

FACTS

and Figures

64

Sixty-four of the IPA 100 exceeded $100 million in net revenue and 12 firms outside of the Big 4 are now larger than $1 billion.

PERSONNEL COSTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF NET REVENUE ARE CONTINUING TO RISE.

$864,630

$328,192

6

AUGUST 2024

THEY AVERAGE 53.1%, up from

EQUITY PARTNER COMPENSATION

NON-EQUITY PARTNER COMPENSATION

52.7% last year.

PROFESSIONAL STAFF TURNOVER WAS

14.1%

A DECREASE FROM 16.0% LAST YEAR

Nearly 75% of that turnover was staff voluntary leaving the firm.

55.0%

Offshore FTEs are utilized by 73% of firms.

OF TOTAL REVENUE IS COMING FROM CHARGE HOURS X RATES,

In 72% of those firms, the offshore staff are

DECREASING from 55.7% last year.

employees of the firm.

employed by a third party. In 28%, they are

93%

TOTAL REVENUE FOR THE IPA 100

of IPA 100 firms plan to do more or the

same amount of outsourcing / offshoring in the coming year.

39%

28%

NON-COMPLIANCE

ASSURANCE

33%

TAX

69%

68%

58% 43%

OF FIRMS EMPLOY A MARKETING DIRECTOR HAVE A CIO / CTO HAVE A CFO HAVE A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

THE MINIMUM REVENUE FOR THE IPA 100 WAS

$53,193,000 this year.

AVERAGE COMPENSATION new equity partners $418,396

new non-equity partners $255,746

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Putting collaboration first, we inspire the success of America’s independent CPA firms.

We’re here for America’s independent CPAs, enabling boundless collaboration between ambitious, forward-thinking accounting and advisory firms.

Standing by your side, we’re the collective voice and passionate supporters of our more than 90 member firms, helping them to do what they do – better.

“CPAmerica has been a catalyst for our firm’s continued growth and success through the valuable insights from member firms across the nation.”

Dave Farnsworth Managing Shareholder MHCS P.C.

www.cpamerica.org

THE 2024 INSIDE PUBLIC ACCOUNTING TOP 100 FIRMS ’24

’23

FIRM / HEADQUARTERS

MP / CEO

NET REVENUE

1

1

Deloitte / New York

Jason Girzadas

$32,669,000,000

2

2

PwC / New York

Tim Ryan

$23,535,000,000

3

3

Ernst & Young LLP / New York

Julie Boland

$21,500,000,000

4

4

KPMG LLP / New York

Bill Thomas ×

$14,600,000,000

5

5

RSM US LLP / Chicago

Brian Becker

$4,007,702,000

6

6

BDO USA / Chicago

Wayne Berson

$2,887,900,000

7

7

Grant Thornton LLP / Chicago

Seth Siegel

$2,362,181,000

8

8

Forvis Mazars LLP1

Tom Watson

$2,152,395,000

9

9

CLA1

Jennifer Leary

$2,000,000,000

10

10

Baker Tilly / Chicago

Jeff Ferro

$1,718,700,000

11

12

CBIZ & MHM2 / Cleveland/Kansas City, Mo.

Chris Spurio / Andrew Gragnani

$1,350,000,000

12

11

Crowe LLP / Chicago

Mark Baer

$1,337,967,000

13

13

Marcum LLP / New York

Jeffrey M. Weiner

$1,325,237,676

14

14

Moss Adams LLP / Seattle

Eric Miles

$1,260,000,000

15

15

Plante Moran / Southfield, Mich.

Jason Drake ×

$1,109,692,000

16

16

CohnReznick LLP / New York

David Kessler

$1,052,365,413

17

18

Eisner Advisory Group LLC / New York

Charly Weinstein

$848,707,698

18

17

Eide Bailly LLP1

Jeremy Hauk

$704,979,000

19

23

Citrin Cooperman / New York

Alan G. Badey

$674,000,000

20

19

Armanino LLP / San Ramon, Calif.

Matt Armanino

$640,448,684

21

21

Andersen / San Francisco

Mark L. Vorsatz

$633,565,000

22

20

Wipfli LLP / Milwaukee

Kurt Gresens

$588,800,000

23

22

WithumSmith+Brown PC / Princeton, N.J.

Patrick Walsh

$584,154,000

24

26

Cherry Bekaert / Raleigh, N.C.

Michelle Thompson

$572,000,000

25

24

Carr Riggs & Ingram LLC / Enterprise, Ala.

Chad Pinson

$455,356,140

KEY: For ranking purposes, net revenue includes revenue from mergers.

Revenue for the Big 4 are U.S.-based. × Denotes new Managing Partner.

1 No Designated headquarters identified. 2 CBIZ & MHM have an alternative practice structure

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THE 2024 INSIDE PUBLIC ACCOUNTING TOP 100 FIRMS ’24

’23

FIRM / HEADQUARTERS

MP / CEO

NET REVENUE

26

28

Aprio LLP / Atlanta

Richard Kopelman

$420,790,000

27

27

PKF O'Connor Davies / Harrison, N.Y.

Kevin J. Keane

$377,500,000

28

29

Sikich / Chicago

Christopher Geier

$363,765,824

29

25

HORNE / Ridgeland, Miss.

S. Neil Forbes

$361,890,000

30

30

UHY3 / Farmington Hills, Mich.

Steven P. McCarty

$346,600,000

31

32

Weaver / Houston

John J. Mackel

$328,276,610

32

34

Kearney & Company PC / Alexandria, Va.

Ed Kearney

$252,391,774

33

33

Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP / Los Angeles

Vicken Haleblian ×

$245,518,236

34

35

BPM LLP / San Francisco

Jim Wallace

$242,033,657

35

39

Whitley Penn / Fort Worth, Texas

Larry G. Autrey

$217,662,843

36

36

RubinBrown LLP / St. Louis

Steven L. Harris

$216,000,000

37

38

Novogradac & Company LLP / San Francisco

Michael J. Novogradac

$214,093,837

38

37

LBMC PC / Brentwood, Tenn.

James Meade Jr. ×

$207,194,913

39

40

Rehmann LLC / Troy, Mich.

Stacie Kwaiser

$203,783,464

40

41

Frank Rimerman + Co. LLP / Palo Alto, Calif.

Brian Kreischer

$202,987,331

41

42

Elliott Davis LLC / Greenville, S.C.

Rick Davis

$189,222,035

42

43

The Bonadio Group / Pittsford, N.Y.

Bruce Zicari

$174,706,000

43

47

BerryDunn / Portland, Maine

Sarah Belliveau

$167,391,491

44

45

Frazier & Deeter LLC / Atlanta

Seth McDaniel

$163,099,000

45

44

Warren Averett / Birmingham, Ala.

Mary Elliott

$162,561,102

46

46

Hill Barth & King LLC / Canfield, Ohio

Chris Allegretti

$153,917,000

47

50

Cohen & Company Ltd. / Cleveland

Chris Bellamy

$153,896,588

48

49

Kaufman Rossin / Miami

Blain L. Heckaman

$151,500,000

49

52

Schellman / Tampa, Fla.

Avani Desai

$148,534,560

50

48

MGO LLP / Los Angeles

Kevin O'Connell

$146,715,000

KEY: × Denotes new Managing Partner. 3 UHY Advisors Inc. and UHY LLP are affiliated through an alternative practice structure.

10

AUGUST 2024

THE 2024 INSIDE PUBLIC ACCOUNTING TOP 100 FIRMS ’24

’23

FIRM / HEADQUARTERS

MP / CEO

NET REVENUE

51

53

Katz Sapper & Miller / Indianapolis

Tim Cook

$144,874,633

52

51

Anchin Block & Anchin LLP / New York

Russell Shinsky

$139,894,000

53

55

Doeren Mayhew & Co. PC / Troy, Mich.

Chad M. Anschuetz

$137,400,000

54

57

Miller Cooper & Co. Ltd. / Chicago

Kristen Fitzpatrick

$135,375,540

55

58

Blue & Co. LLC / Carmel, Ind.

Brad Shaw

$132,903,493

56

56

Grassi Advisory Group Inc. / New York

Louis C. Grassi

$132,569,402

57

64

Pinion LLC4 / Salina, Kan.

Jeffrey Wald

$125,117,075

58

59

Schneider Downs & Co. Inc. / Pittsburgh

Christopher McElroy / Steven Thompson

$124,033,517

59

54

Prager Metis International / New York

Glenn Friedman / Lori Roth

$124,000,000

60

60

RKL LLP / Lancaster, Pa.

Ed Monborne

$123,433,314

61

61

Berkowitz Pollack Brant / Miami

Joseph Saka

$118,795,963

62

65

Mauldin & Jenkins LLC / Atlanta

V. Hanson Borders

$111,723,510

63

62

Clark Schaefer Hackett & Co. / Miamisburg, Ohio

Kerry Roe

$105,103,971

64

68

Bennett Thrasher LLP / Atlanta

Jeff Call

$102,790,108

65

66

SC&H Group / Sparks, Md.

Pritpal Kalsi

$99,000,000

66

67

SingerLewak LLP / Los Angeles

Jim Pitrat

$94,632,775

67

70

Sax LLP / Parsippany, N.J.

Joseph A. Damiano

$93,500,000

68

71

Aldrich / Lake Oswego, Ore.

John Lauseng

$86,183,025

69

72

Brown Edwards & Company LLP / Roanoke, Va.

Laura Sprouse ×

$84,586,496

70

74

Lutz / Omaha, Neb.

Mark Duren

$81,196,249

71

76

Rea & Associates / New Philadelphia, Ohio

Mark McKinley

$81,092,309

72

80

PBMares LLP / Newport News, Va.

Harvey L. Johnson

$80,361,188

73

77

Anders CPAs + Advisors LLP / St. Louis

Robert J. Minkler Jr.

$78,510,140

74

78

Wolf & Company PC / Boston

Gerald R. Gagne

$77,055,000

75

NR

Sensiba LLP / Pleasanton, Calif.

John D. Sensiba

$74,773,884

KEY: NR Not Ranked in 2023. × Denotes new Managing Partner. 4 Firm changed name from Kcoe Isom LLP.

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THE 2024 INSIDE PUBLIC ACCOUNTING TOP 100 FIRMS ’24

’23

FIRM / HEADQUARTERS

MP / CEO

NET REVENUE

76

79

KLR / Providence, R.I.

Paul Oliveira

$72,696,894

77

88

Gursey | Schneider LLP / Los Angeles

Stephan Wasserman

$71,553,715

78

82

HoganTaylor LLP / Tulsa, Okla.

Randy Nail

$70,959,778

79

73

Krost / Pasadena, Calif.

Jason Melillo

$70,564,685

80

81

PYA / Knoxville, Tenn.

Martin D. Brown

$69,685,895

81

83

Haynie & Company / Salt Lake City

Dave Peterson

$66,235,174

82

84

Wiss & Company LLP / Florham Park, N.J.

Paul Peterson

$66,000,000

83

86

Freed Maxick CPAs PC / Buffalo, N.Y.

Richard Wright ×

$65,342,097

84

89

Clark Nuber PS / Bellevue, Wash.

Tom Sulewski

$65,142,986

85

91

HHM CPAs5 / Chattanooga, Tenn.

James D. Hutcherson

$64,464,171

86

85

Kemper CPA Group LLP / Evansville, Ind.

John A. Rubenacker

$64,116,384

87

92

Cain Watters & Associates LLC / Frisco, Texas

Dan Wicker

$64,023,576

88

99

Dean Dorton Allen Ford PLLC / Lexington, Ky.

David Bundy

$63,897,609

89

93

AAFCPAs Inc. / Westborough, Mass.

Carla McCall

$62,300,000

90

87

Baker Newman Noyes / Portland, Maine

Dayton Benway

$62,211,624

91

98

YHB CPAs & Consultants / Winchester, Va.

Thomas Milburn ×

$61,000,000

92

94

Boulay PLLP / Eden Prairie, Minn.

Thomas B. Johnson

$59,819,100

93

96

GBQ Partners LLC / Columbus, Ohio

Darci L. Congrove

$59,647,928

94

90

GHJ / Los Angeles

Tom Barry

$59,240,000

95

NR

Windes / Long Beach, Calif.

Sean McFerson

$57,478,127

96

95

Brady Martz & Associates PC / Grand Forks, N.D.

Todd Van Dusen

$57,430,650

97

102

BMSS LLC / Birmingham, Ala.

Don Murphy

$55,107,236

98

100

Global Tax Management / Wayne, Pa.

David Sekula

$54,351,268

99

108

Tanner LLC / Salt Lake City

Mark Erickson

$54,186,784

100

103

Smith + Howard / Atlanta

Sean Taylor

$53,193,000

KEY: × Denotes new Managing Partner. 5 Firm changed name from Henderson Hutcherson McCullough PLLC. NR Not Ranked in 2023.

12

AUGUST 2024

The IPA 100 Five-Year Trends The data below represents the trim average – the average of the 90% in the middle of the data set.

Category

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

Organic Net Revenue Growth

10.6%

14.4%

12.6%

6.0%

7.2%

All Net Revenue Growth (including mergers)

12.4%

17.3%

15.3%

7.7%

9.4%

All Net Income Growth (including mergers)

7.8%

11.5%

20.2%

14.7%

8.5%

Net Income as a Percentage of Revenue

25.4%

25.5%

27.9%

26.7%

24.9%

Net Income per Equity Partner

$948,524

$920,836

$933,059

$814,385

$712,725

Managing Partner Compensation

$1,601,349

$1,726,853

$1,663,104

$1,392,039

$1,360,398

Equity Partner Compensation

$864,630

$839,687

$837,978

$723,095

$638,522

Non-Equity Partner Compensation

$328,192

$307,579

$306,686

$297,185

$274,026

Personnel Costs as a % of Revenue

53.1%

52.7%

51.1%

51.5%

51.1%

$3,934,661

$3,683,833

$3,437,293

$3,111,930

$3,001,235

55.0%

55.7%

54.3%

58.1%

62.2%

Net Revenue per Employee1

$234,977

$234,723

$229,683

$219,088

$214,220

Pay per Professional2

$110,093

$104,378

$99,000

$94,664

$91,941

Professional Staff Turnover

14.1%

16.0%

18.4%

14.7%

16.0%

Leverage (Total FTE / Equity Partner)

16.7

15.6

14.9

14.1

14.0

A&A/Tax/Other (Percentage of Revenue)3

28 / 33 / 39

28 / 32 / 40

28 / 31 / 41

29 / 32 / 39

31 / 32 / 37

Minimum IPA 100 Net Revenue

$53,193,000

$48,843,552

$44,518,029

$43,493,315

$43,705,000

Net Revenue per Equity Partner Revenue from Charge Hours x Rates

EDITORIAL NOTE: The metrics on the page exclude the Big 4.

KEY: 1 Includes all partners and all firm personnel. 2 Excludes all partners. 3 A&A and tax include compliance services only. Client accounting services, tax specialty services and tax consulting are included in Other.

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13

Staffing Solutions The Continual Rise of Outsourcing and Offshoring

BY: CHELSEA SUMMERS

With many firms turning away work or throttling back growth goals, firms are looking for new staffing solutions. Some are hiring outside the accounting profession, some are utilizing administrative staff to do more client work, and some are exploring outsourcing and offshoring initiatives.

According to the 2024 INSIDE Public Acounting Practice Management Survey, 69% of the IPA 100 firms outsourced some of their tax returns last year, an increase from 43% last year. The firms that outsourced tax returns averaged nearly 1,200 tax returns per firm.

Seventy-three percent of the IPA 100 employed offshore FTEs at their firm, up from 53% of firms last year, with an average of 49.9 FTEs at each firm.

The offshore staff are employed by the firm at 28% of the firms, while the other 72% use a third-party company.

Sixty-three percent of the IPA 100 that utilize offshore staff are offshoring to India, 21% to the Philippines and 9% to the United States.

Other countries include South Africa, Armenia and Ukraine.

Some of the common third-party companies firms are utilizing include: Entigrity, GR8, TOA Global, Xpitax, SurePrep and SAPRO, along with many others in various countries.

Of those that are currently outsourcing or offshoring, 93% plan to do more or the same amount in the coming year with only 7% planning to decrease. Of those that don’t offshore or outsource, 30% plan to start in the coming year.

As the profession continues to navigate these staffing challenges, outsourcing and offshoring will continue to gain momentum in future years. Firms are adapting by leveraging a combination of internal and external resources to meet client demands and sustain growth. 

India

63%

United States

The survey showed that the most popular countries for outsourcing include:

9%

Ukraine Philippines

21%

Armenia

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15

The IPA 100 – Multi-Year Analysis BY: CHELSEA SUMMERS

INSIDE Public Accounting has reviewed the top 100 firms since 1991, marking an evolution that highlights the dynamic and competitive nature of the accounting profession.

Originally published as The Bowman Accounting Report, the list has undergone significant transformations, not only in the explosion in revenue since then, but also in the number of firms that merged into their larger counterparts. In 2004 the Bowman 100 was rebranded as the IPA 100. The listing has since expanded to rank the largest 500 firms in the United States.

The revenue of the 100 firms has grown substantially through both organic growth and, more significantly, through acquisitions both inside the IPA 100 and among smaller firms. In 1991, the No. 100 firm was Jackson Thornton at $6 million in revenue. By 2004, the No. 100 firm was Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman with $17,751,216 in revenue. Later known as EKS&H, Plante Moran acquired the firm in 2018. The 2014 No. 100 firm was Bennett Thrasher at $32,487,995 in revenue, and in 2024 the No. 100 firm is Smith + Howard at $53,193,000 in revenue, representing a 787% increase over Jackson Thornton 33 years ago.

No. 100 Net Revenue $60,000,000

$53,193,000 2024

$50,000,000

$40,000,000

$32,487,995

2014

$30,000,000

$17,751,216

$20,000,000

2004

$7,400,000

$10,000,000

$0

16

1994

1991

AUGUST 2024

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003 2005 2007 2009

2011

2013

2015

2017

2019

2021

2023

The increase in minimum revenue for the IPA 100 firms reflects broader changes. Below is a selection of key metrics.

Category

2024

2019

2014

2009

2004

Organic Net Revenue Growth

10.6%

6.7%

6.5%

6.4%

7.4%

All Net Income Growth (including mergers)

7.8%

11.8%

6.9%

0.9%

10.6%

Net Income as a Percentage of Revenue

25.4%

25.9%

26.8%

29.0%

31.0%

Net Income per Equity Partner

$948,524

$681,722

$624,589

$623,805

$346,768

Equity Partner Compensation

$864,630

$620,936

$455,651

$526,722

$346,076

53.1%

50.2%

47.5%

45.6%

46.6%

Net Revenue per Equity Partner

$3,934,661

$2,787,902

$2,344,981

$1,588,259

$1,181,476

Net Revenue per Employee 1

$234,977

$208,454

$195,836

$180,178

$145,722

Pay per Professional 2

$110,093

$90,149

$81,526

$79,875

$64,852

Professional Staff Turnover

14.1%

16.1%

14.9%

14.9%

15.3%

Leverage (Total FTE / Equity Partner)

16.7

13.2

12.0

12.2

9.9

$53,193,000

$39,232,000

$32,487,995

$30,846,396

$17,751,216

Personnel Costs as a % of Revenue

Minimum IPA 100 Net Revenue EDITORIAL NOTE: The metrics on this page exclude the Big 4.

KEY: 1 Includes all partners and all firm personnel. 2 Excludes all partners.

Another eye-opener is the level of consolidation. In the 2004 IPA 100 listing, 22 firms were no longer present a decade later, and 40% of those original 2004 firms no longer exist today. Nearly all these 40 firms have been acquired by larger top 100 firms. Baker Tilly acquired five of the 2004 IPA 100 firms; CLA acquired four; Marcum acquired four; BDO acquired three; CBIZ acquired three; and Forvis Mazars acquired three.

2004 2014 2024

As the IPA 100 list continues to evolve, it reflects the ongoing trends of growth through mergers and acquisitions, as well as the increasing revenues that define the industry's largest firms.

These major changes over the past three decades

highlight the importance of adaptability and strategic expansion for accounting firms aiming to maintain their competitive position in a rapidly changing market. As the industry continues to consolidate, the IPA 100 will remain a crucial benchmark for tracking the progress and shifts within the profession. 

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17

The 2024 IPA 100 Fastest-Growing Firms

(RANKED BY NET REVENUE PERCENTAGE ORGANIC GROWTH)

Growth Rank

Firm / Headquarters

Rank '24

Rank '23

2024 Net Revenue

2024 Organic Growth

1

YHB CPAs & Consultants / Winchester, Va.

91

98

$61,000,000

25.0%

2

Tanner LLC / Salt Lake City

99

108

$54,186,784

23.4%

3

BerryDunn / Portland, Maine

43

47

$167,391,491

21.4%

4

Gursey | Schneider LLP 1 / Los Angeles

77

88

$71,553,715

21.2%

5

Weaver 1 / Houston

31

32

$328,276,610

20.7%

5

Citrin Cooperman / New York

19

23

$674,000,000

20.0%

7

Schellman / Tampa, Fla.

49

52

$148,534,560

19.8%

8

Andersen / San Francisco

21

21

$633,565,000

17.4%

9

BMSS LLC / Birmingham, Ala.

97

102

$55,107,236

17.3%

10

Cohen & Company Ltd. / Cleveland

47

50

$153,896,588

17.2%

EDITORIAL NOTE: Percentage organic growth in net revenue from the firm’s previous fiscal year, excluding mergers/acquisitions.

KEY: 1 Second consecutive year.

The 2024 IPA 100 Fastest-Growing Firms (RANKED BY NET REVENUE PERCENTAGE ALL GROWTH)

Growth Rank

Firm / Headquarters

Rank '24

Rank '23

2024 Net Revenue

2024 All Growth

1

Cherry Bekaert 1 / Raleigh, N.C.

24

26

$572,000,000

64.0%

2

Citrin Cooperman / New York

19

23

$674,000,000

56.0%

3

Eisner Advisory Group LLC / New York

17

18

$848,707,698

38.2%

4

Aprio LLP 2 / Atlanta

26

28

$420,790,000

32.6%

5

Weaver / Houston

31

32

$328,276,610

28.9%

6

Dean Dorton Allen Ford PLLC / Lexington, Ky.

88

99

$63,897,609

28.7%

7

YHB CPAs & Consultants 1 / Winchester, Va.

91

98

$61,000,000

25.0%

8

Tanner LLC / Salt Lake City

99

108

$54,186,784

23.4%

9

BerryDunn / Portland, Maine

43

47

$167,391,491

21.4%

10

Gursey | Schneider LLP / Los Angeles

77

88

$71,553,715

21.2%

EDITORIAL NOTE: Percentage ALL growth in net revenue from the firm’s previous fiscal year, including both organic and mergers/acquisitions.

KEY: 1 Second consecutive year. 2Third consecutive year.

18

AUGUST 2024

Free Checklist For Accountants: 88 Time-Consuming Accounting Firm Tasks That Are Most Easily Offshored

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One popular solution is to delegate the lower value work so you can free up your time for what you do best.

In this Checklist, we highlight more than 88 different tasks that our 1000+ accounting firm clients are delegating to their offshore team members every day.

Inside, You Will Discover + 88 easily delegated low-margin compliance, administrative and support tasks to free up time.

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Revenue Bands and Competitive Pressures Strategies for Mid-Sized Accounting Firms to Succeed BY: CHRIS CAMARA

Large and small accounting firms are better positioned for success in the rapidly changing business environment than those in the middle, says The Growth Partnership’s Charles Hylan.

Based on his work making presentations and facilitating partner retreats with firms of all sizes across the country, Hylan observed that firms from $3 million to $20 million in revenue and those of more than $50 million (IPA Top 100) are well positioned. The firms in between may feel squeezed.

“If you're in that $20- to $50-million size, you're now competing against the smaller firms in your market that are really good in their swim lanes (niches) and that are more flexible and nimble,” he said. “And you're also competing against those IPA 100 firms in your marketplace that have full C-suites, strong marketing, strong niches and large pools of funds to invest.”

Specialty firms under $20 million should be able to compete with larger firms if they have solid business practices and deep expertise in their niche, be it industry-specific, such as dental practices, or serviceoriented, such as ERISA audits.

The IPA 100 firms, which are all more than $50 million, are in a good position as long as they are well financed, Hylan said. These firms are consolidating seemingly every week and private equity has made major inroads.

“You have to have a big war chest to hire people, to invest in offshoring or outsourcing, to invest in technology, to invest in acquiring smaller firms, to invest in acquiring consulting practices, and to invest in C-suite professionals.”

Generalist firms that don’t specialize but dominate smaller markets should also do well, he said, but similar firms in larger markets may have difficulty. “You’ve got to be really, really smart

about how you make money to be a general practice firm. And let's just use Dallas for an example, to be a $25-million general practice firm and just do all things for all people – that's a tough go.”

The other problem with this in-between group is the need to go to a more sophisticated management structure. Rather than spreading around responsibilities – in HR, IT or marketing, for example – firms of about $20 million to $50 million need to think about developing their C-suite.

IPA's data consistently shows that CFOs are more common once firms get to the $20-million mark. 

2024 IPA 100 Comparison of Profit Indicators The 10 Participating IPA 100 Firms with the Highest...

Net Revenue per Equity Partner

Net Revenue per Employee

Net Income per Equity Partner

Equity Partner Bill Rate

2024 IPA 100 Average

Net Revenue Growth – Organic

11.3%

11.8%

14.6%

11.8%

10.6%

Net Income Growth – All

9.8%

9.9%

15.1%

8.7%

7.8%

Net Income as Percentage of Revenue

21.5%

29.6%

35.8%

31.8%

25.4%

Assurance Revenue

30.2%

26.3%

24.4%

25.3%

28.6%

Tax Compliance Revenue

33.8%

44.9%

41.8%

40.7%

34.6%

All Other Revenue – Non-Compliance

36.0%

28.8%

33.8%

34.0%

36.8%

Net Income per Equity Partner

$1,834,626

$1,353,317

$2,100,003

$1,267,669

$864,630

Net Revenue per Equity Partner

$8,329,241

$4,830,524

$6,092,762

$3,962,738

$3,934,661

Net Revenue per Employee 1

$267,666

$584,599

$274,591

$258,442

$234,977

Equity Partner Compensation

$1,356,651

$1,234,052

$1,877,363

$1,171,110

$864,630

Non-Equity Partner Compensation

$404,205

$362,530

$414,829

$462,111

$328,192

Personnel Costs

54.2%

48.6%

47.6%

49.1%

53.1%

Pay per Professional

$109,185

$119,264

$109,324

$127,478

$110,093

GROWTH & PRACTICE MIX

REVENUE & NET INCOME

EQUITY PARTNER INFORMATION

EDITORIAL NOTE: The metrics on the page exclude the Big 4. Most, but not all, IPA Top 100 firms provided requested data.

KEY: 1 Includes all partners and all firm personnel.

22

AUGUST 2024

Association Affiliation Among The 2024 IPA 500 Below is a list of the IPA 500 firms and their association affiliations. Note that some firms are members of more than one association, and others are not affiliated with any group. Leaders and members of these associations trust IPA with their sensitive financial information to help the entire profession, and for that we offer our heartfelt thanks.

Association

IPA 100

Abacus Worldwide

IPA 200

IPA 300

IPA 400

IPA 500

2

Web Address abacusworldwide.org

AGN International

1

6

4

7

6

agn.org

Allinial Global

8

8

5

5

3

allinialglobal.com

Alliott Global Alliance

1

1

Aprio Firm Alliance

1

1

alliottglobal.com 6

aprio.com/about/aprio-firm-alliance

Baker Tilly International

3

BDO Alliance USA

12

24

20

23

11

bdo.com/about/bdo-alliance-usa

BKR International

1

3

2

1

1

bkr.com

CPAmerica Inc.

3

10

10

26

23

cpamerica.org

DFK International

3

6

2

3

5

dfk.com

GGI Global Alliance AG

2

2

HLB International

8

1

1

LEA Global

5

7

5

leaglobal.com

1

1

mgiworld.com

2

MGI Worldwide

bakertilly.global

Moore North America

7

1

Morison Global

2

1

ggi.com

1

1

hlb.global

moore-na.com morisonglobal.com

1

MSI Global Alliance

2

1

msiglobal.org

Nexia International

1

2

nexia.com

PKF International

2

2

Praxity

4

PrimeGlobal

13

8

16

3

7

primeglobal.net

RSM US Alliance

11

11

16

11

9

rsmus.com/about/alliance

1

pkf.com praxity.com

Russell Bedford International TIAG Alliances

2

2 2

russellbedford.com 1

tagalliances.com

KEY: +Only associations that have two or more firms in the IPA 500 are listed.

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23

Concerns Abound Over Impact of PE While Firms Prepare to Compete on Culture BY: CHRIS CAMARA

A June INSIDE Public Accounting Pulse Survey, which drew anonymous

responses from 84 MPs in firms of $15 million and above, shows a majority are worried or unsure about the impact of private equity.

Overall, 19% thought PE would be good for the profession, 35% said the impact would be negative and 40% are unsure. The survey showed 85% have frequently been approached by one or more PE firms, and 66% said they have no interest in pursuing PE and want to remain independent.

How do you view the impact of PE on the public accounting landscape?

4%

Few issues in recent years have generated as much interest – and concern – as private equity’s flood of investment into the profession, starting with EisnerAmper in 2021, and leading to eight additional IPA 100 firms making deals with PE firms.

Of those interested or actively pursuing relationships with PE firms, 30% said the biggest benefit is infusion of capital to make investments. Further, 3% cited back-office and C-suite support; 7% chose ability of professionals to enjoy economic upside; 23% said “all of the above,” and 34% chose “other,” citing the following potential benefits – partner retirement payouts, ability to compete 24

AUGUST 2024

19% 40% 35%

Positive

Negative

Not sure

Other

From your perspective, how can independent firms best compete against PE-funded firms?

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Use outsourcing and technology to reduce the workload on entry-level staff

Raise compensation

Promote our culture

for acquisitions and top talent, investment in technology and offshoring, and expansion of ownership in the firm.

Firm leaders with no interest in PE consistently commented that their firms can compete on culture.

“Promoting culture and taking care of your employees will always be a key to success,” said one. Another said, “A firm with a people-first culture can continue to thrive.”

Here is a selection of additional comments.

POSITIVES

Î “PE forces accounting firms to be run like a business.

Most owners of firms seem to not want to give up control and be told what to do, which often is not in line with their skill set.” Î “The CPA industry is long overdue for disruption.”

NEGATIVES

Î “I have not enjoyed the vulture-esque approach of many of the PE firms – total turnoff – and I’m afraid it is indicative of what they will do to the industry.”

All of the above

Other

Î “PE in the profession will ultimately be a net negative, as PE focuses on short-term financial goals rather than long-term success. It will be a financial boon to retiring partners, but I expect that 15 years from now PE will regret their decision.”

UNSURE

Î “I think the view of the PE landscape is still in flux.

Once the first deal(s) matures there will be further assessment. Ex.: Does the size of the Eisner deal require going public? Will some of the smaller deals flip to another PE or sell to Top 30?” Î “It's complicated as they are providing investment and cash for audit/tax firms, particularly, as retirements come to fruition. However, they may be creating a situation where assets may be overvalued.”

One respondent seemed to sum up many of the comments: “I would expect PE will have both positive and negative impacts on the profession. It is too early to tell which way it will lean. It is certainly going to increase the pace of change in an already rapidly changing profession.” 

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25

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