The M&A Shift Toward Adjusted EBITDA Margins

Are you building a firm to last, or building it to sell? Whether you're a CPA starting a firm or a Managing Partner eyeing retirement, understanding the current M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions) landscape is critical for your largest wealth-generation tool: your practice.

In this episode of Growing Your Firm, host Dave Cristella sits down with Doug Lewis, Managing Director at The Visionary Group, to pull back the curtain on how buyers are actually evaluating accounting and bookkeeping firms in 2026. From the impact of Private Equity (PE) to the "sticky revenue" of Client Accounting Services (CAS), Doug breaks down the metrics that determine your firm's valuation.

In this episode, we discuss:

1. The Shift in Valuation: Why firms are moving away from gross revenue multiples and toward Adjusted EBITDA.

2. The CAS Premium: Why Client Accounting Services and outsourced bookkeeping are trading for higher multiples than traditional audit or tax.

3. The Talent Shortage & M&A: How the pipeline shortage is moving "Talent" to the #1 spot on buyer wishlists.

4. The "Layover Test": Why culture alignment is the first thing that kills a deal (and how to spot red flags early).

5. Internal Succession Stress Testing: What to do when your "locked-in" successors have other plans (like opening a tiki bar in Thailand).

6. Staying Fiercely Independent: Why selling isn't the only path and how to build value even if you never plan to exit.

Featured Guest: Doug Lewis

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