Business Development: PE Changes More Than the BD Growth Goal

When private equity invests in an accounting firm, the expectation is that the business will become more valuable. Growth and improved profitability help deliver that return.

For business development professionals, the impact can extend well beyond a higher revenue target. It can influence how growth is planned, where the firm invests, what people are expected to contribute and how results are measured.

The results so far suggest PE-backed firms are not just buying growth. An INSIDE Public Accounting survey found that even excluding mergers and acquisitions, PE-backed firms grew 16% organically, compared with 10.3% for non-PE firms.[3] Organic growth is where business development lives.

None of the practices behind that growth require outside capital. Independent firms can adopt them too. What PE adds is investors whose returns depend on execution, which removes the option of putting it off.

John Atkinson, founder of GrowthLogik, a growth advisory firm serving CPA firms, cautions against treating all PE-backed firms alike. Some investors take an active role in shaping operations and growth strategy, while others preserve considerable autonomy and the existing culture. Firms also enter these relationships with very different levels of BD sophistication. The common thread is greater pressure to deliver growth, even if the approach varies.

Growth becomes a defined assignment

In his September 2025 article on the first 100 days after a PE acquisition, Veritac Group’s John Auer recommends assessing the sales and marketing operation, establishing KPIs and reporting schedules, and formalizing processes and performance standards.[1]

His playbook addresses midmarket B2B companies broadly, but it offers a useful lens for understanding PE’s potential influence on accounting BD.

“Partners need to do more business development” becomes an incomplete instruction. Which clients and markets should they pursue? Which services offer the greatest opportunity? Who owns the next step? How will progress be reviewed?

The difference is in translating a growth expectation into work that people understand and can execute. “Grow advisory revenue” is a goal. “Each tax partner introduces the advisory team to five clients with succession or transaction needs this year, with progress reviewed quarterly” is an assignment.

People need the capacity to deliver

Auer also recommends evaluating whether leadership has the capability to execute the investment plan and identifying where additional support is needed.[1]

For accounting firms, higher expectations should prompt an honest assessment of BD readiness. Who has the relationships, skills and capacity to contribute? Who needs coaching? Who is willing but uncertain? Who consistently declines to participate?

Those are different situations requiring different responses.

PE investor ECI Partners describes supporting portfolio companies with customer targeting, pipeline management and sales capability development.[2] That illustrates an important point: investor involvement can include improving how people sell, alongside expecting them to sell more.

As accounting firms expand their services, professionals need stronger discovery skills, a better understanding of colleagues’ capabilities and the ability to coordinate pursuits across practices.

Investment should improve execution

A fall 2025 Illinois CPA Society article describes PE capital as a source of funding for acquisitions, technology upgrades and operational expertise. Advisors also identify faster expansion into acquisitions and advisory services as an attraction of the model.[3]

Those investments can broaden what a firm offers. BD must help turn that expanded capability into relevant client conversations and opportunities.

Atkinson points to emerging AI-driven tools that can identify additional services existing clients may need. But identifying an opportunity is not the same as pursuing it. As he puts it, “Now, there’s a gap there between actually getting that intel and actually doing something with it.”

Closing that gap requires someone to evaluate the information, initiate the appropriate client conversation and involve colleagues who can help. Technology may identify an opportunity, but people must turn it into business.

My view is that investment in the BD operation should start with the obstacles to growth. Is relationship information difficult to access? Are opportunities poorly qualified? Do pursuits stall because nobody owns the next step? Do professionals need help leading client conversations?

The answers should guide decisions about CRM, data, training, staffing and process improvements. More spending helps when it makes execution more effective.

Collaboration needs recognition

Acquisitions can add services faster than partners learn to sell them together. Research from London Business School and Yale found that after PE investment, accounting firms became far more likely to make acquisitions, often across state lines and shifted their revenue mix toward non-audit services.[5] The firm’s capabilities change quickly. Partners’ habits change slowly.

Atkinson observes that partners in newly expanded firms may not even know the full range of services their organization now offers. That makes internal education an essential part of cross-selling. Before partners can identify additional client needs, they must understand which colleagues and capabilities are available to address them.

Cross-selling requires identifying appropriate clients, preparing relationship partners, involving specialists and following through. The reward system matters too.

In an April 2026 CPA Practice Advisor article, consultant Mark Masson describes how heightened growth expectations after a capital infusion can expose misalignment among firm strategy, client priorities and partner behavior. He recommends reconsidering who receives credit when someone expands a longstanding client relationship.[4]

If leadership expects people to share relationships and develop opportunities together, compensation should recognize those contributions.

Everyone can have a role in growth without having the same role. Some professionals originate relationships. Others identify needs, introduce colleagues or contribute expertise to a pursuit. Clear expectations and recognition make that participation meaningful.

There is a risk here, too. Pressure to hit growth targets can push people to introduce services clients don’t need. That damages the trust that makes cross-selling work in the first place. The goal is helping clients with problems the firm can solve, not maximizing introductions.

Measurement supports the plan

Auer’s playbook recommends CRM tracking, dashboards, rolling forecasts and regular operating reviews. It also calls for examining customer retention and the costs of acquiring and serving customers.[1]

Atkinson sees CRM systems taking on a more significant role in accounting firms. Historically, some firms used only a small portion of their CRM capabilities, primarily for marketing emails. Now, there is greater emphasis on managing relationships and tracking opportunities through defined stages, from initial targeting and discovery to proposals and decisions.

He describes the limitations of a partner who identifies an opportunity but doesn’t enter it into the CRM until after the business is won. At that point, the system records a result but provides little visibility into the activities, progress, or challenges that preceded it.

For accounting BD, the implication is to look beyond activity counts and total revenue. Which opportunities are advancing? Are priority client relationships expanding? Is the firm winning work that supports its strategy and profitability?

One useful example is the share of priority clients using more than one service line, tracked over time. Whatever the measures, they should help leadership decide where to invest, where people need support, and where the approach needs to change.

PE brings a financial expectation to the growth assignment. Its influence on BD can reach the entire operation: priorities, people, investment, collaboration, and measurement. Independent firms competing with PE-backed rivals can build the same discipline on their own terms.

Raising the goal is the easy part. Equipping people to deliver it, and holding them accountable for their contribution, is where the growth plan becomes real.

Sources

[1] John Auer, “PE’s 100-Day Playbook to Optimize GTM at Mid-Market B2B Acquisitions,” Veritac Group, September 8, 2025.

[2] ECI Partners, “Enhance Your Go-to-Market.”

[3] Chris Camara, “Independence at a Crossroads: Should Your Firm Take the Private Equity Path?” Illinois CPA Society, Fall 2025.

[4] Mark Masson, “Whether PE-Backed or Not, Building Client Relationships Must Remain a Priority,” CPA Practice Advisor, April 6, 2026.

[5] Inna Abramova and John M. Barrios, “Financializing the Professions: The Rise of Private Equity in Accounting,” NBER Working Paper 34575, December 2025.

Interview: John Atkinson, founder, GrowthLogik, October 9, 2026.