10 Questions to Ask During Your PE Conversation

We are living at a time when—if you are not being contacted by a PE group or broker on behalf of PE—you need to scratch your head and wonder why!

PE continues to disrupt and continues to modify the scale of acquisitions. Bigger is still better; generally, firms with annual volume of $3-$5 million are at the low end of PE targets.

M&A—whether PE-driven or not—is not the answer for every firm. But every firm should be ready with the right questions to properly conduct first-phase discovery. Here are 10 questions to ask yourself so you can be ready to talk deals from a position of comfort—and strength.

1. What are you bringing to the table that your competitors aren’t—and why will you do it better?

2. What should we expect from a transaction with you and how do you hold yourself accountable?

3. What data can you share about staff turnover post-transaction?

4. What data can you share about client turnover post-transaction?

5. What have you learned about your staff needs and motivation?

6. What hasn’t worked out the way you hoped?

7. How have senior staff achieved equity and what has the pace been?

8. What business milestones do you expect for the next 3 years?

9. When you lose a deal or a deal dies, what are the common causes?

10. What are the signs that a completed deal is not going as you expected? And how will you address the issues?

While 2025 has been a banner year for PE acquisitions of accounting firms, all signs suggest 2026 will bring even more deal activity. Be prepared to have conversations—and learn from them.

This exploration may excite you to continue talking, may open your eyes to pursuing more traditional acquirers, or may even convince you to become an acquirer yourself.

Prepare to be open to new possibilities.