Key takeaway: The accounting firm M&A market is highly active in 2026, driven by partner retirements, private equity consolidation, and the technology investment required to remain competitive. Practices at the £5–10 million revenue level have become the most sought-after acquisition targets. But a practice is only as valuable as its systems allow it to be — recurring revenue, documented processes, and demonstrable profitability per client are what acquirers and successors need to see. BrightPropose and BrightManager are the tools that build and evidence those qualities.
Most practice owners think about succession too late. The conversations about retiring partners, next-generation leadership, or potential merger discussions often begin when the urgency is already high — two to three years before a planned exit, rather than the five to seven years that produces the best outcomes. A practice built for succession looks different from a practice built for the current partners’ convenience, and the difference is most visible in the systems, data, and documented processes that a buyer or successor can rely on after the principals have left.
The current M&A environment makes this more relevant than at any previous point. Private equity has entered the accounting profession in force, consolidating firms at scale and creating larger platforms that can afford to pay well for well-run practices. Smaller regional firms are actively seeking merger partners. And the profession’s talent shortage means that practices without a credible succession plan are more likely to see clients and staff depart than to attract a viable internal successor.
What Acquirers and Successors Actually Look For
Whether the exit route is an outright sale, a merger with another firm, an MBO, or an EOT, the fundamental question from any acquirer or successor is the same: what am I buying, and how confident can I be that it persists after you leave?
The answers that produce the highest valuations and smoothest transitions are:
Recurring, contracted revenue. A practice whose client relationships are evidenced by signed engagement letters with defined annual fees — rather than informal arrangements that exist primarily in the partners’ relationships — is a fundamentally more valuable asset. A client who pays a monthly direct debit under a signed agreement is demonstrably more likely to remain with the firm post-transition than a client who relies on personal familiarity with a retiring partner.
Documented client profitability. Acquirers will want to see, for each client, what they pay and what the practice spends to serve them. A practice that cannot answer this question — because time is not tracked or because fee data is held in disparate systems — cannot demonstrate its own profitability at a client level. Practices that know their revenue per client, margin per client, and the services each client uses are able to present a credible business case to any buyer.
Systematic workflows. A practice whose processes live in the heads of two senior partners is a practice that is difficult to value and risky to acquire. A practice with documented, systematised workflows — for accounts production, tax returns, payroll, client onboarding, deadline management — is one where a new owner can be confident that the work will continue to be done correctly after the current team moves on.
Technology independence. The dependence of a practice on specific individuals is often reinforced by informal technology arrangements — spreadsheets owned by one person, client lists maintained in one partner’s email. Practices that run on shared platforms with proper access controls and data governance are more transferable.
How BrightPropose Builds Recurring Contract Revenue
BrightPropose is Bright’s proposal and engagement letter platform. Every client a practice wins through BrightPropose enters the relationship with a signed engagement letter, defined services, and an agreed annual fee — typically paid monthly by direct debit. This produces the contracted recurring revenue that makes a practice genuinely valuable in a transaction.
For a practice preparing for a sale or merger in the next three to five years, migrating the existing client base onto formal BrightPropose-generated engagement letters is one of the highest-value preparatory actions available. The acquirer’s due diligence will examine what proportion of revenue is under signed agreement versus informal arrangement; the higher that proportion, the lower the perceived client attrition risk and the higher the valuation.
BrightPropose also produces the proposal output that supports fee increases and the expansion of services to existing clients — which, in the lead-up to a transaction, is the most direct way to increase recurring revenue. A practice that grows its contracted revenue by 15% in the two years before a sale has created material additional value, even if nothing else changes.
How BrightManager Demonstrates Practice Profitability and Process
BrightManager is Bright’s practice management platform, providing workflow management, deadline tracking, and profitability reporting across the entire client base. Its relevance to succession planning is direct: the data that demonstrates practice quality to an acquirer is the data that BrightManager captures in normal operation.
Time recorded against clients in BrightManager produces the client-level profitability data that any buyer will want to examine. Which clients generate margin? Which are loss-making and why? What is the revenue per partner and per fee earner? These questions have clear answers for a practice running BrightManager — and no clear answers for a practice managing work through email and individual calendars.
The workflow and task management capabilities of BrightManager document that the practice has processes — that work is assigned, tracked, reviewed, and completed in a systematic way. A practice where the senior partner can show a new owner exactly how each client’s work flows through the team, when it is due, and what quality review steps apply is a practice that demonstrates it can operate without the specific individuals who built it.
The deadline management functionality reduces the risk of compliance failures in the years leading up to a transaction — because a penalty or a missed filing in the due diligence period will raise questions about operational quality. A clean compliance record, evidenced by BrightManager’s tracking data, is part of the story a practice tells in a transaction.
Starting the Succession Conversation Early Enough
The practices that achieve the best succession outcomes begin the process at least five years before the intended transition. This allows time to build the contracted revenue base, implement and embed management systems, develop next-generation leadership, and approach potential partners from a position of strength rather than necessity.
For practices at the £5–10 million revenue level — the tier that acquirers and consolidators in 2026 find most attractive — the question is not whether succession planning is necessary, but how much value is being left on the table by starting it late.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes an accounting practice attractive to acquirers in 2026?
Acquirers — whether trade buyers, private equity-backed consolidators, or internal successors — look for: high proportions of contracted recurring revenue under signed engagement letters; documented client profitability data; systematic and transferable workflows; strong staff retention; and a technology stack that does not depend on specific individuals. Practices that can demonstrate these qualities command higher valuations and experience smoother transitions.
At what revenue level should a practice start thinking about succession?
Succession planning is relevant for practices at all revenue levels, but the £5–10 million revenue tier has attracted the most M&A activity in 2026. Practices at this level are large enough to be attractive to consolidators but small enough to lack the internal succession infrastructure that larger firms have. Starting the planning process at least five years before the intended transition gives the most flexibility.
What is the most impactful thing a practice can do to increase its value before a sale?
Converting informal client relationships into signed engagement letters with defined annual fees — contracted recurring revenue — is typically the single most impactful action. Every client moved from an informal arrangement to a signed, monthly-payment engagement letter reduces perceived attrition risk and increases the proportion of revenue that a buyer can rely on. BrightPropose makes this conversion systematic and efficient.
How does practice management software affect a practice’s sale value?
Practice management software demonstrates to a buyer that the practice has documented, systematic processes — not just informal partner relationships. It provides the client-level profitability data that due diligence requires, the deadline management evidence that shows a clean compliance record, and the workflow documentation that shows the business can operate post-transition. Practices without management software often cannot answer basic due diligence questions about their own profitability.
What is an Employee Ownership Trust and is it a viable succession route for accounting practices?
An Employee Ownership Trust is a trust established to hold shares in the practice for the benefit of all employees. Under current CGT rules, only 50% of the gain on a sale to an EOT is subject to CGT, producing effective rates of 9–12%. For partners with large accumulated gains, the tax efficiency is significant. The EOT route requires genuine commitment to employee ownership — not just a tax-driven structure — and the proceeds are paid over time from the practice’s future earnings. It is a viable route for practices whose employees are capable of running the business and where the partners are willing to receive deferred consideration.
BrightPropose builds the contracted recurring revenue that acquirers and successors look for — every client engagement on a signed, fee-certain basis. BrightManager provides the client profitability data, workflow documentation, and deadline compliance evidence that a practice needs to demonstrate its value in any succession or transaction process. Find out more about BrightPropose or BrightManager, or speak to your account manager.
