Firmlever (Page 2)

The FirmLever Weekly Roundup: Issue #51

The "Is My Firm Viable In 3 Years?" Edition

Claude, QuickBooks, and Xero logos collaged across torn ledger pages, with one platform circled in blue ink to mark where Anthropic's finance agents land first.

Anthropic Just Built An Agent For Month-End Close. My Reaction.

Anthropic shipped ten finance agents this week, including a month-end closer and a statement auditor. I called a member firm to talk through it. The takeaway isn't what most CPAs think.

An unbalanced scale with a single oversized figure outweighing a tray of smaller figures, illustrating how one dominant client distorts an accounting firm's value.

Accounting Firm Client Concentration Risk: The Three Thresholds That Decide Your Multiple

Client concentration is the single biggest reason buyers chop a firm's valuation. Three thresholds decide whether your book trades at a premium or a discount.

Illustration of a tax-only CPA storefront beside a combined tax and wealth storefront, with RIA referral cards falling into the gap between them.

600 advisors complained about CPA referrals. The CPAs answered them.

A BlackRock director's post pulled 75 comments, mostly from CPAs explaining why RIA referral relationships break. None of them named the third path that quietly erases the whole problem.

The FirmLever Weekly Roundup: Issue #50

The 'It's Time to Fix My Pricing' Edition.

A water-stained invoice dripping under a brass tap with one line circled in blue, illustrating revenue quietly leaking through unnoticed underpricing.

The Underpricing Trap: How to Spot It and How to Fix It Before Year-End

Most firms aren't underpricing because they're bad at math. They're underpricing because they can't see the signals. Here's how to spot them and how to actually move fees.

Editorial collage of four columns at unequal heights, the pricing column dramatically tallest in electric blue, showing why a fee increase beats other margin levers.

Accounting Firm Pricing Strategy: How to Increase Fees, Fix Margins, and Stop Leaving Money on the Table

Underpricing is the most common profit leak I see when firms run their numbers on FirmLever. The fix isn't a blanket rate hike, it's a sequenced strategy that protects retention while recovering margin fast.

The FirmLever Weekly Roundup: Issue #49

The "More Money, Less Hours" Edition

A founder stands at a crossroads of flagged paths leading to different buildings, illustrating the choice between buyer types when selling a firm.

The Founder’s Guide to Buyer Landmines: 11 Questions to Ask Before You Sell

How to avoid joining the 75% "regret club"

Handwritten calculations on graph paper torn vertically by blue tape and an ink splatter, depicting the midmarket firm P&L splitting under the white-label model.

Why the White-Label Tax Prep Model Is Eating the Midmarket

The margin math of why more U.S. firms are running a front-office/back-office split with offshore prep partners.

Stopwatch struck through with a blue paint stroke, sitting atop torn tax forms, illustrating how AI automation collapses the time required to prepare a return.

Juno Just Raised $12M to Automate 90% of Your Tax Prep. Here's What That Actually Means for Your Firm.

A new AI tax prep tool just raised $12M promising to cut return time in half. The interesting question isn't whether it works. It's what happens to your billable model when it does.

Clipboard with crossed-out checklist items next to a magnifying glass examining a commercial building, illustrating due diligence before engaging a 179D specialist.

The CFO's 179D Checklist: Questions to Ask Before Engaging a Specialist

A practical vetting framework for CFOs and controllers evaluating 179D specialists. The right questions to ask about licensing, modeling software, audit defense, and fees before signing an engagement letter.

Firm Operations

Effective Hourly Rate and Utilization: The Two Numbers That Price Your Firm

Effective hourly rate isn't just a pricing check. It's the number buyers back into during diligence, and the one that caps what your firm sells for.

The FirmLever Weekly Roundup: Issue #48

Meet the "accountant killer"

Collage: vintage accountant at a ledger on the left, red X over a tangle of broken circuit boards on the right, HUMAN vs MACHINE headline

AI

Claude Opus 4.7 Shipped Yesterday. It Scored 50% on Month-End Close.

Anthropic's newest AI just posted the highest accounting benchmark score ever recorded. It still scored 50% on month-end close. The machine they told you would replace your firm is currently closing books at coin-flip accuracy. Here's what that means for the work you're still carrying.

Torn-paper collage showing a widening gap between two ledger columns with electric blue paint splashes.

Pricing

The Underpricing Trap: How to Spot It and Fix It This Quarter

Most firms I talk to are underpriced by 20% or more and don't know it. Here's how to read the signals and raise fees without losing your best clients.

Collage of financial documents and deal paperwork with torn paper textures and blue paint splashes.

M&A Advisory

Why CPA Firms That Master M&A Advisory Charge 3x and Never Compete on Price Again

Compliance work is a race to the bottom. M&A advisory is the opposite. Here's why the firms that learn deal work stop fighting over price and start choosing their clients.

Torn-paper collage merging server rack silhouettes with accounting ledgers and electric blue paint splashes, representing MSP-focused accounting firm acquisitions.

Firm Acquisition

Buying MSP-Focused Accounting Firms: Why They Trade at 2.5x Revenue

MSP-niche accounting firms are commanding 1.8x-2.5x revenue in 2026. Here's what drives the premium and how to vet the expertise.

newsletter

The FirmLever Weekly Roundup: Issue #47

We hit $292M this week...

Torn-paper collage of a ledger page layered with server rack and cloud shapes, symbolizing the sale of an MSP-focused accounting practice.

Firm Valuation

Selling Your MSP Accounting Practice in 2026: The Specialist Premium

How IT and MSP accounting firms command 6x-9x EBITDA in 2026, plus what buyers actually pay for when they acquire a specialized book.

Torn-paper collage of cannabis leaves cut from tax code pages with electric blue paint splashes, representing the 280E regulatory moat around specialist accounting firms.

Cannabis Accounting

Buying a Cannabis Accounting Firm in 2026: The 280E Moat Play

Cannabis accounting firms trade at 1.35x revenue in 2026. Here's how to value the 280E moat, spot red flags, and structure the earn-out.

The Firmlever Weekly Roundup: Issue #46

FirmLever Network hits 138 firms, $120M revenue, $769K in live client listings. See real deal flow stats and apply for early access.

Torn-paper collage of ledger pages, a cannabis leaf silhouette, and a vault fragment on cream newsprint with electric blue paint splashes.