Acquiring an accounting practice follows a clear path. Here is the whole process, start to finish, and exactly where each step fits. This is the same path used by buyers who have closed multiple firm acquisitions.
CIM stands for Confidential Information Memorandum. It is the broker's detail packet on the firm for sale: financials, service mix, revenue history, fee summaries, staff info, and the asking price. You get it after signing the broker's NDA, and it is what you feed into the Deal Analyzer to see if the numbers make sense.
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Reach out to the broker, sign their NDA, and receive the CIM (Confidential Information Memorandum). This is where the CIM comes in: after first contact, before any analysis or offer.
The CIM lives hereDrop the CIM and financials into the Deal Analyzer to see if the numbers make sense: cash flow, financing, and how strong the deal really is.
Have your conversations with the seller through the broker. Get a feel for the firm, the clients, and the transition.
Submit a Letter of Intent (LOI). Important: an LOI is non-binding. You can still walk away.
Three phases run here: legal (with an M&A attorney), financial (reconcile the ledger, bank statements, and tax returns), and operational (software, client intake, staff). Renegotiate if anything surfaces.
Sign, fund, and take the keys. You are a firm owner.