M&A in accounting firms - hot market!

The industry right now with the most activity that I'm seeing is accounting. Tons of interest, LOIs and just general activity.

But to avoid anyone from wasting any unnecessary time, public accounting is a regulated activity. In Ontario, accounting firms must be 100% CPA owned. For contrast, my understanding is that in the US, some states require only a majority of CPA ownership (Disclaimer that this isn't legal advice and is just my understanding/general information for the purpose of the topic).

You will definitely want to check jurisdictional regulations on accounting.

Some of you may be astutely thinking "well, what if we separate the accounting firm. One firm for CPA regulated activities that is CPA owned and the other for non-regulated activities".

Alternative practice structures can be explored but this is a complicated area with many minefields. Professional advice is necessary to avoid being on the wrong side of the regulatory regime.

Bottom line: accounting is hot, it's trendy, but proceed with caution.