By Chris Shelton, Co-Founder, Baysora
When it comes to succession and growth, many accounting firm owners naturally look to private equity as the next logical step. The industry’s promises of capital, efficiency, and scale can sound appealing, especially amid changing client expectations and growing operational complexity.
But having spent years inside institutional private equity, I’ve seen firsthand that those promises often come with unintended consequences.
The Problem with the Private Equity Model
Private equity firms are designed to generate returns for investors, not necessarily to build sustainable, long-lasting businesses.
Their business model depends on raising successive funds quickly, which creates pressure to buy, grow, and sell portfolio companies within a fixed timeframe.
That structure can lead to short-term decision making: aggressive cost-cutting, forced system integrations, or leadership changes that look efficient in a spreadsheet but don’t translate well to the real world.
Those pressures can undermine what made the business special in the first place — its people, culture, and client relationships.
I’ve watched great firms lose their identity under the weight of a short exit timeline. Decisions made for fund performance rarely align with the long-term health of the firm or its team.
A Better Way Forward
At Baysora, we were intentional about building something different.
We’ve partnered only with families who share our long-term vision, allowing us to think in decades, not deadlines.
We don’t operate under arbitrary hold periods or fund cycles. That means every decision can prioritize what’s best for culture, people, and clients not what looks best in an investor presentation.
We also run on a decentralized model. Our firms retain their own brand, leadership, and way of doing business. We provide shared resources, operational guidance, and growth support but always as optional tools, not mandates.
Our goal is simple: to help great firms thrive without sacrificing their independence.
What This Means for Firm Owners
If you’re considering a sale or partnership, it’s worth asking deeper questions:
Who ultimately benefits from this structure?
How long will they truly be invested in your firm’s success?
Will your team and culture still feel like your own after the deal?
Private equity can work for certain types of businesses. But for boutique, relationship-driven accounting firms, alignment matters more than anything else.
At Baysora, we believe in preserving what makes firms exceptional — while giving them the resources to grow stronger for the next generation.
Explore more:
Download the Owner’s Guidebook → What Really Happens When You Sell Your Firm
Learn more about Baysora’s Long-Term Model
