I recently spent a Saturday in Boston at the Venture Capital and Private Equity Conference hosted by Harvard Business School. While we have extensive experience working with private equity in the accounting industry, I wanted to step outside our usual lens and understand how PE leaders are thinking about investing more broadly across industries, including professional services.
What I came away with was a clearer, more strategic view of where private equity interest intersects with the accounting space, and what that means for CPA firm owners right now.
I was impressed by the speaker lineup and the range of perspectives represented, so despite an all-day schedule and brutally cold Boston weather, I made the trip. The event skewed toward students in attendance, but the quality of the panels and keynote discussions provided meaningful insight into how private equity firms approach dealmaking, roll-up strategy, and post-closing integration..Thoughts on AI were also a nice bonus.
Takeaway #1: Private Equity’s Interest in Accounting Firms Is Real and Growing
One of the most consistent themes throughout the conference was the continued growth of private markets in general over the last two decades, and the strong conviction that this growth is far from over. Nearly every speaker was bullish on private equity and private funds becoming an even larger share of overall investment activity, driven by the sheer volume of capital continuing to flow into the space.
What stood out to me, specifically, was how often accounting firms were mentioned in these discussions.
For context, these weren’t niche investors or emerging managers. The speaker lineup included leaders from some of the largest private equity firms in the country, firms like Bain Capital and BlackRock. These are investors backing some of the largest transactions in the market today. When they’re not acquiring Top 100 accounting firms outright, they’re investing in platforms and roll-up strategies that are clearly aiming to get there.
Across keynote presentations and panel discussions, accounting was repeatedly referenced as an area of focus within portfolio construction. In fact, nearly every keynote speaker touched on accounting firm roll-ups in some form, either as an existing portfolio investment or as a strategic area they’re actively watching.
For firm owners, this reinforces what many of us are already seeing firsthand: private equity’s interest in accounting isn’t theoretical, and it isn’t slowing down.
Takeaway #2: How The Best Get Deals Done Well
One of the moments that stuck with me most didn’t come from a slide deck or a market forecast but from the dynamic between one speaker and the audience.
This was a seasoned private equity professional speaking to a room largely filled with students who were ambitious, high-achieving, and very likely headed into roles at firms like Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital, or other private equity shops. And rather than focusing on financial engineering or deal structures, he focused on something much more basic.
He said that success in this business ultimately comes down to speed and integrity.
He spent considerable time on integrity, which I found both refreshing and telling. It felt less like a technical lecture and more like a head football coach talking to a locker room full of young players trying to instill discipline, perspective, and accountability early on.
At one point, he told the audience, “Your name doesn’t belong to you. It was given to you by your parents, shaped by the sacrifices of your family, and earned through the opportunities you’ve been afforded, many of which put you in that room at Harvard Business School.”
That message resonated with me. We also know a few truths about transactions: time kills deals, complexity kills deals, and lack of trust kills deals fastest of all.
One of my key takeaways was the importance of being intentional about relationships. Finding PE firms with high Integrity is crucial for our team.
Takeaway #3: AI Is Still in its Infancy but the Investment Behind It Is Massive
One thing that surprised me about the conversations around technology and AI was how high-level they were. We are still very much in the infrastructure phase of AI, and the capital being deployed today already dwarfs what was invested in building the internet in the 1990s.
Once this infrastructure matures, the bolt-on technologies built on top of it are expected to attract five to ten times the amount of capital currently being invested.
Several speakers referenced familiar tools like ChatGPT and highlighted marketing, lead generation, and auditing as early areas of impact. One venture capital firm even launched a $500 million fund in mid-2025 focused on accounting firm roll-ups, with AI and technology improvements as a core strategy.
Closing Thoughts
What I’m most curious about now is what you’re seeing on the ground.
How is AI actually showing up inside your firm today? Which tools are making a difference and which ones feel like noise?
If this post sparked a reaction or raised questions, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to email me directly at bpoe@poegroupadvisors.com.
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