How to Sell Your CPA Firm for More and Regret It Less

Tom opens this episode by flagging one of the most expensive planning gaps he sees among business owners: the assumption that there is always more time to figure out the exit. His guest, Steve DeTray, CEPA and founder of Freedom Path Planning, brings a sharp framework to the conversation built on years of working directly with CPA firm owners who come to him too late, or just in time. They walk through why entrepreneurs, CPAs especially, tend to delay exit planning until it has already cost them, what push and pull factors actually drive most exits, and why 75 percent of business owners who sell end up regretting it within 12 months, not because of the check, but because they never thought through what comes next. The second half of the conversation gets into the mechanics: the five Ds that force half of all exits to happen involuntarily, the two-to-seven-year runway that separates a solid exit from an expensive one, and what buyers actually look for when they evaluate a CPA firm. Steve and Tom also dig into why price is not the only thing to optimize for, how proactive service offerings change a firm's valuation, and the first assessments every business owner should run before they even think about going to market. Links & Resources Wealth Beyond the Numbers by Tom Suvansri — Available at https://perennialpride.com Episode Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome and Episode Introduction 00:01:20 Steve DeTray and His Book: Opportunity Lost 00:02:38 Why CPA Owners Delay Exit Planning 00:05:38 Push Factors vs. Pull Factors in a Business Exit 00:08:12 Why 75% of Business Owners Regret Selling 00:10:34 The 5 Ds: Death, Divorce, Disability, Disagreement, Distress 00:13:16 Steve's Own Exit and What He Left on the Table 00:16:17 How Much Lead Time You Really Need 00:18:13 Tax Strategies That Require 5 to 7 Years 00:20:32 What Buyers Look for in a CPA Firm 00:25:30 Selling a Business Is Not Like Selling a House 00:27:25 Hidden Value Killers in CPA Firms 00:32:18 Exit Planning Is Good Business Planning 00:36:08 Price Isn't Everything: Aligning the Exit to What Matters 00:40:42 First Steps: Assessments and Wealth Gap Analysis 00:43:47 Closing Thoughts