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Start by finding out what actually changed
A firm’s name or ownership can change without every part of your engagement changing. Ask whether the transaction also affects the legal entity, your engagement team, office, systems, engagement terms, or service scope. Identify the professional accountable for your work and the person to contact for routine questions.
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If you depend on specialized tax, audit, industry, or advisory knowledge, ask which professionals will continue that work, who will review it, and what backup capacity is available. AICPA Insurance Programs’ acquisition-risk guidance identifies personnel, service quality, technology, independence and conflicts, liabilities, and culture as transaction diligence issues. For a client, the practical question is whether the successor can deliver your particular work with appropriate safeguards.
Check whether day-to-day service will remain workable
Ask for a transition plan with dates for any engagement-letter changes, portal or system changes, document requests, reporting or tax deadlines, and billing changes. Confirm whether your usual partner or manager remains involved, who reviews deliverables, how to reach the team, and what response time to expect.
Pay attention to handoffs and access, not just assurances. A new portal that is difficult to use, an unexplained change in who answers questions, or a less convenient workflow can make the service worse even if technical expertise is adequate. The Journal of Accountancy’s discussion of practice-sale transitions emphasizes communication and convenience. As Harry L. Olson, president of Accounting Broker Acquisition Group Inc., put it: “Even the best CPAs can lose a client due to inadequate communication or if the transition makes it too difficult to do business with the buyer.”
Verify expertise, capacity, and risk fit
Ask how the successor assessed your engagement under its client acceptance and continuance process. For audit or other attest work, ask whether new affiliates, relationships, or services prompted an independence or conflict review. For specialized engagements, ask who has relevant experience and how the work will be supervised. Journal of Accountancy guidance on liability risk after a merger or acquisition discusses client screening, competence, independence, conflicts, and risk as successor-firm considerations.
- Request the names and roles of the lead professional, reviewer, and regular contacts.
- Ask what relevant experience or credentials the assigned team has for your work.
- Ask how the team will manage workload around your deadlines and who can step in if a key person is unavailable.
- For attest engagements, ask how the firm identified and addressed any independence or conflict concerns relevant to the combined organization.
A larger combined firm is not automatically a better fit for a particular engagement. Judge the people assigned, their capacity when you need them, and the review process—not the new firm’s size alone.
Compare the new scope and fees in writing
Before work proceeds under changed terms, request the new engagement letter or a written fee proposal. Compare what the firm will deliver, what is excluded, your responsibilities, deadlines, access to advice, staffing, fee basis, and circumstances that trigger extra charges. Ask what changed and why. A lower fee may come with reduced scope; a higher fee may reflect expanded work or a new pricing model. Compare the complete service and terms rather than the headline amount. AICPA’s practice-evaluation guidance includes price and terms among the factors to assess.
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Ask how information and records will be handled
Accounting firms handle sensitive financial, payroll, tax, and personal information. Ask which systems will store or transmit your information, how access is controlled, and how the firm will notify you about an incident. Consider whether the new workflow is appropriate for the sensitivity of the records involved.
Also ask how you can obtain client records and deliverables if you stay or change firms. Client records, deliverables, and a firm’s internal working papers are not interchangeable categories, and transfer, consent, confidentiality, and retention requirements can depend on the service and jurisdiction. The AICPA working-paper guidance addresses consent and retention in firm-transition circumstances; it does not mean every internal workpaper belongs to the client or automatically transfers to a successor. State law and professional-board rules may affect notice and records procedures, so confirm the rules that apply to your engagement.
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Compare the successor with an alternative
Even if you expect to stay, ask another suitable CPA firm or provider for a comparison based on equivalent work. Compare the factors that would affect your actual relationship:
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- Named engagement lead, reviewers, and team capacity
- Response access, continuity, location, or remote workflow
- Total fees, billing basis, and extra-charge terms
- Quality indicators, reputation, and risk controls
- Security and data-handling practices
- Transition timing and the effort required to move records and work
Professional literature on choosing an accounting firm also identifies chemistry, location, cost and perceived value, expertise, and trust as relevant considerations; see the Journal of Accountancy’s overview of client-selection factors. Use these alongside your concrete engagement requirements rather than treating a general impression as a substitute for scope and staffing comparisons.
Best Value
Decide whether to stay, renegotiate, or switch
Staying may be reasonable if the successor gives clear answers, assigns suitable people with enough capacity, maintains workable access and continuity, and offers acceptable written terms with appropriate safeguards. Ask for changes or clarification if the team, workflow, scope, or fees are not yet clear.
Interview alternatives and plan a handover early if important questions go unanswered, communication or deadlines become concerning, the service is impractical, risks cannot be managed, or the scope and price no longer fit. Before switching, agree on timing and responsibilities so a move does not disrupt a filing, audit, or other deadline. Confirm how records and deliverables will be requested and transferred under the rules that apply to your location and service.
Policy note for firm mergers
AICPA & CIMA announced on August 17, 2026 that its Professional Ethics Executive Committee adopted a temporary enforcement policy related to firm mergers and acquisitions, effective immediately until rescinded. The announcement does not by itself establish a specific ethical obligation for your engagement; check the current policy text and applicable state rules before relying on it.
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