There's something frustrating about finding exactly the business you've been looking for, only to realize you aren't quite ready to buy it.
And it's happening in Canada's CPA acquisition market more often than you might expect.
At RSSL Mergers, we're speaking with buyers who have ambitious acquisition plans, clear ideas about the firms they want and genuine interest in growing through acquisitions. But we're noticing a recurring problem.
The right opportunity comes along, the seller is interested and suddenly the conversation turns to financing.
How much capital is available? How long will the lender take? What does the buyer need to provide before the transaction can move forward?
Sometimes, the answers come too late.
Two Months Can Change Everything
We've seen several acquisition opportunities move to national accounting firms while other interested buyers needed approximately two months to arrange their financing.
Two months might not sound particularly long in the world of business acquisitions.
But consider the seller's perspective.
An owner who has spent 30 years building an accounting practice may finally be ready to retire. They've worked through the emotions of leaving the business, spoken with potential buyers and started imagining life after ownership.
The last thing they want is another lengthy period of uncertainty.
Now imagine two interested buyers.
One offers a slightly higher price but still needs to arrange financing.
The other has already established its financial capacity, understands the transaction process and can move toward an agreement with greater certainty.
Which conversation feels more reassuring? It's not always about the biggest number on the table.
Sometimes, confidence in the buyer makes all the difference.
The Financing Conversation Is Changing
Accounting firms are unusual businesses in one important respect: so much of their value is tied to people, client relationships and recurring service revenue rather than physical assets.
For an acquisition lender, understanding whether those earnings will continue after the owner leaves is an important part of assessing the transaction.
And that's where financing becomes more complicated than simply borrowing against the value of a building or a piece of equipment.
An established practice might have loyal clients, years of consistent revenue and an excellent reputation.
But the lender still needs to understand the cash flow, the purchase price, the buyer's contribution and how the acquisition will be structured.
Canada's Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) outlines financing requirements for business acquisitions, including financial statements, transaction structure, purchase price and expected closing dates.
Depending on the deal, financing might include traditional lending, buyer equity or deferred payments from the seller.
And the structure can make a meaningful difference to the amount a buyer needs to finance at closing.
This is also why the firm's underlying profitability matters so much. We've previously explored the hidden EBITDA killers inside CPA firms and those operating realities can affect far more than the headline valuation.
Not Every Buyer Has the Same Advantage
National accounting firms often enter acquisition conversations with established infrastructure, experienced deal teams and access to capital.
Independent buyers don't necessarily have those same resources.
But that doesn't mean they're less attractive to sellers.
In some of our conversations, firm owners have expressed a preference for an individual CPA buyer who could maintain the firm's identity, client relationships and local presence.
For those owners, the personal side of succession matters.
The difficulty arises when the buyer they would genuinely like to sell to isn't financially ready to proceed.
That's a missed opportunity on both sides.
The seller may lose the chance to transition the practice to someone whose vision aligns with theirs. And the buyer may lose an attractive business to a larger competitor, even when the relationship and strategic fit were strong.
There's an interesting connection here to the questions CPA firm owners ask before they're ready to sell. A seller's priorities often extend beyond valuation to timing, continuity and what life looks like after the transaction.
Financing readiness is part of that picture, whether it comes up in the first conversation or the final stages of a deal.
The Difference Between Interested and Ready
We're seeing no shortage of interest in acquiring Canadian CPA firms.
Some buyers are looking for their first practice. Others are established firms hoping to expand into new markets, add experienced teams or build a larger regional presence.
The ambition is there. But there's a meaningful difference between being interested in an acquisition and being in a position to complete one.
That doesn't necessarily mean having every dollar committed before identifying a target. Many lenders cannot finalize acquisition financing without reviewing the specific business and agreed transaction terms.
It means understanding the financial capacity behind an acquisition strategy, having realistic expectations about funding timelines and knowing what will happen when an opportunity becomes serious.
Because not every seller is willing to wait while a buyer figures that out.
Sometimes the Best Deal Is the One That Actually Closes
As Canada's CPA acquisition market becomes more competitive, we expect execution to remain an important part of how sellers evaluate buyers.
Price will always matter.
So will the future of the firm's employees, clients and reputation.
But when two buyers are interested in the same practice, the ability to move forward with confidence can be a deciding factor.
And that's what makes this part of the market worth watching. We're seeing genuine acquisition demand, established owners considering succession and opportunities for both independent and larger buyers.
The question isn't always who wants the business most.
Sometimes it's simply who is ready when the opportunity arrives.
At RSSL Mergers, we're having these conversations with CPA firm owners and acquisition buyers across Canada every day.
Our acquisition platform connects retained buyers with emerging opportunities, while our team continues to follow the market and facilitate conversations between buyers and sellers.
Because finding the right CPA firm is one part of an acquisition. Being ready to move when it becomes available is another.
