Bryan Morrissey, Managing Partner, LMHS, P.C, an MGI Worldwide member firm
“We are looking forward to a more reasonable approach to oversight from the SEC, which will allow smaller accounting firms to compete with larger firms by reducing the amount of administrative overhead we have to incur,” he said.
While SEC has been the big buzzword in business over the last decade, it is going to come under attack from a president whose motto is “Drill, baby, drill!” There was already a bit of a backlash happening against SEC in the US – Horn saw many companies, including accounting firms, pivoting away from DEI programmes even before Trump was elected and he expects this trend to continue. “While some of our fellow Russell Bedford members in Europe have created services focused on analyzing and measuring investments under SEC criteria, it is unclear whether such services will be valued in the US under this changing landscape,” he said.
Robert Hoberman, Managing Partner, Hoberman & Lesser CPAs, LLP, an MGI member firm
However, Shannon Smith, global tax leader for HLB USA, pointed out that it is important to remember that ESG is a very broad array of factors.
“The Trump administration could very well abolish the SEC climate risk disclosures enacted in 2024,” she said. “However, at the present time, most of the ESG reporting requirements are driven by regulations outside of the US and have a much broader scope. A company doesn’t need to be very large to have a reporting requirement and many are private companies. If these companies have operations in the US, those operations will likely be subject to consolidated ESG measurement and reporting requirements as well. It would be difficult for the Trump administration to have an impact on ESG regulations outside of the US unless some type of retaliatory method were used.”
Even within the US, there will be push back against Trump rolling back environmental regulation. “There are state governments, such as those in California, New York and Illinois, that have enacted, or have proposed, state-level climate risk and supply chain disclosure requirements,” said Evan Stephens, tax partner at Sensiba, a Morrisson Global member firm. “The new administration may slow down ESG at the federal level, but state governments are likely to continue to push ESG initiatives. This may result in a patchwork approach to ESG disclosure mandates.”
Shannon Smith, Global Tax Leader, HLB USA
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is also experiencing potential changes under the current administration. Recent actions include the withdrawal of rules aimed at increasing audit firm transparency, aligning with a deregulatory agenda. Discussions are also underway about possibly integrating the PCAOB’s functions into the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reduce redundancy and costs. These developments could lead to less stringent audit practices.
The new administration aside, the accounting industry in the US is undergoing significant changes due to evolving client expectations and regulatory shifts.
“Clients increasingly seek advisory and consulting services, expecting CPAs to provide strategic guidance on anticipated reforms and compliance challenges,” said MJ Jawad, partner at Matos and Jawad PLLC, a Russell Bedford member firm. “This shift positions firms as strategic partners rather than mere service providers. Consequently, firms specialising in taxation and accounting services generally maintain stable fees, as clients recognise their value.”
Evan Stephens, Tax Partner, Sensiba, a Morrisson Global member firm
“To counter customer fee pressures challenges, accountants should be vigilant in providing value that outweighs fee issues,” said Howard Kam, managing director of TRUSTA, a member firm of Crowe USA. “The profession is still recovering from the impediments created during the Covid pandemic era, and it may take several more years to achieve pre-pandemic levels.”
Wages were on the increase last year and there is no let up on the pressure in 2024. “A shortage of accounting professionals has intensified competition for talent,” said Jawad. “Starting salaries for new staff are higher for key roles in accounting and taxation and this new pay scale will become the norm for the industry. Our firms’ wages have gone up 10% – 20% just to retain staff.”
The lack of qualified US accounting professionals and costs of such have increased the need to utilise non-US firms, according to Horn. India, the Philippines and a few other countries are filling this gap and improving their skillset. “Whether this will continue and be allowed under the changing regulatory environment is unclear,” he said.
MJ Jawad, Partner, Matos and Jawad PLLC, a Russell Bedford member firm
With an increasing number of students entering undergraduate accounting programmes in the US, it is hoped there will be some improvement in staffing over the next 12 months. Colleges have also taken steps to make the courses easier to complete. While there is currently a 150-hour college credit requirement for accountants to become a CPA, some states are exploring reducing this requirement.
PE and merger mania still has US accountancy in its grip. In the last few months alone, there has been the merger of CBIZ and Marcum, and a purchase of a CPA firm, Citrin, by Blackstone, the largest private equity group in the world.
“Private equity purchases and investments along with mega mergers will continue to consolidate our industry,” said David G. Barbeito, managing partner at De La Hoz, Perez & Barbeito, PLLC, a Russell Bedford International member. “This will give rise to a second tier of firms (after the Big 4), which will bill no less than USD 1 billion annually. The gap between these mega firms and the next tier of firms will be extremely large. The question will be, how will those smaller firms compete for the best talent and more importantly, stay current in the technology race with AI looking like the big game changer?”
Howard Kam, Managing Director, TRUSTA, a member firm of Crowe USA
The skills shortage means that client accounting services have seen an uptick in demand. The frenzy for mergers and acquisitions means accounting firms are providing buy-side and sell-side consulting, tax advisory, valuations, quality of earnings reports and accounting-integration services, according to Horn.
“Given President Trump’s interest in crypto and making the US the crypto capital of the world, we could see significant developments in accounting and tax reporting requirements related to crypto,” he said. “This could also have significant cross-border implications.”
Energy credits and incentives offered by the Inflation & Reduction Act (IRA) have created demand over the last 12 months, according to Smith. “Although there is uncertainty regarding their longevity, most believe the incentives committed prior to the current administration will continue to be honoured,” she said. “We are also seeing an increase in non-US companies establishing operations in the US to be closer to their customer base for various reasons, including the threat of increased tariffs. This has increased the demand for tax compliance, client accounting services and even payroll services as a one stop shop option.”
David G. Barbeito, Managing Partner, De La Hoz, Perez & Barbeito, PLLC, a Russell Bedford International member
Wayne Berson, CEO of BDO USA, has seen a big demand across many of BDO’s service offerings over the last year. “We’ve experienced the highest growth in the areas of state and local tax, international tax, and IT/technology consulting,” he said. “In the last few weeks our customs and international trade practice within international tax has fielded a significant number of inquiries related to the new US administration’s approach to tariffs.”
Hoberman expects to see competition for the larger clients from the newly consolidated firms. “We also anticipate more demand for our management advisory services,” he said. “Additionally, as the baby boomers age and the largest transition of wealth ever recorded happens, we expect to see demand for our trust, estate, income tax and investment advisory services increase.”
Steven Strammello, CEO, Crowe LLP
Steven Strammello, CEO of Crowe LLP, has seen nearly all areas of the business surge in demand. “Many areas of our business are seeing increased demand, including tax consulting, accounting advisory, regulatory change and compliance services, cyber security services, technology transformation and consulting services related to AI strategy and adoption – just to name a few,” he said.
The US is going to be living through some interesting times for the next four years. Whether it is a blessing or a curse remains to be seen.
This article was originally published in International Accounting Bulletin, March 2025.
