This is the third article in our series examining the impact that private equity is having on accounting firms. Read the first article here and the second here.

Private equity-backed firms have been engaging in a wave of consolidation, snapping up dozens of smaller accounting firms over the past few years. In many ways, the investments have been a boon to the accounting profession.

“Private equity is often well-positioned to create value in industries that are facing change and distress,” Sabrina Howell, a professor of finance at NYU’s Stern School of Business, told CFO Brew, “because they can respond with applying technology and new management practices quickly, and potentially be more nimble than the previous owners.”

And accounting firms have used PE capital to address one major source of distress the profession is grappling with: the talent shortage.

Jey Purushotham, who works with many accounting firms that have gotten PE investment in his role as practice group leader for risk and compliance at professional services software company Intapp, told CFO Brew that he’s seen firms offering “better compensation packages” and investing in “technology to make a lot of that grunt work go away” to be more attractive to young candidates, he said

For more on the changes PE is bringing to accounting firms, click here.—CV

Feels like there are a lot of “yes, buts” happening in the business world right now after Donald Trump’s electoral win.

The latest: Many finance leaders are more optimistic about the economy this quarter, despite some anxieties over monetary policy, tariffs, inflation, and politics in general, the Richmond Fed revealed in its latest CFO survey.

Avid readers of CFO Brew may be feeling déjà vu, because this revelation sounds similar to a post-election boost in optimism among some manufacturers, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

According to the Richmond Fed survey, CFOs were more optimistic about their own firm’s prospects and the overall economy. Own-firm optimism increased about two points from Q3 to 71.2, on a scale of 0–100. Much of this boost came from CFOs who answered the survey in the days after the Nov. 5 election—around half of the 515 respondents.

Finance leaders’ optimism for the overall economy jumped by an even greater degree, to 65.9 (again, from 0–100) this quarter versus 60.6 in Q3. The difference between those surveyed pre-election (62.8) and post-election (68.8) was also markedly different.

Click here for more on CFO sentiment.—AZ

One of the most influential figures in accounting announced his upcoming retirement in 2025. John W. Auchincloss said he would step down as executive director of the Financial Accounting Foundation on Sept. 30, according to a press release from the nonprofit.

The new FAF leader will take over Auchincloss’s role overseeing, running, funding, and appointing the leaders of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and Governmental Accounting Standards Board, which set US standards for the private and public sectors, respectively.

The Securities and Exchange Commission relies on FASB standards for its oversight of public companies and state accountancy boards, and the AICPA also treats FASB standards as an authority, according to the FAF.

At its head since 2019, Auchincloss reset the FAF’s strategy and made its oversight role more transparent, the press release said.

Auchincloss, a former general counsel for the nonprofit asset manager Commonfund, became FAF’s general counsel in 2016. He became its acting executive director in 2019 and its permanent head in 2020.

Keep reading here.—GD