Full-Service CPA Firm, 40-Year New Jersey Practice with Labor Union Niche

$1.5M

Revenue

$533K

SDE

3.0x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a New Jersey based full-service CPA and business advisory firm founded in 1985, serving 600+ active client relationships across individuals, labor unions, small businesses, trusts, estates, and nonprofits in NJ, PA, and beyond. The revenue mix is roughly 48% individual tax, 31% labor union work, and 21% business, trust, and estate services, giving it a diversified base rather than dependence on a single line. On $1.47M of revenue it produces $533K of SDE, a healthy 36% owner-earnings margin for a professional services shop.

The standout feature is the labor union accounting niche. Union work carries specialized compliance requirements (Form 5500 filings, DOL and Taft-Hartley rules, member benefit fund audits) that most general CPA firms cannot service, which is why the listing requires buyers to have labor union accounting experience. That specialization is both the moat and the constraint: it makes the firm defensible and sticky, but it narrows the pool of qualified acquirers.

The practice runs with five full-time employees including three remaining credentialed CPAs, giving real bench strength beyond the departing owner. The seller is already working reduced hours with decreased client-facing duties, which suggests the day-to-day is not fully dependent on the owner. This is being positioned for strategic accounting firms, PE roll-ups, or an experienced independent buyer at a 3x cash flow multiple.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong for a small practice, with $533K of SDE on $1.47M of revenue for a 36% margin. Accounting fees are recurring and non-discretionary, and clients renew year after year for tax filings and compliance, giving predictable cash flow that survives downturns.
The labor union niche is a genuine moat. Union and Taft-Hartley fund accounting requires specialized DOL compliance knowledge that most CPA firms lack, making these relationships extremely sticky and hard for competitors to poach. The listing itself gates buyers to those with union accounting experience, which tells you how defensible and rare the capability is.
Client relationships are diversified across 600+ accounts and three lines (48% individual tax, 31% union, 21% business/trust/estate), so no single segment can sink the business. Four decades of continuous operation since 1985 has built deep institutional and community roots that produce referral-driven growth without marketing spend.
The operator advantage is meaningful: three credentialed CPAs remain on staff and the seller has already stepped back to reduced hours with less client-facing work. That means the firm is not a one-person show, and a qualified buyer inherits a team that already runs the delivery.

How to improve it

Turn on even basic marketing. The listing states no marketing is performed, so a modest referral program, a professional website, and outreach to union locals and benefit funds in the mid-Atlantic could add clients at near-zero incremental delivery cost given the existing team.
Push a systematic price review. Long-tenured CPA books almost always underprice legacy individual tax clients; a 5 to 10% fee increase across the 600+ relationships flows almost entirely to the bottom line given how sticky these accounts are.
Deepen wallet share within the union base. Firms already trusted for union accounting can cross-sell audit, 5500 filing, actuarial coordination, and advisory to the same benefit funds, expanding revenue per union client without acquiring new logos.
Solve the relocation and lease question early. The current $6,000/month NNN space and July 2027 relocation target need resolution, but moving to a smaller or remote-first footprint at the proposed $4,000/month cuts occupancy cost and improves margin immediately.
Build a CPA retention and succession plan. The whole thesis rests on the three remaining CPAs staying; lock them in with retention bonuses or equity so the specialized union knowledge does not walk out the door after close.
Standardize and productize the union compliance work. Documenting the union filing workflows into repeatable processes reduces key-person risk and makes it easier to add capacity or bolt on additional union clients from a roll-up perspective.
Evaluate tuck-in acquisitions of small local tax practices. With delivery infrastructure and CPAs in place, absorbing retiring solo practitioners in NJ and PA is a low-risk way to compound revenue at accretive multiples.

Diligence notes

Quantify the true recurring vs one-time revenue and client concentration. Confirm what share of the $1.47M is recurring annual engagements versus project work, and how much revenue the top 10 clients (especially union funds) represent, since losing one large union relationship could dent the whole 31% segment.
Verify owner dependence carefully despite the reduced-hours claim. Understand which client relationships the seller personally owns, how much of the union work runs through him specifically, and whether those relationships transfer to the remaining CPAs or leave with the seller.
Confirm the strength and retention risk of the three remaining CPAs. Review their tenure, compensation, non-competes, and licensing, because the entire union-niche moat depends on that credentialed bench staying post-close.
Normalize the SDE and scrutinize add-backs. The $533K cash flow figure needs a quality-of-earnings check for owner compensation, personal expenses, and the occupancy cost, especially given the pending lease change and 2027 relocation that will alter go-forward economics.
Understand the union work compliance and liability profile. Taft-Hartley and DOL-regulated fund work carries audit and regulatory exposure, so review engagement letters, malpractice coverage, and any history of disputes or restatements before assuming the niche is pure upside.
Clarify the real estate situation. The listing shows an owned 2,200 SF building but lists real estate as Not Disclosed and only references leased space; confirm whether the building is part of the deal, sold separately, or unrelated to the practice.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →