Private equity firms have poured billions into accounting roll-ups, chasing the industry’s long-promised “unicorn.” Yet despite 90-plus transactions since 2020, no platform has broken out. The next 24 to 60 months may change that.
AI-enabled standardization is the catalyst. For sponsors who move quickly, it’s the difference between a solid investment and a once-in-a-generation outcome. Platforms that standardize data, codify processes and deploy governed AI won’t just improve margins by 5–10%. They’ll shift unit economics, expand margins and earn 3 to 5 turns of multiple expansion – the kind of lift that turns a $500 million platform into a multi-billion dollar exit.
Why This Could Be the Unicorn Moment
The accounting services market is enormous, with over $180 billion in the U.S. alone, but it’s also highly fragmented. The top 100 firms account for just 20% of revenue, leaving a massive opportunity for scale.
So far, the barrier has been leverage. Most platforms grow headcount and costs in lockstep. AI changes that equation.
A $500 million revenue platform trading at 8x EBITDA (with 20% margins) is worth $320 million in enterprise value. But if AI deployment boosts margins to 25% and improves growth and quality metrics – as documented by MIT Sloan and the Journal of Accountancy – the same firm could justifiably trade at 11 to 13x, reaching $825 million in value. Add capacity-driven organic growth and the number pushes north of $2 billion.
AI doesn’t just trim costs. It expands what’s possible for firms that embrace it early and intelligently.
Why the Timing Is Unique (and Fleeting)
Capital is already in motion. Since 2020, trackers show more than 65 major PE deals in accounting, with the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal reporting continued acceleration through 2025. Large firms like Citrin Cooperman and Grant Thornton are using PE partnerships to fund both M&A and AI modernization.
Meanwhile, the technology itself has matured. Vendors like Thomson Reuters and Wolters Kluwer now ship AI assistants that cite sources and handle core tax and audit tasks. Those tools are what make true “assemble-then-review” workflows possible at scale.
Regulation is also nudging firms toward digitization. The IRS’s Paperless Processing Initiative and modernization efforts are making digital workflows the default.
But the same wave brings risk. The PCAOB has raised concerns about AI in audit, and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) warns of independence risks in PE-backed structures. More than half of North American PE and VC firms expect AI restrictions within 12 to 18 months, according to Ocorian. Governance will separate the winners from the rest.
In short, the ingredients are finally aligned – capital, technology and regulatory pressure – but the window is narrow.
What Comes Next
In Part 2, we’ll unpack why this AI arbitrage still exists and what’s keeping most platforms stuck in “pilot purgatory.” You’ll see what differentiates the future unicorns from everyone else and why standardization, governance, and timing are everything.