TFS Gulf 
- US startup Numica just raised $21M to buy small accounting firms from retiring CPAs…They are automating 75% of the work with AI.
- It has acquired 7 practices with around 6,000 clients and boosted margins to 52%.
- The interesting part? Former firm owners can continue working part-time with clients.
- Are Indian CA firms missing in this massive consolidation wave?
CPA succession crisis is becoming a venture-backed opportunity?
With AICPA data widely cited as showing roughly 75% of US CPAs reaching retirement age, a massive succession bottleneck is unfolding.
Across the US, thousands of profitable small accounting practices are held together by a single founder. They own the client relationships, manage the staff, and keep the operations running.
Now when they want to retire, finding a successor isn’t easy…And traditional private equity firms usually ignore smaller practices.
New York-based Numica is targeting that exact gap.
The startup buys practices generating $700,000 to $5 million in annual revenue with a simple pitch:
- Cash out,
- Hand over the operational headaches, and keep working with your longtime clients ONLY if you want to.
According to CEO Slava Orekoff (former Senior Vice President at enterprise software giant SAP), most former owners actually choose to stay on part-time!
What happens after Numica buys the firm?
From day one, Numica absorbs billing, hiring, and tech infrastructure, migrating every firm onto Numica Ledger: its proprietary AI platform.
- What the AI handles: Bookkeeping, transaction categorization, reconciliations, financial statements, and selected tax filings (covering roughly 75% of workflows).
- What the humans handle: Existing accountants review the AI’s output, manage complex edge cases, and handle client advisory. A licensed CPA still signs off on all final work.
And the impact on profits? At its first New York acquisition, Numica says profit margins rose from 37% to 52% in just two months. Its next target? 70%.
One interesting comment…
Orekoff told Fortune that: Clients are informed when their accounting firm is sold but generally aren’t told that AI is performing much of the work.
His argument is that clients care about the quality of the work, not whether it was done using a calculator, Excel or AI.
Hmmm….Whether clients agree with that is another question!
Look at what is happening in the US…
Allan Koltin (a well-known US accounting industry consultant and deal adviser), CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, recently made an interesting observation on LinkedIn.
Ten years ago, private equity investors wouldn’t even look at accounting firms with revenues below $100 million.
Today, companies like Numica are raising millions to acquire smaller practices.
Koltin points out that: A large majority of US accounting and tax firms fall below the $4 million revenue mark. He expects several more PE groups to enter this segment over the next 12–24 months.
Can this happen in India?
India has thousands of CA Firms with revenues of ₹2 crore-₹10 crore or even less.
Like US CPA Firms they too struggle with succession, scaling, technology investments and finding the right talent…and end up with zero exit value when they want to retire.
So, while we keep hearing that Indian CA firms are too small, fragmented and founder-dependent…Numica just proved that fragmentation isn’t a flaw!
Yes, while a direct US-style buyout of audit practices isn’t legally possible under current ICAI regulations, the underlying opportunity for non-audit services is sitting right in front of us.
