Case Studies
These case studies analyze the strategic decisions, governance tensions, transformation programs, private equity transactions, AI platform shifts, audit failures, and operating model changes reshaping the professional services industry. Each case study combines deep research, public sources, and board-level analysis to examine what happened, why it happened, and what it may mean for the future of professional services firms.
Case Study 36: RSM and the Search for Platform Economics Without Private Equity
8. Juni 2026
For a long time, the global mid-tier accounting networks could tell a simple story about themselves. They were large enough to serve international clients, broad enough to offer audit, tax and consulting, and still close enough to the market to avoid the distance, bureaucracy and internal machinery often associated with the Big Four. The promise
Case Study 35: EY, Wirecard and the Real Economics of Public-Interest Audit
4. Juni 2026
When Wirecard collapsed in June 2020 after €1.9 billion in supposed cash balances could no longer be verified, the scandal immediately became one of the defining corporate failures of modern Germany. Public attention focused naturally on the missing cash, failed oversight, weak controls, regulatory failures, and the role of EY as long-standing auditor. But for
Case Study 34: Grant Thornton Australia and the Real Economics of Private Equity in Professional Services
1. Juni 2026
Private equity entering professional services is no longer a theoretical discussion. Over the past several years, accounting, tax and advisory firms have increasingly explored external capital, alternative practice structures, platform consolidation and sponsor-backed expansion models. The pattern is now visible across Grant Thornton, Baker Tilly, Citrin Cooperman, MHA, Interpath, Vialto and multiple regional accounting roll-ups.
Case Study 33: Deloitte EMEA – The Quiet Centralization of a Global Partnership
25. Mai 2026
In February 2026, Deloitte announced the planned launch of Deloitte EMEA, effective 1 June 2026, bringing together 16 participating firms across more than 80 countries into a regional structure representing approximately €20 billion in reported revenue, 6,000 partners and 132,000 professionals. The firm also announced more than €1.5 billion of incremental investment over four years,
Case Study 32: PwC, Vialto, and the Private Equity Constraint Shift in Professional Services
17. Mai 2026
In October 2021, PwC agreed to sell its Global Mobility Tax and Immigration Services business to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. PwC described the unit as a global leader in employee tax, immigration, business travel, mobility managed services, and payroll solutions for multinational organizations. Reuters reported that the deal valued the business at approximately $2.2 billion,
Case Study 31: BDO’s Third Way – The Accounting Network Trying to Stay Independent While Learning to Live With Private Capital
11. Mai 2026
For a while, BDO looked like the firm that might give the professional services industry a clean counter-narrative. Grant Thornton had moved into private equity-backed consolidation. Baker Tilly US had accepted external capital. Moore Global had member firms benefiting from sponsor-backed growth. But BDO seemed to be drawing a line. In October 2025, BDO announced
Case Study 30: Afileon – How Private Capital Enters a Protected Profession Without Owning It
6. Mai 2026
For decades, the German tax advisory market was not simply fragmented. It was deliberately engineered to remain so. More than 100,000 licensed tax advisors operating across roughly 55,000 firms created a system that prioritized independence, continuity, and professional judgment over scale. Ownership was tightly restricted to qualified professionals, effectively excluding external capital and preventing the
Case Study 29: When the Firm No Longer Owns Its Talent – PwC vs Unity
27. April 2026
Professional services firms have long operated on a simple but rarely questioned assumption. They do not just employ talent. They contain it. Over decades, partners build client relationships inside the firm, convert those relationships into revenue, and accumulate economic value through profit participation, deferred compensation, and retirement structures that can reach several million dollars. The
Case Study 28: Forvis Mazars – One Brand, Two Firms, and the Structural Experiment That Runs Against the Industry
21. April 2026
When Mazars and FORVIS officially launched Forvis Mazars in June 2024, the headline numbers made the story look familiar. The new organisation entered the market with roughly $5 billion in combined revenue, around 40,000 professionals, operations in more than 100 countries and territories, and close to 1,800 partners, immediately placing it among the new entrants
Case Study 27: Baker Tilly and Private Equity – When a Network Starts Becoming a Platform
14. April 2026
Originally published April 2026, updated May 2026. Baker Tilly presents itself as a global firm, and by most external measures, it looks like one. The network operates in more than 140 territories, employs more than 50,000 people, and generates global revenues exceeding $5 billion, placing it among the largest accounting and advisory organisations worldwide, while