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Buy a Tax Firm

Tax advisory & auditing, and legal advisory firms are looking for suitable successors. Buying a tax advisory firm is very much in trend. Today, around 76 percent of German tax advisors work for themselves. Because many firms will be up for sale in the coming years due to demographic change, the entry opportunities for young tax advisors are good. At the same time, starting out on your own should be planned carefully — buying a tax firm is not trivial. Taking over an established tax advisory practice can currently be a very good move, given the digital transformation underway.

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Taking Over a Tax Advisory Practice

It starts with a market analysis that weighs up the opportunities and risks. That includes basic things like getting an overview of the other market participants in the region. It also means clarifying how to finance a tax firm — start-up loans and conversations with bank representatives are helpful here. When financing through external investors, professionally putting together a business plan is essential. Anyone going independent should also keep in mind: solid knowledge of tax law alone isn't enough to succeed. Entrepreneurial thinking and a knack for organization are just as necessary. When it comes to hiring staff, know-how in managing employees is undoubtedly needed too.

The same applies equally to people wanting to go independent as auditors. Career prospects in this field are excellent too. Today, around a third of auditors are older than 55, so several of them will be leaving the profession in the coming years — a good opportunity for young graduates at the same time. Already today, a quarter of all auditors run their own firm on the market, and there are around 2,700 auditing companies in Germany.

This trend is likely to increase in the coming years. That's explained by the more achievable desire for work-life balance, and the wish, after a demanding exam, not to want to share one's hard-won expertise with others. As is well known, the auditor exam has a strong filtering effect: according to the Institute of Public Auditors, only 50 to 60 percent of participants pass on their first attempt. Around 20 percent of participants can retake failed exam sections in a supplementary exam. Around 90 percent of that group then pass the remaining exams. It's also not uncommon for several founders to join together under the legal form of a GmbH or a GmbH & Co. KG. These legal forms are even more popular among auditors than among tax advisors. Since 2013, there's also been the option of founding a so-called partnership company with limited professional liability, or "Part GmbH" for short.

This business form has a decisive advantage: it allows liability for professional errors to be limited to the company's assets — a significant benefit if potential damage claims exceed the coverage provided by insurance. Compared to other sectors, setting up an auditing practice requires relatively little capital, though it's still sensible to budget a buffer of 10 to 15 percent of the total.