Illustrative case study · Private Equity

The happier firm carries more partner risk.

Would an accounting firm’s clients stay after a sale, even if a partner left? A private equity investor in exclusivity to buy the firm needed to know. We interviewed 200 business owners and finance leads, half of them the firm’s own clients, and the report followed in 14 days.

Illustrative scenario

Samplen = 200

Illustrative report

Accounting Firm Client Loyalty

Will an accounting firm’s clients stay with it after a sale, and who would follow a partner out?

Study architecture

Benchmark loyaltyNet promoter score for the firm against clients of other firms

Map relationshipsEveryone each client works with, and who would follow a partner

Test feesHow far fees could rise before clients look elsewhere

Scope

High satisfaction can still leave a firm exposed when its clients are loyal to one person.

Sample

200

Owners and finance leads who hire and pay their business’s accountant.

Research by

Study typeRetention study

ScenarioIllustrative

Accounting client loyalty · Executive reportExecutive summary

Executive summary

The firm’s clients are loyal, and 56% of them rely on one partner

The 200 business owners and finance leads, half of them the target firm’s clients, rate their accountant. The firm leads its peers with a net promoter score of +44 against +17. That loyalty sits with the partners: 60% of clients who deal only with their partner would follow one out, against 16% of team clients, and 56% of the firm’s clients deal only with a partner.

+44n = 100

net promoter score for the target firm

60%n = 88

of single-contact clients would follow a partner

56%n = 100

of the firm’s clients deal only with a partner

79%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would stay at a 5% fee rise

Figures rounded. Base n = 200 clients unless stated.

Top lines

1The firm leads its peers on satisfactionNet promoter score and ratings by area03

2Clients who know only their partner would follow one outIntent to follow a departing partner04

3More of the firm’s clients rely on a single partnerSingle-contact share and partner risk05

4A 5% fee rise keeps most of the firm’s clientsFee increases and client response06

5Sample, screener and quality controlWho we interviewed and how07

AAppendixQuestion flow and data tables09

Sample

200 business clients

Segments

100 target firm, 100 other firms

Method

AI-moderated interviews, peer benchmark

Markets

US small and mid-size businesses

Illustrative report. The company, scenario, and all figures are fictional.

Illustrative report02

Illustrative reportExecutive summary

Illustrative example. The company, scenario, and all figures are fictional. They show UserCue’s method and deliverable format. They do not come from any client study.

The engagement

Delivered in

days, with the report, the data file and a live readout.

Interviews

200

Owners and finance leads who hire their business’s accountant.

Audiences

100 clients of the target firm and 100 of other firms.

Method

Price ladder

Peer NPS benchmark, then fee rises of 5%, 8% and 12% asked in turn.

The brief

Client

A private equity investor

Decision

Whether an accounting firm’s clients would stay after a sale

Stage

Loyalty study, during exclusivity

How we ran it

Approach

AI-moderated interviews with a peer benchmark

Measured

Satisfaction, relationships, intent to follow a partner, fee increases

Sample

Small and mid-size businesses, half of them the firm’s own clients

Headline figures

Satisfaction+44

net promoter score for the target firm, against +17 for other firms

Partner risk60%

of clients who deal only with their partner would follow one out, against 16% of team clients

The book56%

of the target firm’s clients deal only with their partner, against 32% at other firms

The question

After a sale, will the firm’s clients stay?

Growth and client satisfaction drew the investor to the firm, and it planned to buy from the founding partners. Before setting how much of the price to pay at closing, it wanted to hear from the clients themselves, invited under the firm’s own name and set beside a peer group.

Are the firm’s clients more satisfied than clients of other firms?

Who would follow a partner who left the firm?

How large a fee increase would clients accept before they look elsewhere?

What we did

How the study ran, start to finish.

1Kickoff
One question: who stays after a sale.
Once we own the firm, will its clients stay, even if a partner leaves? The kickoff turned it into three questions: whether clients rate the firm above its peers, who would follow a departing partner and what fee rise they would accept.
2Design
Target clients, a peer benchmark.
The screener took the owner or finance lead who hires the accountant: 100 clients of the target firm and 100 of other firms. No interview named a buyer or a sale, and each client listed everyone they work with at their firm.
3Fielding
200 clients, each naming their contacts.
Each client said, by voice or text, who else at the firm knows their books; quant and qual in one conversation, median 27 minutes. The researcher read all 226 and removed 26 for off-target experience or rushed responses, leaving 200.
4Analysis
The loyalty belongs to the partners.
The researcher set each client’s intent to follow a partner against the contacts they named at the firm. Single-contact clients were nearly four times as likely as team clients to follow, and make up 56% of the target’s clients.
5Readout
56% of its clients rely on one partner.
The researcher walked the deal team through a 28-page report at a live readout centered on the fee-increase curve and relationship map, and handed over the full data file. The final bid put part of the price into a two-year earnout tied to single-contact clients.

What we found

Four findings from the report.

Summary

The firm’s clients are more satisfied than their peers, with a net promoter score of +44 against +17. That loyalty sits with the partners: 60% of clients who deal only with their partner would follow one out, against 16% of team clients. 56% of the firm’s clients deal only with a partner, against 32% at other firms, so the happier firm carries more partner risk.

Accounting client loyalty · Executive reportTop line 1

Top line 1 of 4

The firm leads its peers on satisfaction

¹ Q9. How likely are you to suggest your accounting firm to another business owner? Zero to ten, n = 200.

² Coded open-ended reasons for scores; directional.

Clients of the target firm are happier with their accountant than clients of other firms. The firm’s net promoter score is +44, against +17 for other firms¹. Its clients rate responsiveness and their partner’s knowledge of the business highest, and planning help beyond the annual return rates lowest of the areas shown, at 47%.

+44NPS, n = 100

net promoter score, target firm

+17NPS, n = 100

net promoter score, other firms

86%n = 100

of the firm’s clients rate responsiveness highly

27points

net promoter lead over other firms

Net promoter score and ratings, target firm against other firms

Rate the target firm highly, top-two box (n = 100)

Net promoter score, target firm (n = 100)

PromoterPassiveDetractor

Net promoter score, other firms (n = 100)

PromoterPassiveDetractor

Net promoter score = share scoring nine or ten minus share scoring six or below. Top-two box on a five-point scale. The firm invited its own clients to an interview under its name, so no client list left the firm.

Supporting evidence

Promoters make up 56% of the firm’s clients, against 45% at other firms. § 3.2
Promoters name their partner far more often than they name the firm. § 3.3²

Illustrative report03

Accounting client loyalty · Executive reportTop line 2

Top line 2 of 4

Clients who know only their partner would follow one out

¹ Q16. If your main partner left to set up a new firm, how likely would you be to move your work with them? Five-point scale, n = 200.

² Q17. Why would you follow them? Multi-select, asked of the 88 single-contact clients.

Partner risk sits with the clients who know one person at the firm. 60% of clients who deal only with their partner would likely follow a partner who left, against 16% of clients who work with a wider team¹. Clients with a manager or staff they rely on name the firm as the one keeping their books. At the target firm, 43% would follow, against 28% elsewhere.

60%n = 88

of single-contact clients would follow a partner

16%n = 112

of team clients would follow a partner

43%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would follow a partner

88of 200

clients deal only with their partner

Would likely follow a departing partner

Would likely follow a partner who left, top-two box

Who clients work with at their firm (n = 200)

Partner onlyPartner and others

Why single-contact clients would follow (n = 88)

Each client listed everyone they deal with at their firm; single-contact means the partner only. Five-point likelihood scale, top two boxes. Reasons asked of the 88 single-contact clients, multi-select; shares do not sum to 100.

Supporting evidence

Among the firm’s 56 single-contact clients, 63% would follow a departing partner. § 4.2
Single-contact clients most often say the partner knows their history, at 68%. § 4.3²

Illustrative report04

Accounting client loyalty · Executive reportTop line 3

Top line 3 of 4

More of the firm’s clients rely on a single partner

¹ Q12. Who do you deal with at your accounting firm? Multi-select by role, n = 200.

² Satisfaction by contact type, target firm clients; directional.

The satisfaction lead hides a concentration of risk. 56% of the target firm’s clients deal only with their partner, against 32% at other firms¹. Single-contact clients are the ones who follow a partner out, so the firm carries more partner risk than its peers: 43% of its clients would follow a departing partner, against 28% elsewhere.

56%n = 100

of the firm’s clients deal only with a partner

32%n = 100

of other firms’ clients deal only with a partner

43%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would follow a partner

28%n = 100

of other firms’ clients would follow a partner

Single-contact clients and partner risk, target firm against other firms

Deal only with their partner

Target firm clients by contacts (n = 100)

Partner onlyPartner and others

Would follow a departing partner, by firm

Two-proportion test at 95% confidence for the single-contact gap. Partner risk is the share who would likely follow a departing partner, top two boxes. Revenue halves split at the median revenue of all 200 clients.

Supporting evidence

Smaller businesses rely on one partner more: 57% below the median revenue, against 31% above it. § 5.2
Clients who work with a manager as well as a partner rate the firm as highly as single-contact clients do. § 5.3²

Illustrative report05

Accounting client loyalty · Executive reportTop line 4

Top line 4 of 4

A 5% fee rise keeps most of the firm’s clients

¹ Q22. If your annual fee rose by 5%, 8% or 12%, would you stay without seeking quotes? Asked at each step, n = 200.

² Q24. What would you do at an 8% increase? Single select, target firm clients.

Fee tolerance follows satisfaction. 79% of the target firm’s clients would stay through a 5% fee increase, against 61% of other firms’ clients¹. The firm keeps 52% at 8% and 27% at 12%. Single-contact and team clients respond to a 5% rise much the same, 73% against 68%.

79%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would stay at a 5% rise

61%n = 100

of other firms’ clients would stay at a 5% rise

52%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would stay at an 8% rise

27%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would stay at a 12% rise

Would stay through a fee increase, by size of increase

Would stay without looking elsewhere, by fee increase

Would stay at a 5% rise, by contacts

Response to an 8% rise, target firm (n = 100)

StayAsk for quotesMove firm

Each increase described as a share of the client’s current annual fee. Would stay means without asking other firms for quotes. The contact groups pool both firms’ clients.

Supporting evidence

At 8%, 32% of the firm’s clients would ask other firms for quotes and 16% would move. § 6.2²
Other firms keep 35% of their clients at 8% and 19% at 12%, below the target firm at each step. § 6.3

Illustrative report06

Top line 1 of 4 · page 03Illustrative report · top line 1 of 4 · swipeIllustrative report

Question 1 · Satisfaction

The firm leads its peers on satisfaction.

Clients give the target firm a net promoter score of +44, against +17 for clients of other firms. They rate its responsiveness and their partner’s knowledge of the business highest.

+44target firm

+17other firms

Net promoter score · n = 100 vs n = 100

Question 2 · Following a partner

Most single-contact clients would follow a partner out.

60% of clients who deal only with their partner would likely follow a partner who left, against 16% of clients who work with a wider team. At the target firm, 43% would follow, against 28% at other firms.

Partner only (n = 88)60%

Target firm (n = 100)43%

Other firms (n = 100)28%

Wider team (n = 112)16%

Would likely follow a departing partner · n = 200

Question 2 · The firm’s book

More of the firm’s clients rely on a single partner.

56% of the target firm’s clients deal only with their partner, against 32% at other firms. The firm with the happier clients carries more partner risk than its peers.

56%target firm, one contact

32%other firms, one contact

Deal only with their partner · n = 100 vs n = 100

Question 3 · Fees

A 5% fee rise keeps most of the firm’s clients.

79% of the target firm’s clients would stay through a 5% fee increase, against 61% of other firms’ clients. At 8% the firm keeps 52%, and at 12% it keeps 27%.

Target firm, 5% increase79%

Other firms, 5% increase61%

Target firm, 8% increase52%

Target firm, 12% increase27%

Would stay without looking elsewhere · n = 100 each

“Our accountant has done our books since we had four employees. If she left, I’d ask where she was going before I asked anything else.”

Business owner · Illustrative quote

Illustrative quotes

Three themes behind the numbers.

One contact

“I have one number I call, and it’s his cell. I couldn’t name anyone else at the firm.”

Company owner

The team

“We work with a manager most of the year and see the partner at year end. The firm would still know us if he retired.”

Finance director

Fees

“A modest increase I’d accept without a second thought. Double digits and I’d start asking around.”

Controller

What the investor did

Three moves made with the report.

1The price · from finding 3

Moved part of the price into an earnout.

A two-year earnout now carries part of the price, paid out only as the single-contact clients, 56% of the firm’s client list, stay after the sale.

2The first year · from finding 2

Put a manager on every single-contact client.

Each client who deals only with a partner gets a named manager in the first quarter after closing; only 16% of team clients would follow a departing partner.

3The fees · from finding 4

Set the first fee rise at 5%.

The firm’s clients take a 5% rise better than other firms’ clients do, 79% against 61%; at 8%, barely half would stay.

Illustrative example. The company, scenario, and all figures are fictional. They show UserCue’s method and deliverable format. They do not come from any client study.

Bring us your next diligence question.

A senior researcher designs and presents every study.

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Win-loss study

How the study ran, start to finish.

1Kickoff

One question: who stays after a sale.

Once we own the firm, will its clients stay, even if a partner leaves? The kickoff turned it into three questions: whether clients rate the firm above its peers, who would follow a departing partner and what fee rise they would accept.

2Design

Target clients, a peer benchmark.

The screener took the owner or finance lead who hires the accountant: 100 clients of the target firm and 100 of other firms. No interview named a buyer or a sale, and each client listed everyone they work with at their firm.

3Fielding

200 clients, each naming their contacts.

Each client said, by voice or text, who else at the firm knows their books; quant and qual in one conversation, median 27 minutes. The researcher read all 226 and removed 26 for off-target experience or rushed responses, leaving 200.

4Analysis

The loyalty belongs to the partners.

The researcher set each client’s intent to follow a partner against the contacts they named at the firm. Single-contact clients were nearly four times as likely as team clients to follow, and make up 56% of the target’s clients.

5Readout

56% of its clients rely on one partner.

The researcher walked the deal team through a 28-page report at a live readout centered on the fee-increase curve and relationship map, and handed over the full data file. The final bid put part of the price into a two-year earnout tied to single-contact clients.

Four findings from the report.

Summary

Accounting client loyalty · Executive reportTop line 1

Top line 1 of 4

The firm leads its peers on satisfaction

¹ Q9. How likely are you to suggest your accounting firm to another business owner? Zero to ten, n = 200.

² Coded open-ended reasons for scores; directional.

+44NPS, n = 100

net promoter score, target firm

+17NPS, n = 100

net promoter score, other firms

86%n = 100

of the firm’s clients rate responsiveness highly

27points

net promoter lead over other firms

Net promoter score and ratings, target firm against other firms

Rate the target firm highly, top-two box (n = 100)

Net promoter score, target firm (n = 100)

PromoterPassiveDetractor

Net promoter score, other firms (n = 100)

PromoterPassiveDetractor

Supporting evidence

Promoters make up 56% of the firm’s clients, against 45% at other firms. § 3.2
Promoters name their partner far more often than they name the firm. § 3.3²

Illustrative report03

Accounting client loyalty · Executive reportTop line 2

Top line 2 of 4

Clients who know only their partner would follow one out

¹ Q16. If your main partner left to set up a new firm, how likely would you be to move your work with them? Five-point scale, n = 200.

² Q17. Why would you follow them? Multi-select, asked of the 88 single-contact clients.

60%n = 88

of single-contact clients would follow a partner

16%n = 112

of team clients would follow a partner

43%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would follow a partner

88of 200

clients deal only with their partner

Would likely follow a departing partner

Would likely follow a partner who left, top-two box

Who clients work with at their firm (n = 200)

Partner onlyPartner and others

Why single-contact clients would follow (n = 88)

Supporting evidence

Among the firm’s 56 single-contact clients, 63% would follow a departing partner. § 4.2
Single-contact clients most often say the partner knows their history, at 68%. § 4.3²

Illustrative report04

Accounting client loyalty · Executive reportTop line 3

Top line 3 of 4

More of the firm’s clients rely on a single partner

¹ Q12. Who do you deal with at your accounting firm? Multi-select by role, n = 200.

² Satisfaction by contact type, target firm clients; directional.

56%n = 100

of the firm’s clients deal only with a partner

32%n = 100

of other firms’ clients deal only with a partner

43%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would follow a partner

28%n = 100

of other firms’ clients would follow a partner

Single-contact clients and partner risk, target firm against other firms

Deal only with their partner

Target firm clients by contacts (n = 100)

Partner onlyPartner and others

Would follow a departing partner, by firm

Supporting evidence

Smaller businesses rely on one partner more: 57% below the median revenue, against 31% above it. § 5.2
Clients who work with a manager as well as a partner rate the firm as highly as single-contact clients do. § 5.3²

Illustrative report05

Accounting client loyalty · Executive reportTop line 4

Top line 4 of 4

A 5% fee rise keeps most of the firm’s clients

¹ Q22. If your annual fee rose by 5%, 8% or 12%, would you stay without seeking quotes? Asked at each step, n = 200.

² Q24. What would you do at an 8% increase? Single select, target firm clients.

79%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would stay at a 5% rise

61%n = 100

of other firms’ clients would stay at a 5% rise

52%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would stay at an 8% rise

27%n = 100

of the firm’s clients would stay at a 12% rise

Would stay through a fee increase, by size of increase

Would stay without looking elsewhere, by fee increase

Would stay at a 5% rise, by contacts

Response to an 8% rise, target firm (n = 100)

StayAsk for quotesMove firm

Each increase described as a share of the client’s current annual fee. Would stay means without asking other firms for quotes. The contact groups pool both firms’ clients.

Supporting evidence

At 8%, 32% of the firm’s clients would ask other firms for quotes and 16% would move. § 6.2²
Other firms keep 35% of their clients at 8% and 19% at 12%, below the target firm at each step. § 6.3

Illustrative report06

Top line 1 of 4 · page 03Illustrative report · top line 1 of 4 · swipeIllustrative report

Question 1 · Satisfaction

The firm leads its peers on satisfaction.

Clients give the target firm a net promoter score of +44, against +17 for clients of other firms. They rate its responsiveness and their partner’s knowledge of the business highest.

+44target firm

+17other firms

Net promoter score · n = 100 vs n = 100

Question 2 · Following a partner

Most single-contact clients would follow a partner out.

Partner only (n = 88)60%

Target firm (n = 100)43%

Other firms (n = 100)28%

Wider team (n = 112)16%

Would likely follow a departing partner · n = 200

Question 2 · The firm’s book

More of the firm’s clients rely on a single partner.

56% of the target firm’s clients deal only with their partner, against 32% at other firms. The firm with the happier clients carries more partner risk than its peers.

56%target firm, one contact

32%other firms, one contact

Deal only with their partner · n = 100 vs n = 100

Question 3 · Fees

A 5% fee rise keeps most of the firm’s clients.

79% of the target firm’s clients would stay through a 5% fee increase, against 61% of other firms’ clients. At 8% the firm keeps 52%, and at 12% it keeps 27%.

Target firm, 5% increase79%

Other firms, 5% increase61%

Target firm, 8% increase52%

Target firm, 12% increase27%

Would stay without looking elsewhere · n = 100 each

Three themes behind the numbers.

One contact

“I have one number I call, and it’s his cell. I couldn’t name anyone else at the firm.”

Company owner

The team

“We work with a manager most of the year and see the partner at year end. The firm would still know us if he retired.”

Finance director

Fees

“A modest increase I’d accept without a second thought. Double digits and I’d start asking around.”

Controller

Three moves made with the report.

1The price · from finding 3

Moved part of the price into an earnout.

A two-year earnout now carries part of the price, paid out only as the single-contact clients, 56% of the firm’s client list, stay after the sale.

2The first year · from finding 2

Put a manager on every single-contact client.

Each client who deals only with a partner gets a named manager in the first quarter after closing; only 16% of team clients would follow a departing partner.

3The fees · from finding 4

Set the first fee rise at 5%.

The firm’s clients take a 5% rise better than other firms’ clients do, 79% against 61%; at 8%, barely half would stay.

Illustrative example. The company, scenario, and all figures are fictional. They show UserCue’s method and deliverable format. They do not come from any client study.

After a sale, will the firm’s clients stay?

Are the firm’s clients more satisfied than clients of other firms?

Who would follow a partner who left the firm?

How large a fee increase would clients accept before they look elsewhere?

How the study ran, start to finish.

One question: who stays after a sale.

Target clients, a peer benchmark.

200 clients, each naming their contacts.

The loyalty belongs to the partners.

56% of its clients rely on one partner.

Four findings from the report.

The firm leads its peers on satisfaction.

Most single-contact clients would follow a partner out.

More of the firm’s clients rely on a single partner.

A 5% fee rise keeps most of the firm’s clients.

Three themes behind the numbers.

Three moves made with the report.

Moved part of the price into an earnout.

Put a manager on every single-contact client.

Set the first fee rise at 5%.

Bring us your next diligence question.

Fleet Management Software VoC

Tax Compliance Software VoC

Contract Lifecycle Management Platform VoC

After a sale, will the firm’s clients stay?

Are the firm’s clients more satisfied than clients of other firms?

Who would follow a partner who left the firm?

How large a fee increase would clients accept before they look elsewhere?

How the study ran, start to finish.

One question: who stays after a sale.

Target clients, a peer benchmark.

200 clients, each naming their contacts.

The loyalty belongs to the partners.

56% of its clients rely on one partner.

Four findings from the report.

The firm leads its peers on satisfaction.

Most single-contact clients would follow a partner out.

More of the firm’s clients rely on a single partner.

A 5% fee rise keeps most of the firm’s clients.

Three themes behind the numbers.

Three moves made with the report.

Moved part of the price into an earnout.

Put a manager on every single-contact client.

Set the first fee rise at 5%.

Bring us your next diligence question.

Fleet Management Software VoC

Tax Compliance Software VoC

Contract Lifecycle Management Platform VoC