CEO & President
Whitman Transition Advisors
Phil specializes in CPA Firm Growth. Whether succession planning, M&A, talent acquisition, business advisory services or practice management consulting, firms of all sizes, from sole practitioners to top 10 global firms rely on him.
Phil has grown Whitman Transition Advisors to be the single largest advisory organization for CPA firms in the Nation. The depth and breadth of CPA firm leadership expertise by the Whitman Transition Team is unparalleled. With greater than 1,000 merger and acquisition transactions and consulting engagements, there is nothing the Team hasn’t seen.
Phil has expanded his CPA firm relationships and now helps small, medium, and large CPA firms help their clients. Through the C Suite IMPACT LLC group of companies, Whitman as Chairman, offers everything from Fractional CFO, Back-office Client Accounting Resources, Business Intelligence, and Deal Making, this includes buy-side, sell-side and capital raising, Whitman partners with the CPA firms and creates additional bottom-line revenue for the firms without them adding one new client or one new staff person.
Whitman has been a featured speaker for various state societies of CPAs, international CPA firm associations as well as a presenter for CCHs annual user conference. For over 25 years he has advised firms throughout North America.
When not focusing on strengthening existing business relationships Whitman enjoys connecting and building new relationships and prides himself on being a professional connector. Whitman has been married to Mia, his wife, for 33 years and enjoys time with his three adult sons, one an accountant, another a pilot, and the youngest a techie.
For many firms, the decision to pursue private equity is not theoretical; it is a complex leadership conversation that touches every aspect of the firm, from culture and governance to partner economics and long-term strategy. In this session, accounting firm leaders who have evaluated — and in some cases pursued or declined — private equity will share how their leadership teams approached the decision-making process.
Panelists will discuss the internal conversations that shaped their thinking, the questions partners asked, the concerns that surfaced, and the factors that ultimately influenced their direction. This candid, experience-driven discussion will provide attendees with practical insight into how firm leaders are evaluating private equity today — and what they learned along the way, whether they moved forward with a deal or decided to remain independent.