10 Topics for Your 2026-2027 CPA Firm Partner Retreat
By Joe Tarasco, CEO and Senior Consultant at Accountants Advisory Group
Your firm's past success may not carry it through the next five years. AI is moving into everyday workflows, private equity has entered a second wave of investment, pricing is shifting away from the billable hour, and clients increasingly expect advisory value, not just compliance. Whether your partners meet this fall before busy season or in the spring and summer of 2027, the retreat is the one time each year the whole partner group can step back and decide where the firm is going.
The ten topics below are the ones we see making the biggest difference for firms this year. Few firms can cover all ten in one meeting, so choose the ones that matter most to you and go deep.
Ten topics for your 2026-2027 partner retreat
1. Run the firm like a business
The firms pulling ahead make timely, decisive choices and hold to them. Agree on how the partner group makes decisions, who can act between meetings, and which decisions from last year's retreat still have not been implemented.
2. Your ownership and succession strategy
Every firm has four paths: an internal buyout, a sale or merger into a traditional firm, a sale to a private equity-backed firm, or remaining independent and growth-oriented. PE has entered a second wave, with investors rolling up specialty practices and pushing harder on technology and pricing. Partners should agree on a path and develop a strategy with action plans.
3. AI: from unmanaged usage to supervised workflows
AI is now built into tax, audit, workflow, and practice management platforms. The question for 2027 is no longer whether to use it, but how to manage and supervise it. Agree on an AI use policy, who reviews AI-generated work, how client data is protected, what training every team member receives, and which two or three processes you will redesign first. Measure return on investment in freed capacity, value-billing techniques, and turnaround time.
4. Advisory services and pricing beyond the billable hour
Compliance work is mostly a commodity; advisory work is where clients see value and firms earn margin. Identify the advisory services your clients need next, from planning around recent federal tax changes to cash flow, succession, and technology advice, and decide who leads each offering. Pricing must change with it: when AI finishes in minutes what used to take hours, hourly billing penalizes the firm for its own efficiency. Review your pricing for fixed-fee, value-based, subscription, and advisory retainer models. Start with one service line or client segment and agree on how partners will be trained to have the pricing conversation with clients.
5. Global staffing and outsourcing
Offshore and outsourced teams are moving from overflow help to an integrated part of the operating model, and even small firms now have their own employees in India and the Philippines. Decide which work moves offshore, how to standardize onboarding and quality reviews, and how to redeploy freed-up domestic staff to advisory and client service.
6. Partner roles, accountability, and compensation
Partner roles are broadening beyond client service and business development to include technology, operations, and people development. Align each partner's goals with the strategic plan, use partner scorecards to measure them, and make sure compensation rewards the behaviors the firm needs. Assign an owner and a deadline to every action item that comes out of the retreat.
7. Governance, agreements, and new partners
Outdated partner agreements are one of the most common obstacles we see whether a firm is admitting new partners, retiring one, or considering a transaction. Review retirement and deferred compensation provisions and how they are funded, capital requirements, mandatory retirement, and the criteria and timeline for admitting new partners.
8. Organic growth and lead generation
Define the clients, industries, and niches you want to grow in, and match your marketing and lead generation to them. Set targets for new clients and expanding services to existing ones; decide which partners and managers own business development; and give them the marketing support, tools, and time to deliver.
9. Growth through acquisitions
For firms that intend to stay independent, acquisitions can add capabilities and people faster than organic growth alone. Be selective about what you buy. The strongest targets bring established advisory services, a client accounting services (CAS) practice, talented younger partners who can help lead the combined firm, and quality staff. Agree on your acquisition criteria, how you will fund and integrate a deal, and which partner will lead the effort.
10. Partner unity, culture, and a five-year vision
None of the above works without a united partner group. Close the retreat by agreeing on a clear five-year vision and strategic intent, the culture you want to protect as the firm changes, and how partners will hold one another accountable for getting there.
Making the retreat count
A retreat is only as good as what happens after it. The firms that get the most from their meeting follow three steps.
Before: survey every partner confidentially on priorities and concerns, and circulate a short data pack covering financial results, realization, client mix, and staffing.
During: limit the agenda to the topics that matter most, use an outside facilitator so every partner participates as a peer, and end each topic with a decision, not just a discussion.
After: turn decisions into a written action plan with an owner and deadline for each item, and review progress at 60-day check-ins.
Timing matters too. A fall or early-winter retreat sets priorities before busy season; a late-spring or summer 2027 retreat lets partners plan with the busy season's results in hand.
How Accountants Advisory Group can help
Accountants Advisory Group facilitates partner retreats and summits customized to your firm's culture, size, market, and goals. We help design the agenda, survey partners in advance, facilitate the meeting, and follow through on the action plan.
To plan your 2026 or 2027 partner retreat, contact Joe Tarasco at joe@accountantsadvisory.com, D: 813-819-3197 or M: 914-924-1450, or schedule a call.