Confronted by a chronic talent shortage, fee compression and ever-increasing workloads, more U.S. accounting firms are turning to offshore talent.

The core issue is not that small firms are fundamentally worth less; it's that they lack access to buyer competition.

The common assumption is that closing the AI skills gap means teaching accountants new technical skills. But the real gap is structural: whether a firm has redesigned its governance, roles, and workflows around AI.

For the 2026 Top Firms by Assets Under Management, managing the growth of their own practices is as much a challenge as growing their clients' wealth.

The leading CPA financial planners with over $1 billion in assets under management, from Accounting Today's annual ranking.

This year's top resellers in the accounting space say they're facing greater expectations on a number of fronts.