Bob Lewis

Bob is President of The Visionary Group and one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People. He developed deep relationships with key leaders in accounting firms nationwide and is a frequent speaker on M&A, private equity, and organic growth in the accounting profession.

He helps firms assess their current position, evaluate succession potential, build enterprise value, and understand their options. Bob created a Build to Evolve process to walk firms through the steps needed to remain independent. This includes interviews and surveys to measure firm alignment, in-depth data analysis of clients and metrics, pricing and targeting assessments, and it ends with an independence plan unique to the firm.

When independence is not an option, he helps leadership identify their best potential financial, cultural, and strategic fit. Bob identifies firms to acquire or merge into buyers and helps firms who need to sell or merge find the right firms to engage with to start the process. He conducts dozens of M&A and private equity transactions annually including sourcing, structuring, and negotiating M&A transactions.

He Co-Chairs the Accounting Today Private Equity Summit, has an accounting background, and his formal education is a Bachelor of Science in Finance, and an MBA, both from DePaul University in Chicago.