In the first few weeks of the year, Boardroom Insight started hearing from industry insiders that the then-sluggish M&A market was turning a corner. In February, the head of private equity at the world’s fifth largest accounting firm told us buy-and-build transactions were on the upswing. A few months later, one of PwC’s top deal executives went even further, informing us there’s a “picture of optimism and recovery in the M&A market.”

That early enthusiasm later turned into a wave of acquisitions. This year’s deal volume was buoyed by the record-breaking amount of dry powder that private equity firms had amassed during the M&A market’s deep freeze. Buyers focused much of their attention on the red-hot IT sector, but the professional services market wasn’t left out either. Cybersecurity shops, sustainability advisory firms and all manner of other consultancies were picked up in the second half of 2024. End-of-year M&A market reports are painting a clear picture of returning deal demand. 

Boardroom Insight recently got an inside look at the dynamics of a professional services acquisition in the current market environment. Mike Kelly is founder and partner at Conexus Recruiting, a talent acquisition firm based in California. The company is active across the accounting, IT and HR segments, the three core pillars of the consulting sector’s revenue base. The firm recently acquired a partner called CV Resources to bolster its core staffing business. Kelly walked us through the deal as well as Conexus Recruiting’s recent launch of an advisory practice. The new unit’s specialties include, among others, helping private equity firms carry out post-deal process optimization at the businesses they buy. 

Boardroom Insight: What new capabilities is CV Resources bringing to the table?

Mike Kelly: CV Resources enhances our ability to fill roles below the controller level, from accounting manager to staff accountant, on both an interim and direct-hire basis. They also expand our geographic reach with offices in Seattle, Portland, and Boise, allowing us to serve new regions. Additionally, CV Resources enables us to offer their services to our extensive client base from San Diego to Santa Barbara, further broadening our service offering.

Boardroom Insight: Why an acquisition instead of building out those capabilities in-house through hiring?

Mike Kelly: We’ve collaborated with CV Resources on a referral basis for over four years and have come to highly value their capabilities, scale, and speed. Their established presence in the Pacific Northwest is something we didn’t have, and this acquisition strengthens our footprint in that region. Furthermore, demand for staff accountants and senior accountants is rising rapidly, while the supply of qualified talent is shrinking. By acquiring CV Resources, we gain ownership of this essential capability to meet growing client needs.

Boardroom Insight: Finance and HR teams have a lot more software tools at their disposal than a decade ago, and not just from the big vendors. Have tech skills become a bigger factor in candidate sourcing across those two fields?

Mike Kelly: Technology has certainly become ubiquitous in the human capital space, with most firms having access to the same tools at a low cost. However, the key differentiator is the speed and specialization we bring. We focus on verticals where talent is scarce and highly sought-after. In fact, 95% of the candidates we place, whether interim or direct hire, are sourced through our relationships, not through generic platforms like LinkedIn or Indeed. This approach allows us to move quickly, maintain professionalism, and deliver a higher caliber of service and candidates.

Boardroom Insight: Conexus’ last big announcement was the launch of an advisory unit that does post-acquisition consulting. How did that come about?

Mike Kelly: Conexus has over 200 CPAs and MBAs providing project-based and interim support throughout Southern California. Our clients range from private equity-backed companies to rapidly growing mid-market businesses and large public firms. Many of these clients operate lean finance teams and require “just-in-time” expertise for critical projects like M&A, divestitures, ERP implementations, and digital automation (e.g., speeding up month-end closes or automating manual processes).

Our advisory unit emerged from the increasing need for specialized expertise in these areas, where clients lack the time or resources to manage both daily operations and complex, high-priority projects. Our team adds significant value by bringing in deep knowledge of tools, processes, and industry-specific experience to ensure successful outcomes.

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