By Anthony Scinto
What surprised me most about moving from the Big 4 to a regional accounting firm wasn’t what changed — it was what didn’t.
The move was a personal decision, driven primarily by what was right for my family at that stage of life. I’ll admit I expected trade-offs. Instead, I came to appreciate how much a regional model could make possible for my clients and for me as an adviser.
My years in the Big 4 taught me rigor. I worked through complex issues, learned from people with deep specialist expertise and saw the value of disciplined processes and strong technical infrastructure. Those experiences continue to shape my approach to client work. At scale, those capabilities create consistency, bring significant resources to complex problems and support sophisticated work.
During my transition to a regional firm, I quickly learned that the same professional and technical rigor is not reserved for the Big 4 — it’s necessary at firms of all sizes. The key difference between the two environments is the distance between me, the client and the questions that need to be answered.
Changing workplaces doesn’t change your beliefs, but it does change your perspective. Moving to a regional firm gave me a new vantage point from which to see how rigor, technical expertise and professional judgment can come together in the client relationship.
Staying Close to the Decision
Client questions rarely arrive neatly packaged. A business owner may ask about the tax implications of a transaction, but the underlying question is almost always broader: how the decision fits the family, the direction of the business, the flexibility the owner is willing to give up and what it could mean five or 10 years down the road. Answering those questions well requires technical knowledge and context.
At a regional firm, I can often stay close to an issue from the first conversation through the final decision. That continuity allows me to hear the question firsthand, understand what is driving it and bring the right people into the conversation. Clients gain direct access to a partner and to experienced judgment throughout the process.
Scale and Proximity Solve Different Problems
Scale and proximity solve different problems. Big 4 firms bring significant resources, specialized knowledge and established systems to complex client work. I continue to draw on the discipline and perspective I developed in that environment, which can accelerate execution. A regional structure complements those strengths by allowing experienced professionals to stay closely connected to the client and the issue as it evolves, adding context to judgment. Strong client service benefits from both.
The first benefit of proximity is often recognizing that the original question is only part of the decision. When experienced advisers join the conversation early, they can ask better follow-up questions, identify considerations the client may not have raised and help define the decision before technical work begins.
Why Client Context Matters
Long-term knowledge of a client can materially improve the advice we provide. Two options may both be technically sound but lead to very different outcomes depending on the client’s goals, ownership structure, history and appetite for risk. A technically correct answer is essential, and client context determines how useful that answer becomes.
When advisers understand how a business has evolved, which decisions its leaders have already considered and what they ultimately want to accomplish, they can offer guidance that fits the client’s circumstances. Each conversation then contributes to a longer relationship rather than standing as an isolated engagement.
That closeness also creates accountability. When I have been involved in the conversations leading up to a decision and understand why it matters to the client, I feel a personal responsibility for helping that client move forward with confidence. My role is to deliver a sound answer and help the client understand the reasoning, trade-offs and implications behind it.
Building Around the Regional Model
The regional advantage is not replicating the Big 4 on a smaller scale. Regional firms still need to invest in technical expertise, technology, quality controls and the development of their people. The opportunity is to build those capabilities while being intentional about what a regional structure can offer: proximity, responsiveness and visible senior accountability.
For firm leaders, that means thinking carefully about how clients experience the firm. Are partners present throughout the relationship? Do clients know who to call when a new question arises? Are advisers developing enough institutional knowledge to understand the immediate issue and how it connects to the client’s broader goals?
Those questions matter to firms of every size. Closeness requires more than access; it grows through continuity, curiosity and a willingness to remain engaged beyond a single answer or engagement.
The technical foundation I developed over 15 years remains central to how I serve clients today. Moving to a regional firm broadened my understanding of how that foundation can be delivered through a relationship that keeps me close to the business, the decision and the people who will live with its outcome. That proximity connects technical rigor more directly to the decisions that move the business forward.
About the Author
Anthony Scinto, CPA, is a partner at MMB+CO and chair of the firm’s Tax Department. MMB+CO is an independent, full-service accounting and advisory firm serving clients across New York State and beyond. The firm is ranked among INSIDE Public Accounting’s Top 150 Firms nationwide.
