Why it is useful for AI training
Agents that help accountants prepare, review and close the books need to see how trained people do that work: which steps a close checklist holds, what a reviewer checks before sign-off, how a procedure changed after a missed step. Firms keep their methods in house, so public text holds little of this. A firm's own templates, checklists and procedures show the method without the client behind it.
A firm's checklists and procedure manuals are its playbook: they show how the work gets done, while the client files they were used on stay with the client.
What sets the price
- Templates, checklists and procedures the firm wrote itself, with their revision history.
- Review and sign-off checklists that show how the firm checks work, without the client files they were used on.
- Training material and internal guidance that explain why a step exists.
- Several years of records from the same systems.
- Mostly English records, and a contact who can work in English.
Priced with the rest of the firm's archive. The estimate on this page prices the documents, procedures and project records of a professional services firm on their own, with client files left out and no regulated data inside.
What blocks a deal, and the fix
- Client confidential information, including client workpapers and client figures
- Client files, client names and client figures stay out. Only records the firm owns and may share, such as its own templates, checklists and procedures, are considered.
- Engagement letters and firm policies that limit what may be shared
- We read those terms at screening, and any record they cover stays out.
- Health, clinical or personal data about individuals
- It stays out, and so do payroll and staff records. The estimate on this page assumes none is inside, and records about children are not accepted.
What owners overlook
- A close checklist that changed after a missed step shows how a firm learns, which a clean final version hides.
- Review comments on the firm's own templates and training files show what senior staff look for.
- Old versions of a procedure matter: the history of a method is part of what it teaches.
Market evidence
- AI companies are buying old work messages and records from companies as training data.Forbes, (opens in a new tab)
- Published programs flag regulated data, such as health, financial or personal information, at screening, and remove client identities before delivery.Rightmark,
How a deal works
Appraise
Answer a few questions about what you have. See an indicative range, what sets it and what would raise it. No files, no access.About a minute
Verify title
We confirm the company controls the archive, check personal data and third-party rights, and assemble the ownership pack the deal needs.Before any offer
Route
The archive goes to the route that fits it: an exclusive lump sum for a term, or a non-exclusive revenue share.Sign and get paid
You approve the agreement and its scope before anything moves. We never hold your passwords: transfers use scoped, revocable connections your admins approve, or exports.Payment about 2 to 13 weeks after signing
Questions
How much are an accounting firm's own records worth?
They are priced like the rest of a company archive, which published programs list at $185,000 to $1M+. The firm's own documents, procedures and project records, as in the estimate on this page (One archive: 40 staff, 8 years, 3 tool types), come to $240,000 to $480,000 at Medium confidence. Rightmark's public deal records hold no sale of accounting firm records yet. Indicative estimate, not an offer.
Source: Rightmark,
Can a firm license its client workpapers?
Not through Rightmark. Workpapers and files a client gave the firm are client confidential material, and we leave them out. A firm can license the records it owns and may share: its own templates, checklists, procedures and training material, with client details removed.
Which records does an accounting firm own?
Usually the methods it wrote: workpaper templates, close and review checklists, procedure manuals, training material and the project records of its own work. Who owns a record depends on the firm's engagement letters and policies, which we read at screening.
Can we keep using the records ourselves?
Yes. You keep your copy and keep using your systems; the buyer gets a de-identified copy for training. On an exclusive lump sum you cannot license the same data to others for the term and scope; on a revenue share you can.
What do we warrant about the records?
That the firm owns or controls the records it licenses and can authorize their export. Records covered by a client's confidentiality terms are left out at screening.
How long until we are paid?
Screening takes a few days and the data inventory moves at your pace. Payment usually arrives 2 to 13 weeks after signing, an inferred guide, depending on the buyer.