CPA Trendlines Podcasts

How savvy CPAs are unlocking powerful insights buried in their practice management systems. Plus: Download the slide deck. See all the show notes hereGear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA Trendlines“What surprised me most isn't what the data says,” says Michelle Golden River, CEO of Fore LLC, in a new episode of Gear Up for Growth, powered by CPA Trendlines. “It's that almost every CPA already has it, and it rarely makes it into leadership conversations.” MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | MORE Gear Up for Growth | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network hereRiver tells host Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing, that firms are overlooking powerful insights buried in their own practice management data. River challenges CPA firm leaders to rethink long-held assumptions about growth and sustainability. “There is no reason we should be taking a high volume of low spenders when it's killing us. It's ruining our sustainability chances,” she says.River leaves three big takeaways for CPA firms. 

The 2026 MOVE Project aims to turn caregiving challenges into actionable insights for firms.Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Donny Shimamoto, and Byron PatrickCenter for Accounting TransformationAs accounting firms continue to grapple with talent shortages, retention challenges, and evolving workforce expectations, a growing segment of professionals is quietly carrying an additional burden — one that rarely shows up on a balance sheet. MORE Accounting ARC: Built Fast. Sold Faster. Broken Later? The Truth About Accounting Tech |  Recognize When You Need to Recharge Before You Burn Out | Valuing More Than the Balance Sheet | Accounting's “Untalked-About” Frontier | Why Happiness is Hard-Fought for High Achievers | The Fastest Way to Lose Talent Is “Dick Leadership” | Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn't a Failure; It's a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC They are caregivers.In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, Donny Shimamoto, Byron Patrick, and Liz Mason turn their attention to the 2026 Accounting MOVE Project — and the professionals it aims to better understand and support. This year's emphasis: the “sandwich generation” and others balancing careers with caregiving responsibilities. The topic reflects a broader shift in how the profession defines talent, productivity, and success — and raises questions about whether traditional firm structures are keeping pace with reality.

Effective leaders create connection, recognizing that human-centered leadership is critical.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchIn this episode of MOVE Like This, Bonnie Ruszczyk is joined by Lisa Fitzgerald, Chief Human Resources Officer at Eide Bailly, for a conversation about talent, leadership, and what it takes to build workplaces where people actually want to stay. With nearly two decades at the firm and a career spanning manufacturing, technology, and professional services, Fitzgerald brings a practical, people-centered lens to some of the profession's biggest challenges. MORE MOVE Like This | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network One issue keeping Fitzgerald up at night is the accelerating impact of AI on the accounting workforce. While Eide Bailly is approaching AI adoption thoughtfully and seeing real productivity gains, Fitzgerald is just as focused on the downstream effects, particularly how the conversation around AI may influence students deciding whether accounting feels like a “safe” career choice. With firms still recovering from talent shortages, she sees a real risk that fear and uncertainty could deter future professionals before they even enter the pipeline.

Freedom comes from systems.Full show notes hereThe DisruptersWith Liz FarrFor CPA TrendlinesSharrin Fuller isn't your typical accountant. For one, she's not a CPA. She doesn't have an accounting degree. She didn't even go to college. But despite lacking what most consider the usual credentials and following “the most unconventional and broken path possible,” she managed to build and sell two successful accounting firms. Fuller recounts this story in her new book, Unfollow the Rules: The Messy Truth About Burnout, Bad Decisions, and Building Until It Works. MORE DISRUPTORS: Candy Bellau: The $350 Pricing Mistake that Nearly Broke this Boutique Firm | Poe: What P.E. Really Wants from Firms | The Disruptors  | Daiber: Use Succession as a Growth Strategy | Cannon: Busy Season is Self-Inflicted | | Rampe: Build a Roadmap Even When the Road's Not There | Chang: Killing SALY, One Agent at a Time |MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkFuller wrote the book to help entrepreneurs see behind the social media images of success. “All you see are their wins and their glorified wins, but you don't know what it took to get them there,” she explains. Her book was originally intended to be a how-to guide, but halfway through the process, she changed her mind. “I don't want to write this book telling people this is how you should do it,” she explains. “I needed to be vulnerable so people could understand how I got to the point that I got to.” 

What It Means for Next Phase of Artificial Intelligence in Accounting.Full show notes hereBy Seth FinebergFor CPA Trendlines Research“Managing partner-in-residence” is not a standard role in accounting, and that was the first point of friction when Kenji Kuramoto was asked to explain his new job at Basis, the accounting AI agent company. What does that actually mean?The answer goes beyond one hire. It points to a shift now underway in accounting: artificial intelligence is moving out of experimentation and into operations, and firms are not yet prepared for what that requires.MORE Kenji Kuramoto: Behind Sorren's Roll-Up: $170 Million, 1,000 Employees, 85 Partners | Kenji Kuramoto: Rules? What Rules? | Getting Real: Accounting Tech Decisions You Need to Make TodayBasis, at getbasis.ai, says that Kuramoto, founder of cloud pioneer Acuity, joined full-time to help firms transition to AI-enabled operations, working directly with customers and shaping the product. The company made clear this was not a symbolic role. “Kenji isn't here to advise from the margins,” CEO Matthew Harpe says. “He's a full-time member of this team… creating the product with us.” Kuramoto is embedded with the company, not observing from the outside.READ MORE > > >  

Internships, leadership roles, and networking accelerate success for accounting students...Plus 20 Key Takeaways!Student-Led ConversationsWith Chayton FarleeCenter for Accounting TransformationWhat if the difference between a “typical” accounting student and a standout future professional isn't GPA, but initiative?That's the underlying theme of this episode of Student-Led Conversations, where host Chayton Farlee sits down with fellow accounting student Noah Brabble for a candid, high-energy discussion on leadership, internships, and what it actually takes to build a career before graduation. MORE SLC: Will AI Make Students Better Learners — or Just Faster Workers? | Why the Next Generation May Be Accounting's Greatest Competitive Advantage | Students Redefine Career Readiness | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC  This isn't a conversation about theory. It's a real-time look at what today's students are doing—and what others should be doing—to get ahead.Whether it's pursuing internships, stepping into leadership roles, or building a professional presence online, the students who take action early are the ones who create momentum.As Brabble puts it, success later is often a reflection of what you invest now.Because the future of the profession isn't waiting. And neither are the students shaping it.

Illinois CPA Society CEO lays out the three big challenges.Full show notes hereGear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA Trendlines“What got you to this point is not going to be what gets your firm to its next major milestone,” says Geoffrey Brown, president and CEO of the Illinois CPA Society.MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | MORE Gear Up for Growth | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network here“Be flexible. Be nimble,” he tells Jean Caragher in this episode of Gear Up for Growth. “Surround yourself with the right people and take advantage of opportunities that help you lead into the future.” Brown outlines the forces reshaping public accounting and the leadership mindset required for the future.Top Takeaways How Private Equity Is Forcing Firms to Rethink Everything The New Skills Needed for the Advisory Future Why Demographics Are the Profession's Biggest Challenge

MVP culture, investor pressure, and marketing—not product quality—often decide winners.Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason and Byron PatrickCenter for Accounting TransformationThe accounting technology market looks crowded from the outside. New tools launch every month. Conference expo halls overflow with promise. And artificial intelligence is accelerating everything. But beneath that surface, the economics of building accounting technology tell a more complicated story—one shaped as much by venture capital and sales pressure as by innovation itself.  MORE Accounting ARC: Recognize When You Need to Recharge Before You Burn Out | Valuing More Than the Balance Sheet | Accounting's “Untalked-About” Frontier | Why Happiness is Hard-Fought for High Achievers | The Fastest Way to Lose Talent Is “Dick Leadership” | Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn't a Failure; It's a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC  In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, and Liz Mason, CPA, step back to examine how the industry got here—and where it is likely headed next. 

Why chasing a number won't solve clients' financial anxiety—and what advisors should focus on instead.Full show notes hereWith Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™For CPA TrendlinesThe Holistic Guide to Wealth ManagementWhen advisors think about financial planning, numbers, projections, and optimization strategies are what typically come to mind. But in a recent podcast conversation with me, Carl Richards challenged that assumption, arguing that the real work of planning begins with having a meaningful dialogue about money.  MORE Rory Henry | MORE The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkAs Richards described his latest book, Your Money: Reimagining Wealth in 101 Simple Sketches, the goal is not to provide answers, but to spark better questions. “The book is just a means to an end,” Richards said. “What I care about is that it starts [better] conversations about money.” 

Sponsored by The True Adviser: Buy now | Learn moreBig 4 TransparencyWith Dominic Piscopo, CPAFull show notes hereDecimal CEO Matt Tait joins Dominic Piscopo to explain why his CAS firm is franchising its playbook, how it drives 50%-plus margins with queue-based delivery and daily book maintenance, and why private equity may accelerate – not kill – entrepreneurship in accounting.MORE Dominic Piscopo | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkTait says the biggest accounting story right now isn't just AI, it's the industry's next operating model.On the Big 4 Transparency, Tait says Decimal started as a “different” CAS and bookkeeping firm while simultaneously building an internal operating system for running a modern accounting shop. In under six years,

Accounting VoicesWith Rob BrownSponsored by The True Adviser: Buy now | Learn moreIf you feel like your accounting firm has become unpredictable, you are not imagining it. The ground is moving under your feet. People who spent years feeling stable and secure are suddenly unsettled. Partners are leaving. New leaders appear from nowhere. Titles change. Policies change. Strategies change. And no one explains why.MORE Accounting Voices with Rob BrownMORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkRight now, the accounting profession feels like someone picked up the entire industry, shook it hard and said, "Good luck." Private equity is buying firms. National groups are rolling up mid tiers. Regional firms are merging into larger firms. Advisory practices are being carved out. Tax teams are being shifted. Audit is being restructured. And firms everywhere are rewriting their business models in real time.

And why culture matters more than ever.Full show notes here Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA TrendlinesSponsored by The True Advisor:  Buy now | Learn moreAlan Whitman isn't trying to build a better CPA firm. He's trying to replace it.At Nichols Cauley, the former Baker Tilly CEO is recasting the traditional accounting practice as a “financial services company”—a structure that blends tax, insurance, risk, and transaction advisory into a single, continuous client relationship.MORE ALAN WHITMAN: PE Deal Tracker Update: Alan Whitman Plants a Flag in the Private Equity Landscape | Breaking the Mold with PE Backing | Build Culture on ‘Progress,' Not Change | Moss Adams-Baker Tilly Merger: Bigger Isn't Better. Better Is Better.| Unlocking the Secrets to Smart Growth MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | MORE Gear Up for Growth | MORE CPA Trendlines streaming videos and podcasts hereThe goal, he tells Jean Caragher in this episode of Gear Up for Growth, is not to expand services around the edges, but to collapse them into one integrated model designed to “manage, protect, and grow” client wealth in a recurring loop.The shift reflects a broader rethinking across the profession, in which private equity capital, client demand for one-stop advisory services, and advances in AI are pushing firms beyond the partnership model that has defined accounting for decades.Having previously led transformational growth at Baker Tilly, Whitman rejects the notion that rapid growth damages culture.“That's hogwash,” he says. “Culture comes down to one word: trust.”

A near-tragedy sparks a critical conversation on business continuity, risk, and responsibility in accounting firms.Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationBusiness continuity planning often lives in the realm of “someday.”Until it doesn't.In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Liz Mason, CPA, tackle a topic many professionals avoid: what happens when the unexpected actually happens.The conversation opens not with theory, but with a moment that makes the stakes unmistakably real. MORE Accounting ARC: Recognize When You Need to Recharge Before You Burn Out | Valuing More Than the Balance Sheet | Accounting's “Untalked-About” Frontier | Why Happiness is Hard-Fought for High Achievers | The Fastest Way to Lose Talent Is “Dick Leadership” | Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn't a Failure; It's a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC  Mason, CEO of High Rock Accounting, recounts a recent skiing accident in which she fell roughly 200 yards and collided with a tree at high speed. She survived with a broken leg—but the incident forced a sobering question: What would have happened to her firm if she hadn't?

Success breeds complacency – and obsolescence.Full show notesThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrSuccess, long the defining strength of U.S. accounting firms, is fast becoming their most dangerous liability, according to Oz Demirdovan, a PKF executive with a global portfolio.Flush with steady profits, deep client rosters, and decades of compliance-driven demand, many firms see little reason to change—just as the ground beneath them shifts, Demirdovan tells Liz Farr in this episode of The Disruptors.MORE DISRUPTORS: Candy Bellau: The $350 Pricing Mistake that Nearly Broke this Boutique Firm | The Disruptors | Poe: What P.E. Really Wants from Firms | The Disruptors  | Blake Oliver: Build a Biz that Runs Without You | Daiber: Use Succession as a Growth Strategy | Cannon: Busy Season is Self-InflictedMORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkThe paradox is stark: the very stability that built the profession now insulates it from the urgency to adapt, leaving some of its most successful players at greatest risk of falling behind.Ozgur Demirdoven has worked in accounting worldwide, spending more than five years at Allinial Global. From his perspective, the most striking difference between accounting in the U.S. and the rest of the world isn't just our complex regulatory environment. 

How To Decide If Public Accounting Is Still Right For You.Full show notesAccounting VoicesWith Rob BrownYou know a profession is under pressure when strangers online ask the same question every week. And in accounting, right now, that question is this. Should I leave public accounting?MORE Accounting Voices with Rob Brown | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkIt shows up constantly on our YouTube channel. People write things like. I cannot survive another busy season. Is it normal to feel like this job is crushing me? I love accounting, but I hate public accounting. Does it ever get better, or do I need to escape?

Too many potential clients, not enough staff or capacity.Full show notes hereGear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA Trendlines“CAS is kicking CASS right now,” says Kane Polakoff, principal and CAS practice leader at CohnReznick, in the new episode of Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing. “It's on fire, especially over the last five or six years. The demand is incredible, but the key is having a strong delivery mechanism and the right capacity to provide real value to clients.” MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | MORE Gear Up for Growth | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network

Educators explore ethics, creativity, critical thinking and the future of learning in an AI-powered world.Student-Led ConversationsWith Harshita MultaniCenter for Accounting TransformationArtificial intelligence is no longer a future issue in education. It is already shaping how students study, how teachers prepare lessons, how universities think about access and admissions, and how employers evaluate readiness for the workforce. MORE SLC: Why the Next Generation May Be Accounting's Greatest Competitive Advantage | Students Redefine Career Readiness | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC  In this episode, host Harshita Multani, a Center for Accounting Transformation intern and Indiana high school business student, leads a thoughtful discussion on AI in education with Markus Ahrens, Ph.D., CPA, CGMA, FMAA, of the American Accounting Association, and David Wood of Brigham Young University.What makes this conversation stand out is not just the topic. It is the perspective.

Paying attention to personal stress signals can help professionals recharge before fatigue turns into burnout. Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationIn accounting, exhaustion does not always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like irritability. Sometimes it looks like staring at a spreadsheet that suddenly makes no sense. Sometimes it looks like mental fog, poor focus, a mild headache, or the sense that even small decisions take too much effort.  MORE Accounting ARC: Valuing More Than the Balance Sheet | Accounting's “Untalked-About” Frontier | Why Happiness is Hard-Fought for High Achievers | The Fastest Way to Lose Talent Is “Dick Leadership” | Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn't a Failure; It's a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC  In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Liz Mason, CPA, take on a subject that lands close to home for many professionals, especially during demanding stretches of work: how to recharge when the pace is relentless and the pressure does not let up.

Understanding a company's history, leadership, and future matters as much as financial statements.Accounting ARCWith Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationDonny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, opens a recent episode of Accounting ARC with a simple question: How do you value a business when the numbers tell only part of the story?His guest, Baria Jaroudi, a Houston-based director in BDO's business valuation and advisory practice, says valuation work requires more than reviewing financial statements. It requires understanding how owners built the business, where cash flow comes from, and what risks and assumptions shape a credible and defensible value — especially in family law and divorce matters, where the stakes can run high. MORE Accounting ARC: Accounting's “Untalked-About” Frontier | Why Happiness is Hard-Fought for High Achievers | The Fastest Way to Lose Talent Is “Dick Leadership” | Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn't a Failure; It's a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC  “I like to think of myself as someone who brings clarity and calm in moments that can otherwise feel overwhelming,” Jaroudi says.Shimamoto, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC and founder and inspiration architect for the Center for Accounting Transformation, says that role reflects a core purpose of the profession: accountants deliver peace of mind. In Jaroudi's work, that means translating complex analysis into conclusions clients can understand — and conclusions that can withstand scrutiny.

Small Firm Success Requires Intention, Focus, and CommunityFull show notes hereGear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA Trendlines“Small firm practitioners need to remember that they are in the driver's seat,” says Stephanie Otero, vice president, Small Firm Advocate at the AICPA, in this episode of Gear Up for Growth with Jean Caragher.MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | MORE Gear Up for Growth | MORE CPA Trendlines streaming videos and podcasts here“They have the power to intentionally design a practice they enjoy, and that truly works for them,” Otero says.Intentional practice design emerges as a central theme, with Otero emphasizing that burnout often stems from trying to serve too many clients and offer too many services. By clearly defining ideal clients and focusing on work they enjoy, small firm owners can create more sustainable and rewarding practices.

The profession talks too much about deadlines and not enough about impact. Students are listening.FULL show notes hereMOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchThe CPA profession has only itself to blame for a talent shortage.Firms have spent years talking about the grind of deadlines and busy season, instead of selling the career's impact, stability, and range of opportunities, according to Carrie Steffen, CEO of the Iowa Society of CPAs.MORE MOVE Like This | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkIn the new episode of MOVE Like This, Steffen tells Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk the profession must rethink its narrative, strengthen cultures of belonging, and bring younger professionals into leadership conversations if it hopes to rebuild the CPA pipeline.

AI Won't Replace Accountants. Instead, It Will Rewire the Business Model.FULL show notes hereBig 4 TransparencyWith Dominic Piscopo, CPAJody Padar, widely known as “The Radical CPA” and author of Radical Pricing, argues the future of accounting won't be won by automation alone, but by a business model shift that elevates human judgment, advisory, and client relationships.MORE Dominic Piscopo | AI | Pay & Compensation | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkIn the new episode of the Big 4 Transparency Podcast, Padar joins host Dominic Piscopo to trace her path from early cloud-firm pioneer to venture-backed operator and to explain why her newest venture, Xcel Labs, is focused on training CPAs to think and lead differently in an AI-first world. Xcel Labs' Navi aims to build empathy and leadership at scale.

Young professionals bring adaptability and media literacy that firms need in an AI-driven era.Student-Led ConversationsWith Arpan Grewal Center for Accounting TransformationStudent-Led Conversations opens its second season with a conversation that reflects a larger shift underway in the accounting profession: rapid technology change, accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence tools, and an increasing push to bring younger voices into the discussion. Arpan Grewal, a Center for Accounting Transformation intern and business student in Indiana, welcomes Liz Mason, CPA, CEO of High Rock Accounting, as the first guest of Season 2. Grewal describes the discussion as “full circle,” noting Mason is among the first professionals she interviewed when Student-Led Conversations launched last year.  MORE Accounting ARC: Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone | Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC | Free Speech Is a Right; Respect Is a Responsibility | Cash Bags, Casinos & Audits: How First Jobs Shape Us | Gen Z Redefines Careers | Bootleggers, Baptitsts & CPAs: Rethinking Licensure Mason, a co-host of Accounting ARC, argues the profession is no longer talking about incremental change. It is, she says, in the early stages of something much larger. The word that continues to surface for her is “revolution.” 

The Collaboration Room turns online peer networks into practical tools for pricing strategy, tax planning, succession, and psychological safety.Sponsored by The Balanced Millionaire: The Advisor Edition by Dr. Jackie Meyer | See Today's Special OfferFull show notes hereThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrBefore they co-founded The Collaboration Room, Rebecca Driscoll and Mike Sylvester, CEO of SBS CPA Group, had both been helping accountants with challenges on an informal basis. “It felt kind of like disorganized, and we just needed one place,” Driscoll explains.IN THIS EPISODE: The Collaboration Room | Brenda Cannon | Mike Sylvester | SchedulEase | Take Your Life Back Tax Pro Community | Tax Retreat |After Brenda Cannon, co-founder of Cannon & Associates and founder of SchedulEase and the Take Your Life Back Tax Pro Community, connected them, they spent months testing ideas, questioning assumptions, and allowing the concept to grow organically before launching in the fall of 2024. “It doesn't have to be perfect, and we'll let it evolve and see what it becomes,” Driscoll says.  Driscoll and Sylvester “are completely different people from completely different planets,” Driscoll notes. She's a Millennial. He's a Boomer. She lives in Charlottesville, VA. He's in Fort Wayne, IN.  “Even to the extent of: I'm on Team Waffles, and he's on Team Pancakes. We can't even agree on breakfast.”While she initially wondered whether the generational and other differences would be a problem, Driscoll has learned “that partnering with someone who is very different from you can be incredible, because the character flaws that I have, he doesn't have.”  Their generational diversity also serves the larger purpose of modeling collaboration across age groups. “It's so important for the younger generation and the older generation to be in a room together talking about accounting,” Driscoll explains.  The Disruptors _Ep 133

Rural communities offer meaningful work — and a chance to build a practice on purpose. Accounting ARCWith Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationIn an era when private equity rollups and “bigger is better” narratives dominate accounting headlines, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, returns to a quieter question: What does it look like to build a firm — and a career — around serving the places that rarely get the spotlight?  MORE Accounting ARC: Why Happiness is Hard-Fought for High Achievers | The Fastest Way to Lose Talent Is “Dick Leadership” | Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn't a Failure; It's a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC  In this episode of Accounting ARC, Shimamoto sits down with two practitioners who live that reality every day: Shayna Chapman, who runs a practice rooted in a small Ohio community, and Mohan Chirumamilla, who serves clients across Omaha, Nebraska, and Columbia, Missouri. Their conversation is part practical playbook, part gut-check — and it lands on a message that feels increasingly urgent for the profession: small towns still need sophisticated accounting, and accountants still need work that feels meaningful. 

As AI automates compliance, value shifts to measurable outcomes and client aspirations.Full show notes hereGear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA TrendlinesAuthor and strategist B. Joseph Pine II urges accounting firm leaders to confront a fundamental question: What business are you really in?MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | MORE Gear Up for Growth | MORE CPA Trendlines videos and podcasts hereAccording to Pine, the profession is approaching a critical inflection point as the global economy moves beyond goods, services, and even experiences, into what he calls the transformation economy.“You use experiences as a raw material to guide people to change, to help them achieve their aspirations,” Pine tells Gear Up for Growth host Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing. This shift, he explains, requires firms to move beyond simply delivering accounting work efficiently to helping clients achieve meaningful, measurable change.Gear Up For Growth Ep 58 - Joe Pine

How to reset pricing, rebuild margins, and stop “helping” clients into bankruptcy.Full show notes hereThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrCandy Bellau didn't set out to build a firm that could operate without her. But her hand was forced when her mother became ill. “I kept dropping the ball at my own company and my team, the long-term members kept picking it up, and slowly but surely, they just absorbed the client work I was doing,” Bellau recalls. MORE DISRUPTORS: Blake Oliver: Build a Biz that Runs Without You | Daiber: Use Succession as a Growth Strategy | Cannon: Busy Season is Self-Inflicted | Carroll: When One Person Can Break the Firm |  Rampe: Build a Roadmap Even When the Road's Not There | Her team at Kramerica Business Solutions not only maintained the business but made it better. “They did things that were so much better, and they looked out for me,” Bellau says.  Bellau's transition from operator to owner came at a pivotal moment. After working nonstop since age 14, Bellau found herself at 56 needing a change. “I don't even know who I am. I don't know what I like. I don't have any interest outside of work and tasks that have to be done at home," she explains. So she took art classes, improv classes, wrote a book, and launched the Unbalanced Podcast with Sam Hallburn.Disruptors Ep 132

Ex-Baker Tilly CEO takes helm at a new “category” of CPA firm.By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™For CPA TrendlinesFull show notes hereWhen CPA firms talk about growth, the conversation often centers on acquisitions, headcount, or revenue targets.But Alan Whitman, the ex-Baker Tilly CEO and newly named CEO of a private-equity-backed hybrid, says sustainable growth requires something deeper: clarity of strategy, shared language, and systems that enable people to perform at scale.MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management | Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

Learn how easily pros tie well-being to success—and how fear of failure can distort self-worth. Accounting ARCWith Byron Patrick and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationBusy season may still be a days out, but the stress response already starts to hum for a lot of accounting professionals — the calendar fills, the inbox tightens, and the margin for error feels like it shrinks to a sliver. In the latest Accounting ARC, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, take that reality head-on with a surprisingly practical lens: modern stoicism.  MORE Accounting ARC: The Fastest Way to Lose Talent Is “Dick Leadership” | Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn't a Failure; It's a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC  They start by naming the misconception most people bring to the word “stoic” — that it means emotionless, rigid, “stone-faced.” Shimamoto, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC and founder and inspiration architect for the Center for Accounting Transformation, admits that's how he learned it, too: a kind of unfeeling resilience. But the article that sparks the episode — a Psychology Today piece on the science of stoicism — reframes it as something more useful (and more human): a set of attitudes and behaviors linked with resilience, lower anger and higher life satisfaction.  

Expanding access while maintaining rigorous standards. Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA TrendlinesFull show notes here “This legislation has real consequences – positive consequences – for the health of firms, corporate accounting departments, and the broader economy,” says Aiysha “AJ” Johnson, CEO and executive director of the New Jersey Society of CPAs, during her appearance on Gear Up for Growth with Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing. “I like to think that we're opening doors.”More Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | More Gear Up for Growth | More CPA Trendlines videos and podcasts hereJohnson highlights New Jersey's new legislation signed by Governor Murphy, creating an additional pathway to CPA licensure, a move designed to expand access while maintaining rigorous standards.

Label intent, clarify tone and choose the right channel so feedback lands as coaching, not conflict.Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationLeaders in accounting do not need to choose between being “nice” and being effective.In this ARC episode, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Liz Mason, CPA, make the case that the best bosses aim for something tougher — kindness with clarity.The conversation starts with a story familiar to anyone who has ever hovered over the “Send” button on a difficult message.  MORE Accounting ARC: Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn't a Failure; It's a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC  Mason, founder and CEO of High Rock Accounting, recalls proposing a conference talk with a deliberately provocative title — a reminder that most professionals feel the tension between holding the line and keeping the peace. The point, she says, is not to sanitize reality. It is to learn how to hold people accountable without turning it into a personal attack.

Advisory at Scale Requires Systems, Not Heroics. Plus 5 More Takeaways.Complete show notes hereWith Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™For CPA TrendlinesWhen firms talk about innovation in accounting, they often start with technology. But in my conversation with Nick Pasquarosa, founder and CEO of Bookkeeper360, it became clear that technology was never the starting point for his firm. It was the result of listening closely to small business owners and building systems to solve their most persistent problems.MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide | BOLT: Bookkeeper360 Launches Mobile and Web App Featuring AI-Powered Virtual CFOPasquarosa founded Bookkeeper360 in 2012, long before cloud accounting was the norm. What began as a door-to-door side hustle helping local businesses reconcile their checking accounts evolved into a nationwide cloud accounting firm serving nearly 1,000 small business clients with a team of more than 75 professionals across 26 states.“I started this in high school,” Pasquarosa tells me. “It really started with an interest in helping small businesses stop running their business off their bank account balance and [instead] giving them timely, accurate books so they could make real-time decisions.”

Why equity is the new standard for talent retention.Big 4 TransparencyBy Dominic Piscopo, CPAFor CPA TrendlinesFull show notes hereJeremy Dubow, CEO and co-founder of Chicago-based Prosperity Partners, explains how entrepreneurship in accounting has shifted from demand-driven to capacity-constrained, and why transparent equity programs are becoming the new standard for talent retention.MORE Dominic Piscopo | MORE Private Equity | MORE Pay & CompensationDubow joins Dominic Piscopo on the Big 4 Transparency show to discuss how accounting-firm entrepreneurship and the operating model required to scale have changed since he co-founded NDH in 2003. NDH later sold to private equity and rebranded as Prosperity Partners, which Dubow described as a case study in how firms are adapting to labor constraints, expanding client complexity, and rising expectations around technology and talent strategy.

Decode your energy signals, redesign your calendar, and stay sharp even when you're running low.Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationAs the calendar flips and the pace of work accelerates, many accounting professionals find themselves running on fumes. The holidays are over. Travel lingers in the body. Busy season looms. And yet, expectations snap back to full speed almost overnight.In this Accounting ARC, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, and Liz Mason, CPA, take on a topic many professionals quietly struggle with but rarely discuss openly: how to work through fatigue without burning out—or dialing down performance. MORE Accounting ARC: OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC  Their conversation is refreshingly candid, practical, and grounded in lived experience. And it challenges one of the profession's most persistent myths: that being tired means you're doing something wrong.Both hosts open the episode admitting they are exhausted—but not from overwork. Shimamoto is coming off a stretch of nonstop weekends filled with visitors, events, and travel. Mason is freshly jet-lagged after nearly two weeks in London, balancing client work with museums, family time, and international flights.The point lands quickly: fatigue doesn't only come from too much work. It comes from full lives.And pretending otherwise, they argue, is where professionals get stuck—pushing through exhaustion with guilt instead of strategy.

State societies can evolve into engines of innovation, education, and workforce resilience.Big 4 TransparencyBy Dominic Piscopo, CPAFor CPA TrendlinesAt a time when the accounting profession is undergoing its most rapid transformation in decades, Jen Cryder, CEO of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), is quietly redefining what a state CPA society can (and arguably should) become.  MORE Dominic Piscopo | MORE Private Equity | MORE Pay & Compensation In this episode of the Big 4 Transparency Podcast, Cryder joins host Dominic Piscopo to discuss how advocacy, revenue diversification, and technology investment are converging to reshape the future of the CPA profession. Cryder, who spent 15 years in public accounting before joining PICPA more than a decade ago, now finds herself at the center of national conversations around licensure reform, continuing professional education (CPE), and the evolving definition of what it means to be a CPA. While state societies have historically focused on a relatively narrow set of services, Cryder argues that the profession's accelerating rate of change has expanded that mandate dramatically. “For most of our 130-year history, the definition of a CPA was fairly static,” she notes. “In just the last few years, that list of issues has become infinite.” 

Beyond revenue and margins, buyers are scrutinizing teams, culture, and operational health.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrBrannon Poe, founder of Poe Group Advisors, says the key to a successful firm transaction is fit.  “I think having a good deal is really about having a good fit,” he says. Besides technical skills, “you have to have management styles that mesh well, you have to have client service philosophies that are aligned,” he explains.   MORE STREAMING:MORE STREAMING: Oliver: Build a Biz that Runs Without You | Daiber: Use Succession as a Growth Strategy | Cannon: Busy Season is Self-Inflicted | Carroll: When One Person Can Break the Firm |  Rampe: Build a Roadmap Even When the Road's Not There | Chang: Killing SALY, One Agent at a Time | Vanover: 5-Star Firms Don't Bill by the Hour | Kless: Profit Is a Result. Flourishing Is the Purpose | Whitman: Build Culture on 'Progress,' Not Change | Shein: No PE? No M&A? No Problem | Hood and Weber: Time to RISE | Proctor: Turn Dumb Ideas into Brilliant Solutions | Carter-Gray: How 1 Poor Review Strengthened the Firm | Hartman: Upwork to “40 Under 40” in 3 Years |For sellers, choosing the right buyer matters as much as the price. “I find that the sellers in particular, who keep their focus on fit and choose the right buyer, usually are the happiest with their exit.” The last few years have created favorable conditions for accounting firm sales, but not for everyone. 

The silver bullet technique can transform messaging and persuasion.The Concierge CPAWith Jackie MeyerFor CPA TrendlinesMost accounting professionals do extraordinary work—and still struggle to explain why it matters.That tension sits at the heart of a standout episode of The Concierge CPA, where host Dr. Jackie Meyer is joined by messaging strategist Neil Gordon for a wide-ranging conversation on persuasion, clarity, and the future of tax advisory in an AI-driven world.The result is an episode that feels less like a marketing lesson—and more like a wake-up call for tax professionals who know their value but haven't quite figured out how to communicate it.More Jackie MeyerEarly in the episode, Meyer names a frustration that resonates across the profession: most tax professionals create real value, yet struggle to articulate it in a way that inspires action.That gap isn't about intelligence or effort. It's about messaging.

Unexpected tax bills erode trust fast. Most are preventable—if CPAs spot the warning signs early enough.Quick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodaySurprise tax bills remain one of the most common—and avoidable—sources of client frustration. In most cases, the issue isn't aggressive planning gone wrong, but passive assumptions left unchecked throughout the year.Tax attorney Art Werner, JD, points to predictable triggers: income that rises while withholding stays flat, investment activity that isn't incorporated into estimates, and planning decisions made without coordination across the return.Click here for more Art WernerVariable income is a frequent culprit. Bonuses, equity compensation, retirement withdrawals, and side-business earnings can easily push clients into higher brackets or trigger phaseouts.

Reputation now grows through clarity and communication, not tenure.Accounting VoicesWith Rob BrownAfter two episodes dissecting the Big Four's AI arms race, the final chapter of the mini-series turns the lens inward. This episode of Accounting Voices makes the case that staying competitive in an automated profession has less to do with budgets and bots — and everything to do with judgment, visibility, and trust.AI has changed what clients and employers value. Hours and output no longer differentiate. Clarity, confidence, and credibility do. MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown In accounting, reputation once followed hierarchy. Today, it follows visibility.When a client, prospect, or employer searches your name, they are not just checking credentials. They are looking for proof of thinking. Insight. Perspective. Signals that you understand what the numbers mean — and when they should be questioned.

Training and growth—not just recruitment—will determine the profession's future.Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA TrendlinesWhen Jan Lewis, vice chair of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), says, “The world is a complicated place, and who better than a CPA to help cut through the noise?” she's not offering a slogan. She's issuing a call to action. More Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | More Gear Up for Growth More CPA Trendlines videos and podcasts here In a wide-ranging and refreshingly candid conversation with host Jean Caragher on Gear Up for Growth, Lewis makes the case that this moment—right now—is one of the most consequential and opportunity-rich periods the CPA profession has ever faced.One of Lewis's strongest messages is also one of the most misunderstood: advocacy isn't theoretical—it's working.

Firms use AI, planning, and “hope” to make tax season more manageable.Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationAs firms head into tax season, the hosts of Accounting ARC make a case for lowering the temperature — and the workload — with practical tech choices, proactive planning and a stronger focus on people. MORE Accounting ARC: Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC | Free Speech Is a Right; Respect Is a Responsibility | Cash Bags, Casinos & Audits: How First Jobs Shape Us | Gen Z Redefines Careers | Bootleggers, Baptitsts & CPAs: Rethinking Licensure In a special Tax Season Readiness episode, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; joins co-hosts Liz Mason, CPA; and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA; to preview new tax platform research, spotlight emerging AI tools and talk candidly about what helps teams sustain momentum from January through April.Shimamoto, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC and founder and inspiration architect for the Center for Accounting Transformation, sets the tone early. He says he intentionally avoids calling it “busy season,” noting that practitioners tell him the upcoming cycle may feel lighter than the past few years. The conversation that follows keeps returning to the same core question: What, specifically, helps firms reduce friction before deadlines hit?

Paychecks and perks are no longer enough for retention.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA TrendlinesIn this episode of MOVE Like This, Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk sits down with Kristi Epp, a tax partner, and Amber Schrock, an advisory partner and Las Vegas market leader at Frazier & Deeter, to explore how the accounting profession is evolving and what firm leaders can do to better support their people. Both guests share their career journeys and how they found long-term professional homes at the firm, emphasizing mentorship, growth opportunities, and a culture that values people as much as performance.  MORE MOVE Epp and Schrock note that the past five years, particularly the post-COVID period, have fundamentally reshaped accounting. Remote work, automation, and regulatory complexity are now the norm, while consolidation and private equity activity are accelerating change across the profession. Frazier & Deeter's recent growth initiatives, including acquisitions, reflect this shifting landscape and the need for firms to think differently about scale, talent, and integration. 

"They get a check every month, and they don't have to do any work.”The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrBlake Oliver noticed a consistent pattern with firm owners. “The hardest part for them, it seems, just based on my conversations, is getting started and then building that initial team, creating that firm from scratch, going from zero to something is really, really, really difficult,” he explains.  That “hardest part” echoes his own experience.  MORE STREAMING:MORE STREAMING: Daiber: Use Succession as a Growth Strategy | Cannon: Busy Season is Self-Inflicted | Carroll: When One Person Can Break the Firm |  Rampe: Build a Roadmap Even When the Road's Not There | Chang: Killing SALY, One Agent at a Time | Vanover: 5-Star Firms Don't Bill by the Hour | Kless: Profit Is a Result. Flourishing Is the Purpose | Whitman: Build Culture on 'Progress,' Not Change | Shein: No PE? No M&A? No Problem | Hood and Weber: Time to RISE | Proctor: Turn Dumb Ideas into Brilliant Solutions | Carter-Gray: How 1 Poor Review Strengthened the Firm | Hartman: Upwork to “40 Under 40” in 3 Years Before he became known to the accounting world as the co-host of the Accounting Podcast and founder of Earmark, Oliver had his own firm. “I spent five years building a firm from scratch…going from zero to a million dollars in revenue in five years,” he says. Because he was largely figuring it out on his own, the process was far harder than it needed to be.  His new book, "Building a Sustainable Firm: Strategies for the Modern Accounting Practice," distils the lessons he learned from talking to firm owners and from his own experiences into a blueprint for creating an accounting business that supports your team, your clients, and your own life. “If you're going to take the leap to go start your own firm…you should have something that you're happy with at the end,” he explains.   

Money conversations need structure, not spontaneity.By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™For CPA TrendlinesMoney is one of the things that people think about most. Yet most people aren't comfortable talking about it openly.In this episode of Holistic Guide to Wealth Management, I sit down with Erika Wasserman, CFT, a certified financial therapist, keynote speaker, and author of "Conversations with Your Financial Therapist: Stories and Scripts to Grow Your Money Mindset," to talk about why money conversations about are so often avoided and how advisors, families, and individuals can begin to change that dynamic.  MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management BUY the Holistic Guide to Wealth Management Wasserman's journey into financial therapy was shaped by personal experience. She grew up in a rare household where talking about money was normal. She earned a finance degree from the University of Florida, and began her career consulting with IBM. Over time, major life transitions including international moves, marriage, divorce, and raising three children deepened her understanding of how money decisions intersect with emotion, identity, and relationships. 

Agility, transparency, and judgment matter more than billion-dollar platforms.Accounting VoicesWith Rob BrownThe Big Four are spending billions on artificial intelligence, cutting thousands of jobs, and reshaping how accounting work gets done. That scale can feel intimidating—especially if you're running or working inside a small or mid-tier firm.But here's the counterintuitive truth explored in a recent episode of Accounting Voices:The Big Four aren't winning because of their budgets. They're winning because of their discipline. MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown This episode breaks down what smaller firms and ambitious professionals can borrow from the AI strategies of PwC, KPMG, Deloitte, and EY—without trying to copy their scale.The lesson is clear: clarity beats capability, and governance beats gadgets.

Firm leaders can no longer ignore this conversation.Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA TrendlinesTechnology is no longer something CPA firms use to get work done. It's what defines how firms compete, scale, attract talent—and increasingly, how they're valued.That was the clear, unambiguous message from Roman Kepczyk, director of Firm Technology Strategy at Rightworks, during his recent appearance on Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Jean Caragher. Gear Up for Growth spotlights the best strategies for smart and effficient growth in today's competitive landscape. More Gear Up for Growth every Friday here.|  More Capstone Conversations with Jean Caragher every Monday | More Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | More CPA Trendlines videos and podcasts here With nearly 30 years spent advising CPA firms of all sizes, Kepczyk didn't mince words: firms that fail to standardize, automate, and strategically invest in technology are already falling behind—whether they realize it or not.

E-commerce growth forces firms to rethink accruals, margins, and sustainability.Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationHoliday shopping has never been easier. With a few taps on a smartphone, consumers can buy gifts from bed, track deliveries in real time, and return unwanted items with minimal friction. But behind that convenience lies a complicated accounting reality—one that came into sharp focus during a recent episode of Accounting ARC. MORE Accounting ARC: Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don't Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn't Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC | Free Speech Is a Right; Respect Is a Responsibility | Cash Bags, Casinos & Audits: How First Jobs Shape Us | Gen Z Redefines Careers | Bootleggers, Baptitsts & CPAs: Rethinking Licensure Hosts Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Liz Mason, CPA, examine the financial, operational, and environmental consequences of e-commerce returns, using the holiday season as a lens to explore broader shifts in consumer behavior and business sustainability.Industry research shows that nearly 25% of e-commerce purchases are returned after the holidays, compared with less than 9% of in-store retail purchases. For accounting teams, that disparity introduces volatility into revenue recognition, inventory valuation, and profitability forecasting—often at the worst possible time of year.

Integrated planning, not heroics, creates life-changing outcomes for clients.Big 4 TransparencyBy Dominic Piscopo, CPAFor CPA TrendlinesWhat happens when you fuse a CPA firm with a wealth advisory under one roof and design the operations from a blank page? In this two-guest episode of the Big 4 Transparency, host Dominic Piscopo sits down with Owen Pryor and Steve Blake, managing and senior managing advisors at Evans May Advisory, the sister firm to Evans May Wealth Advisory. Their premise is simple and radical: serve the client with unreasonable hospitality, align wealth and tax strategy, and deliver family-office convenience to high-net-worth families and growing owner-operated businesses.   MORE Dominic Piscopo | MORE Private Equity | MORE Pay & Compensation Pryor and Blake describe a system built on proactive data sharing (with client consents in place) so the firm, not the client, chases documents, coordinates advisors, and executes. The impact shows up in small, high-leverage wins (e-paying taxes and killing paper vouchers, physically banking clients' mailed checks twice a week, fully recording receivables) and in headline outcomes (structuring a family-farm sale from an estimated $550,000 tax bill to near $0 through planning; spotting missed depreciation and back-catching via Form 3115; introducing lesser-known international strategies like ICDIS where relevant). The result is relief for clients and measurable ROI that converts conversations into scope. 

Firms that wait until a partner is ready to retire have already waited too long, plus 19 more key takeaways.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrErin Daiber, founder and CEO of Well Balanced Accountants, keeps seeing the same issue in firm after firm. A partner announces their intention to retire within a year or two, and the firm suddenly realizes no one is ready to take over. “Firms are not starting that conversation soon enough,” Daiber says. MORE STREAMING: Cannon: Busy Season is Self-Inflicted | Carroll: When One Person Can Break the Firm |  Rampe: Build a Roadmap Even When the Road's Not There | Chang: Killing SALY, One Agent at a Time | Vanover: 5-Star Firms Don't Bill by the Hour | Kless: Profit Is a Result. Flourishing Is the Purpose | Whitman: Build Culture on 'Progress,' Not Change | Shein: No PE? No M&A? No Problem | Hood and Weber: Time to RISE | Proctor: Turn Dumb Ideas into Brilliant Solutions | Carter-Gray: How 1 Poor Review Strengthened the Firm | Hartman: Upwork to “40 Under 40” in 3 Years “They're not thinking about succession planning as a strategy,” she explains. Instead of treating succession as an ongoing process, firms see it as simply the point in time when a partner exits the firm. According to Daiber, succession planning should ideally begin with hiring decisions and culture building so that firms can be confident that they won't lose clients or staff due to uncertainty about what might happen as partners get older.  When succession planning fails, firms lose key employees before they even reach partnership consideration. “We're losing them much sooner than that, which creates a big hole in the pipeline,” Daiber notes. She identifies an inability to have difficult conversations as the root cause, particularly when dealing with founders who view the firm as their legacy. 

A former IRS agent breaks down the red flags, revenue thresholds, and compliance work that advisors can't ignore.The Concierge CPAWith Jackie MeyerFor CPA TrendlinesThe Concierge CPA hosts a deep dive into captive insurance planning this week, as host Dr. Jackie Meyer, CPA, and guest Vardan Pogosian, CPA, unpack both the risk-management foundations and tax-planning implications of small captive insurance companies. The episode clarifies a strategy that many tax professionals find complex or intimidating, with actionable guidance on identifying suitable clients and avoiding compliance risks.More Jackie MeyerCaptive insurance — typically formed under Internal Revenue Code Section 831(b) — allows businesses to establish their own insurance company to cover risks that may be difficult or costly to insure through commercial carriers. Under the provision, small qualifying captives can elect alternative tax treatment, in which premiums paid into the captive are tax-deductible to the operating business but not immediately recognized as income by the captive. Tax is generally deferred until the captive is dissolved, at which point capital gains tax applies.

Transparency, empowered administration, and intentional tech design separate advisory leaders from firms stuck in task work.It's Not Just the NumbersWith Penny Breslin and Damien GreatheadFor CPA TrendlinesClient Accounting Services (CAS) has moved well beyond bookkeeping. For firms serious about advisory, CAS is now a fundamentally different operating model, one that demands new roles, new systems, and a far higher level of internal transparency than traditional tax or audit practices ever required. In this episode of It's Not Just the Numbers, Damien Greathead and Penny Breslin draw on more than two decades of shared experience to unpack what actually makes a modern CAS practice work in the real world. Their discussion goes beyond theory and into the structural, cultural, and operational decisions firms must confront if they want CAS to be scalable, profitable, and sustainable .  MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead | MORE Advisory & Consulting | BUY "It's Not Just the Numbers" Traditional accounting firms are built around specialization and hierarchy: junior and senior accountants, bookkeepers, managers, and partners, each working essentially in isolation on their own client list. That structure works for compliance, but it breaks down in a CAS environment. “CAS requires the team to approach the client holistically,” Breslin explains. “You can't have people operating in silos. Everyone needs to understand the client's goals, not just their individual task.”