CPA Trendlines Podcasts

Networking, timing, and intentional career planning help candidates stand out in competitive hiring processes.Accounting ConversationsWith Chayton FarleeCenter for Accounting TransformationFor many accounting students, the profession can seem narrowly defined by tax returns, audit rooms, and busy season deadlines. But according to Mike Manalac, CPA, accounting can also become a pathway into some of the world's most innovative companies and industries.In a recent episode of Accounting Conversations, host Chayton Farlee speaks with Manalac about how young accounting professionals can strategically leverage public accounting experience to build careers at companies like Google, Tesla, Uber, and Salesforce.  MORE Podcasts Manalac, an accounting manager at Google, currently leads a distributed team working on Google Search and YouTube advertising contracts. His role involves collaborating with engineering, legal, sales, finance, and compliance teams across the organization.Farlee, an assurance associate at CliftonLarsonAllen, says conversations like these are important because many students are not exposed to the full range of accounting career opportunities.

And why that's not always a bad thing.Full show notes hereGear Up for GrowthWith Jean Caragher“Success doesn't have to look like going up and to the right,” says Ian Vacin, co-founder and director of partnership relationships at Karbon, in this episode of Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing. “You have to understand what you want as a firm owner, align your revenue with your resources, and build the scaffolding to support that complexity. Otherwise, profitability falls, and you may not recover.”Vacin, along with Jason Blumer, founder and CEO of Thriveal and Blumer & Associates CPAs, wrote the new book, Scale with Purpose: The Service Entrepreneur's Guide to Intentional Growth. Drawing from research involving hundreds of firms worldwide, Blumer and Vacin reveal that only about 5% of firms successfully navigate their first major growth phase without setbacks. The authors say that organizational design must precede capacity planning. Without thoughtful structure, firms hit predictable scaling plateaus, particularly between 8 and 20 employees.READ MORE > > > 

Connections create career opportunities, resilience, and leadership growth. Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason and Byron PatrickCenter for Accounting TransformationIn the accounting profession, technical excellence is expected. However, according to the latest episode of Accounting ARC, relationships — not just work product — often determine who grows, who leads, and who thrives. In a candid and deeply personal conversation, Liz Mason, CPA, and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, explore how relationship-building shapes careers, creates opportunity, and provides stability in an unpredictable profession.   MORE Accounting ARC: The Real Problem with AI in Accounting | AI Can Fix Your Workflow—or Break It in Seconds | Efficiency Is the Wrong Goal for AI | Accounting's Hidden Talent Risk: The Sandwich Generation | 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  Mason, CEO of High Rock Accounting, opens the discussion by reflecting on how little emphasis the profession places on teaching interpersonal skills. Patrick, senior product manager for Karbon and co-founder and part-time educator for TB Academy, agrees. “You don't learn it in college,” he says. “There's no course on building relationships.” That gap, they argue, becomes especially obvious early in a professional's career. 

“We're expecting engagement without creating an environment people actually want to engage in.”MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchIn this episode of MOVE Like This, Megan Robinson, founder and CEO of E Leader Experience, joins Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to talk about one of the most common and costly mistakes firms make: assuming strong performers will naturally become strong leaders. MORE MOVE Like This | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network At the center of the conversation is a clear distinction. Technical excellence and leadership effectiveness are not the same skill set. Yet in many firms, top producers are promoted into management roles without the training or support needed to succeed. The result is frustration on both sides: leaders who feel unprepared and teams that don't feel supported.

Relationships, Not Technology, Will Define Success.Full show notes hereGear Up for GrowthWith Jean Caragher“More than anything else, I think CPAs have this incredible opportunity right now to redefine our relevance in the future,” Jennifer Cryder, CEO of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs, says in the new episode of Gear Up for Growth with host Jean Caragher. “What CPA meant for the last hundred years was relatively static. All of that has changed.”MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | MORE Gear Up for Growth here | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network hereCryder says that the profession is at a pivotal moment. While artificial intelligence and new market entrants are transforming service delivery, Cryder stressed that the profession's true competitive advantage lies in human connection.READ MORE >>>CPA Trendlines - Gear Up For Growth_wJean Caragher_Ep 65 - Jennifer Cryder

Technology is advancing faster than the profession's ability to rethink its workflows.Accounting ARCWith Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationIn a profession often defined by structure, standards, and well-worn career paths, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, opens a different kind of conversation in a recent Accounting ARC episode—one that challenges assumptions about what it means to build a career in accounting.His guest, Danielle Supkis Cheek, embodies that challenge.As senior vice president of AI, analytics and assurance at CaseWare, Supkis Cheek operates at the intersection of technology, methodology, and human judgment. But her path there was anything but linear—and that, Shimamoto suggests, is exactly the point. MORE Accounting ARC: AI Can Fix Your Workflow—or Break It in Seconds | Efficiency Is the Wrong Goal for AI | Accounting's Hidden Talent Risk: The Sandwich Generation | 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 |  Supkis Cheek describes her role less as a technologist and more as a translator. “I like to think of myself as someone who translates across domains,” she says, explaining how she helps software companies understand how accountants actually work—and how technology can reshape those workflows.

Scaling an eight-figure accounting, tax, law and advisory firm by breaking all the rules.Full show notes hereBig 4 TransparencyWith Dominic Piscopo, CPARobert Gauvreau, FCPA, founder and CEO of Gauvreau Accounting, Tax Law and Advisory, joins Dominic Piscopo on the Big Four Transparency show to explain how he's scaling an Ontario-based firm from a non-obvious location—Peterborough, not Toronto—into a $20 million operation built around fast decision-making, aggressive reinvestment in talent, and a deliberately non-traditional partnership structure.MORE Dominic Piscopo | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkGauvreau says he made a strategic decision from day one to never take on equity partners, arguing that the traditional partnership model is “broken” because conservative consensus-driven decision-making too often blocks growth. Instead, he built a structure of high-compensated “partners” who share in wins without taking on debt, working-capital risk, or ownership downside—while enabling the firm to move quickly without governance gridlock. He framed the tradeoff clearly: partners get stability and upside participation, while the founder retains the long-term exit value.READ MORE >>>

Transformation in audit can help predict clients' futures.Full show notes hereThe DisruptersWith Liz FarrFor CPA TrendlinesAudit has a reputation for being slow to change, but leaders like Sarah Flischel, Director of Audit Transformation and Training at AAFCPAs, are making it happen.“We're fundamentally reimagining how audits are being conducted,” Flischel says. She's pushing not merely for change in the profession, but true transformation, drawing on wisdom from Tom Hood to distinguish change and transformation: “Change is doing things differently, and transformation is doing different things,” she explains.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-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 |MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkWhile change improves existing processes, transformation creates something fundamentally new. Traditional audits have been linear: gathering documents, testing samples, filling out checklists, and writing reports. Audit transformation means leveraging technology, using data analytics, and leveraging a risk-based approach to create an entirely new way of understanding clients' businesses.READ MORE >>>>

AI Readiness Gap Threatens CPA Firm Competitiveness.Full show notes hereGear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherSponsored by The True Adviser: Buy now | Learn more“This is a make-or-break year for AI in accounting,” says Ellen Choi, founder and CEO of Edgefield Group, in the new episode of Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Jean Caragher.“Firms that don't move now will start to see a widening gap between themselves and competitors who have already begun building these capabilities.”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 hereChoi warns that timing is critical, and firms that delay action risk falling behind. With even basic AI tools capable of delivering immediate productivity gains, firms that act quickly can improve efficiency, enhance client experience, and create capacity for growth.READ MORE > > > GUFG_Ep 64

Deliberate experimentation can unlock value—without creating costly mistakes. Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason and Byron PatrickCenter for Accounting TransformationArtificial intelligence is moving fast—fast enough that even the people experimenting with it daily admit they're still figuring it out in real time. On the latest episode of Accounting ARC, Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, and Liz Mason, CPA, take listeners inside that reality: a profession eager to unlock AI-driven efficiency, but still learning how to manage the risks that come with it.The conversation centers on a deceptively simple idea—just because AI can do something doesn't mean it should. And in accounting, the consequences of getting that wrong can be immediate.  MORE Accounting ARC: Efficiency Is the Wrong Goal for AI | Accounting's Hidden Talent Risk: The Sandwich Generation | 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 |  The discussion begins with a practical example: integrating AI tools like Claude into everyday workflows, particularly in systems such as QuickBooks or Excel. What makes these tools powerful is also what makes them risky. 

“They are requiring us to be the leaders that we deserved and didn't get.”MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchIn this episode of MOVE Like This, Trisha Daho joins Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to talk about what's really happening inside accounting firms when it comes to talent, leadership, and growth. Drawing on her experience as a former Big Four partner turned fractional chief people officer, Daho offers a clear-eyed view of where firms are getting it right, and where they're falling short. MORE MOVE Like This | MORE Benchmarks: Register for MOVE 2026 | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network At the core of the conversation is a simple but often overlooked point: the firms that are succeeding aren't just focused on growth, they're intentional about how they grow. That starts with having a defined talent strategy. Firms that prioritize development, align values with their people, and create consistent leadership experiences tend to see stronger retention, better performance, and more engaged teams. In contrast, firms that treat talent as secondary or assume people will simply “figure it out” often struggle to keep their best performers. 

The smart move is learning which signals matter and how to prepare.Accounting VoicesWith Rob BrownFull show notes here.If you work in an accounting firm today, you can feel the tension in the air. Something is shifting. You sense it before anyone tells you. Leaders start speaking in strange new phrases. Workloads rise without explanation. New people appear in meetings while familiar faces quietly disappear. Rumors travel faster than email. And you begin wondering what everyone else is wondering, is something happening here?MORE Accounting Voices with Rob Brown | Why Accounting Firms Feel So Unstable Right Now | Should I Leave Public Accounting? | Visibility Is the New Accounting Authority | How to Outsmart the Big Four on AI | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkToday, accounting firms feel unstable. The private equity wave. The mergers. The leadership turnover. The technology pressure. The partner exits. The new business models. Today we look at the next step. How to read the signals inside your own firm before anything becomes official.  

At stake: Growth, relevance and survival.Full show notes here.Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherSponsored by The True Adviser: Buy now | Learn moreCPA firm leaders must act decisively on technology, talent strategy and long-term identity or risk falling behind in a rapidly evolving marketplace, Lexy Kessler, Chair of the AICPA and a partner at Aprio, tells Jean Caragher in a new episode of Gear Up for 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 Network hereIn a wide-ranging discussion, Kessler focuses on three urgent priorities for firm leaders.  

Faster, Leaner, Closer to the Client, and Two Hours to an Engagement Letter. Full show notes here. Sponsored by The True Adviser: Buy now | Learn more Big 4 TransparencyWith Dominic Piscopo, CPAFormer Deloitte colleague Stewart Spiers tells Dominic Piscopo about leaving the Big 4 partner path to help build a tax planning practice at TAAG – why SMB clients pulled him back, what changes in speed and autonomy, and how partner economics differ between large and small firms.MORE Dominic Piscopo | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkSpiers spent roughly 15 years at Deloitte, starting as a co-op and rising through Private Company Services, before making a move many Big 4 professionals debate but rarely execute: stepping off the partner track to double down on the SMB clients he's always gravitated toward. In this new episode of the Big 4 Transparency show, Spiers tells host Dominic Piscopo that his decision wasn't driven by a bad experience at Deloitte, but by a career crossroads and a clearer answer to one question: What kind of work does he want to be doing in the future? 

Value, quality, and effectiveness—not cost savings—should define success.Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Donny Shimamoto, and Byron PatrickCenter for Accounting TransformationDoes meaningful AI adoption require scale, budget, and the dedicated innovation teams embedded in large accounting groups? In this episode of Accounting ARC, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Liz Mason, CPA, take on a familiar—but increasingly flawed—narrative in the accounting profession: that large accounting teams will define AI successThe reality, they argue, looks very different on the ground. MORE Accounting ARC: Accounting's Hidden Talent Risk: The Sandwich Generation | 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 |  What starts as a reaction to a “big firm” innovation discussion quickly turns into a broader reframing of how small and mid-sized organizations should think about artificial intelligence—not as a race for efficiency, but as an opportunity to increase value, improve quality, and deepen client relationships.

"We're growing in a way that is strategic, and that we're preparing our people to meet the demands of that growth.”MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchIn this episode of MOVE Like This, Bonnie Ruszczyk sits down with Sarah Petrone, chief human resources officer at Clark Nuber, for a conversation about responsible growth, leadership pipelines, belonging, and what it truly means to build a firm where people want to stay for the long haul. MORE MOVE Like This | MORE Benchmarks: Register for MOVE 2026 | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network With more than 20 years in human resources across eight industries, Petrone joined Clark Nuber after leading HR in a startup environment, intentionally seeking a stable yet innovative professional services firm. What she found was an organization that understands a fundamental truth of accounting: in professional services, people are the product. That reality shapes everything from growth strategy to succession planning.

From Experiences to Transformations: The Future of Value Creation. Full show notes here With Rory HenryThe Holistic Guide to Wealth ManagementWhen advisors talk about differentiating themselves from the pack, the conversation often centers on providing better service models, improved technology, or more personalized experiences. But according to Fortune 500 management advisor Joe Pine, those levers are no longer enough. The real opportunity lies one level deeper: helping clients change.MORE Rory Henry | MORE The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkCofounder of Strategic Horizons LLP, Pine is the co-author of The Experience Economy and author of the newly released The Transformation Economy. He argues that the U.S. economy has continued its long arc first from commodities, then to goods, services and experiences, and now to transformations. In this next transformation phase, the customer is no longer buying a product, activity or even a memorable event. They are investing in who they want to become.

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.