Blumer CPAs: Move Leaders Out of Client Service

Intentionality can bring freedom and joy.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrWhen Jason Blumer and Julie Shipp joined forces to build Blumer CPAs more than a decade ago, they eschewed the traditional partnership structure, where decision-making power depends on ownership percentage. Instead, Blumer said, “We figured out the ownership is a legal reflection of the companies, but they do not reflect anything we do together in our roles.”  10 MORE TAKEAWAYS: Blumer CPAs show notes here MORE: Disruptors MORE CPA TRENDLINES PODCASTS and VIDEOS:  James Graham: Drop the Billable Hour and You'll Bill More | Karen Reyburn: Fix Your Marketing and Fix Your Business | Giles Pearson: Fix the Staffing Crisis by Swapping Experience for Education | Jina Etienne: Practice Fearless Inclusion | Bill Penczak: Stop Forcing Smart People to Do Stupid Work | Jason Deshayes: What We're Doing Isn't Working | Heather Satterley: You've Got To Meet People Where They Are | Bill Penczak: Stop Forcing Smart People to Do Stupid Work Together, they also formed Thriveal, a support community for accounting firm owners. Blumer is the CEO and visionary for the firm and Shipp is the COO and integrator. This separation of ownership from roles allows them to both to be, as Shipp said, “100% in my role and have 100% the authority of my role.”  In their first year of working together, Shipp said, “We were crossing in and out of each other's lanes,” as visionary and integrator, which, she explained, “diluted the work we could do together.” They found that becoming clear on their roles allows them both to leverage their best gifts and abilities.