Jeff Call on Trusted Advisor Relationships, Lateral Partner Strategy, and Scaling a $125 Million Accounting Firm

🎙️ From Arthur Anderson's Collapse to CEO: Jeff Call's Journey Building Bennett Thrasher Into a $125 Million Accounting FirmJeff Call, Managing Partner and CEO of Bennett Thrasher LLP, shares his path from watching his Big Four firm implode during the Enron scandal with a newborn at home to leading one of Atlanta's most respected mid-market accounting and consulting firms from $8 million to $125 million in revenue through people-first culture, entrepreneurial growth strategy, and a relentless focus on trusted advisor relationships.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Launched Bennett Thrasher's personal financial services practice in 2002 after Arthur Anderson's collapse, capitalizing on Sarbanes-Oxley disruption pushing high net worth clients away from Big Four firmsFirm grew from $8 million to $125 million in revenue by hiring lateral partners with specialty expertise and building teams around themTwo-year CEO transition process included 18 months as copilot before taking the seat, making the handoff seamless for partners and clientsBetter Together philosophy drives cross-serving clients across all practice areas rather than siloing relationships with individual partnersBusiness development training starts at staff level, not partner track, giving employees referral incentives from the earliest stage of their careerAI tools like Laurel, Copilot, and Co-Counsel are shifting accountants from compliance work toward advisory roles by capturing 20 extra minutes of billable time dailyIdeal clients are privately owned companies between $50 million and $500 million that have outgrown their current firm or are underserved by a national firmEstate planning basics everyone needs: will, life insurance, disability insurance, medical power of attorney, and financial durable power of attorneyFirm foundation built on philanthropic giving, with a percentage of top line revenue funding their own foundation and two paid charitable days per employee annuallyCompartmentalization identified as the CEO superpower that allows forward momentum even when multiple challenges are active simultaneously🌟 Jeff's Key Mentors:Father (CPA and Firm Partner): Steered Jeff toward accounting as the language of business and modeled lifelong charitable givingRick Bennett and Ken Thrasher (Firm Founders): Demonstrated people-first culture in action during Jeff's recruitment, proving the firm walked the talkArthur Anderson Leadership: Provided elite technical training and showed Jeff what a premier firm culture looks like before its collapseTony Robbins: Early influence on mindset, positivity, and performance that Jeff still references todayVistage CEO Peer Group: Monthly forum of 15 peer CEOs providing real-time economic insight and leadership accountability across industries👉 Don't miss this conversation about navigating a Big Four collapse with a newborn at home, building a $125 million firm by investing in people before profit, and why AI will make accountants better advisors rather than replace them.🔗 Connect with Jeff Call:Email: [email protected] Company: Bennett Thrasher LLP Website: btcpa.net📄 Transcript Available: Jeff Call on Trusted Advisor Relationships, Lateral Partner Strategy, and Scaling a $125 Million Accounting Firm📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com