Stop Selling Hours: Build a Valuable Accounting Firm with Ben Towne

Stop Selling Hours: Build a Valuable Accounting Firm with Ben Towne Kenny interviews Ben Towne, host of the Max Value Podcast and a business valuation expert who owns Towne Advisory and Assure Advisors, about why billable hours don’t equal value and how firms can focus on results clients care about. Ben explains shifting fear into manageable risk by taking small steps, sharing how he moved from outsourcing to building an India-based support firm. He describes valuation as a discovery process that depersonalizes the business to assess inputs, cash flow outputs, and uncertainty, and says businesses of any size can benefit from valuation thinking even without a full formal report. Common overlooked value drivers include clean books, transferability, repeatability, dependence on key individuals, SOPs, and revenue concentration. They discuss AI creating uncertainty but enabling “more with more,” and the ongoing importance of trusted human relationships. Ben encourages listeners to trust themselves and consider entrepreneurship sooner. 00:00 Welcome And Guest Intro 01:07 Beyond Billable Hours 03:34 Small Steps Beat Fear 06:02 Valuation As Discovery 08:39 Advising Clients With Valuation 12:38 Hidden Value Killers 14:52 Build A Sellable Firm 16:43 AI And The Profession 21:00 Human Trust Still Wins 23:18 Connect With Ben 24:17 Trust Yourself Closing