CPA Trendlines Podcasts

K1x Is Betting $175 Million on It.Full show notes hereBy Seth FinebergFor CPA TrendlinesK1x is putting $175 million in new investment behind an expansion of its K-1 technology platform, with plans to accelerate product development, broaden its offerings and build a more standardized system for managing partnership tax data.MORE K1x: K1x Secures $175 Million for Private Markets AI Tax Tech | Private Market Tax Is Heading for a Collision | The 3-Part Framework Firms Are Using to Fix K-1 Chaos | Why the Future of Tax Isn’t Compliance—It’s Timing | AI Tax App Crashes Financial Stocks on Wall Street | MORE A.I. | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network CEO John LaMancuso says the company is pushing beyond automating individual K-1 tasks. K1x wants to connect K-1 creation and aggregation into a unified platform that can move tax data among CPA firms, investment funds and investors with less manual handling.“Start with the bottleneck, not the technology,” LaMancuso says.MORE > > > 

Accountants should demand systems that reveal the work, respect boundaries, and produce results humans can verify.Accounting ARCWith Donny Shimamoto, Liz Mason, and Byron PatrickCenter for Accounting TransformationAgentic AI does not have to replace an accountant to transform accounting. Its more practical role may be far less dramatic — and far more useful.In this episode of the Accounting ARC podcast, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Liz Mason, CPA; and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, explore how narrowly focused AI agents can help professionals retrieve information, analyze data, navigate systems, and make better-informed decisions. MORE Accounting ARC: AI Isn't Erasing Tax Careers. It's Rewriting Them. | Accounting Internships Need an Upgrade | The CPA Career Nobody Talks About | Conference Season Exposes Accounting's Knowledge Gap | The Feedback Mistake That Costs You Your Best People | Is Your Boss Really the Problem? | Most Accountants Are Missing This AI Shift | 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 Their conversation challenges one of the dominant narratives surrounding agentic AI: that firms should build autonomous digital employees capable of handling everything a staff accountant does. Instead, the hosts envision specialized agents that operate within structured systems, perform clearly defined tasks, and show users how they reach their conclusions.“If you have agentic AI that’s built into an architecture that already exists, there’s a whole lot more that has to happen from a training perspective,” says Mason, CEO of High Rock Accounting.That architecture, she explains, can include multiple agents working together rather than one agent attempting to handle an entire assignment.

Firms must build new pathways that develop reviewers, judgment and client-facing skills.Accounting ARCWith Donny Shimamoto, Liz Mason, and Byron PatrickCenter for Accounting TransformationArtificial intelligence may not eliminate the entry-level tax professional. But it is dismantling the job that many firms still use to train one.That's the conversation driving a new episode of the Accounting ARC podcast featuring Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC and founder and inspiration architect for the Center for Accounting Transformation; and Liz Mason, CPA, CEO of High Rock Accounting.The conversation begins with a small tax firm that hires six interns each year and teaches them to prepare returns much as earlier generations learned: working from paper documents, identifying relevant numbers, mapping those figures to tax forms, and entering the data into tax software. MORE Accounting ARC: Accounting Internships Need an Upgrade | The CPA Career Nobody Talks About | Conference Season Exposes Accounting's Knowledge Gap | The Feedback Mistake That Costs You Your Best People | Is Your Boss Really the Problem? | Most Accountants Are Missing This AI Shift | 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 The firm owner sees the process as an apprenticeship that helps students bridge the gap between an individual tax course and real-world preparation. Shimamoto sees value in teaching interns how information moves from source documents to a completed return. Mason agrees with the objective but challenges the method.“From a holistic learning exploration, sure, yes, that is a way to learn,” Mason says. “From a where-we-are-today perspective, I think that’s a giant disservice to these interns.”

Waiting until people quit is no way to manage burnout.Full show notes hereThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrFor CPA TrendlinesYoung accountants still want to become leaders. They just don’t want to work the way many of today’s leaders do.A 2026 KPMG intern survey cited by burnout coach Lynette Oss Connell finds 92% of interns aspire to reach the C-suite or another senior executive role. Yet the workplace behavior they most want eliminated is an “always-available” culture.MORE Disruptors with Liz Farr | CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkFor accounting firms worried about keeping their next generation of managers and partners, Oss Connell says younger professionals hear firms encouraging boundaries and work-life balance while watching managers and partners remain constantly connected, work long hours and push through stress.Burnout, she argues, is not simply an individual problem to be fixed with more resilience or better self-care. Chronic stress is also built into how work gets done — and changing the outcome may require firms to examine the behavior they reward and the example their leaders set.“We thrive on feeling like we have a sense of control, or certainty,” says Oss Connell. But when medical crises with her children collided with impossible business demands, she hit that wall of burnout. “The illusion of certainty had really been washed away from me, and it felt like an existential crisis of what value am I providing?” she explains.MORE > > > 

Sustainable growth comes from cultivating trust over time—not collecting contacts, memorizing sales scripts or forcing professionals into uncomfortable networking routines.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchIn this episode of MOVE Like This, Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk sits down with Lea Yoneda, founder and CEO of Golden Ginkgo Group, to explore why so many talented accounting professionals struggle with business development and why the problem often has less to do with personality than with how firms define, teach, and reward growth.Yoneda argues that firms frequently wait until professionals are on the doorstep of partnership before introducing business development, then expect them to master an entirely different skill set with little guidance or support. MORE MOVE Like This | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network Rather than treating relationship building as a long-term professional competency, many firms reduce it to a one-time training session or a list of networking tactics. She believes this approach sets professionals up for unnecessary stress and overlooks the fact that meaningful business development takes years to develop. A significant portion of the conversation focuses on introversion and the misconceptions surrounding it.

Connect with your clients: "You're an entrepreneur, I'm an entrepreneur."Full show notes hereThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrErin Pohan’s firm, Upkeeping, is on a mission “to make accounting relevant and understandable” to all its clients. Pohan describes Upkeeping as “a tax-ready firm” that does everything but tax prep, which they hand off to the clients’ tax professionals. But their hand-off doesn’t stop with providing the tax pro with the information needed for the tax return.MORE Liz Farr | CPA Trendlines Streaming Network“We don’t believe in just handing pieces of paper over to our clients and letting them run with it,” she explains. “We do work with them throughout the year. We do our client calls where we’re explaining the numbers and the stories behind the numbers, especially, and making sure that they feel equipped and empowered to understand their business finances.” MORE > > > 

FICPA CEO Shelly Weir says the profession survived its most serious deregulation fight yet. The threat isn’t confined to Florida. Full show notes hereGear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA TrendlinesFlorida CPAs came closer than many realized to losing the regulatory structure behind the CPA license, as a sweeping deregulation drive threatened the state Board of Accountancy and raised the possibility of a credential weakened to the point that “anybody could put those letters behind their name,” according to Shelly Weir, president and CEO of the Florida Institute of CPAs.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 here“The elimination of the CPA license altogether – or having a license so degraded and devalued that anybody could put those letters behind their name – I don’t know what terrifies me more,” Weir tells Jean Caragher in this episode of Gear Up for Growth.READ MORE > > > 

PwC consultant and CPA exam coach says success depends less on being the smartest person in the room and more on managing time, building effective habits, and continuing after setbacks.Accounting ConversationsWith Chayton FarleeCenter for Accounting TransformationThe greatest obstacle standing between most CPA candidates and their licenses is not intelligence. It is time. That distinction matters, says Blake Carroll, CPA, a deployment consultant with PwC who helps aspiring CPAs develop the plans, habits, and mindsets they need to pass the exam.“I truly believe anyone can pass it,” Carroll tells host Chayton Farlee on the Accounting Conversations podcast. “It’s not a test of intelligence. It is a test of endurance.” MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network In the episode, Carroll and Farlee, an assurance associate at CliftonLarsonAllen, explore what makes the exam so difficult — and why the skills candidates develop while preparing for it can continue serving them long after they earn their licenses.Carroll knows candidates must master a large volume of technical material, often while working full time, attending school, or managing family responsibilities. They must sustain that effort for months and sometimes longer, without the frequent deadlines and feedback that help structure a college course. The resulting pressure can lead candidates to question whether they are smart enough, moving quickly enough, or studying the right way.“Anxiety can kill more CPA dreams than the difficulty of the material,” Carroll says.

Solo 401(k)s let you think beyond retirement.Full show notes here.The Concierge CPAWith Jackie MeyerIn this episode of The Concierge CPA, Dr. Jackie Meyer welcomes back David Podell, founder of Business Benefits Consultants, to unravel the evolving world of retirement planning and its strategic value for business owners.MORE Jackie Meyer and The Concierge CPA | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkPodell explains the solo 401(k)’s advantages over simpler plans like SEPs or SIMPLEs, dives into common mistakes business owners make, and shares how smart structuring — including leveraging Roth contributions and defined benefit add-ons — can elevate retirement planning from compliance to strategy.“Putting money in these retirement plans pulls money out of the business and creates a personal net worth," Podell says.MORE > > >  

Firms, not candidates, are to blame for a generation of superstars declining the summons.Show notes hereGear Up for Growthwith Jean Caragherfor CPA TrendlinesFew voices carry more weight on the question of who becomes a partner, and why, than Jim Metzler’s.So when the former AICPA vice president and longtime mentor to emerging firm leaders says the profession’s top performers are hesitating at the threshold of partnership, firm owners would do well to listen.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 hereIn the new episode of “Gear Up for Growth,” hosted by Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing, Metzler lays out why – and what separates the firms that keep their stars from the ones that lose them.“The bigger the superstar in the firm, the more they say, ‘I’m really not sure if I want to be a partner,'” says Jim Metzler, founder of Metzler Advisory Group and author of “The Emerging Partner Playbook: A Complete Guide for Emerging Partners in CPA Firms,” this edition of “Gear Up for Growth,” powered by CPA Trendlines and hosted by Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing.READ MORE > > > 

As workplace language evolves, effective professionals know their audience and adapt their message.Accounting ARCWith Byron Patrick, Donny Shimamoto and Liz MasonCenter for Accounting TransformationEvery generation enters the workplace speaking a slightly different language.For Generation Z, that language may include phrases such as “delulu,” “mid” and “fire.” For earlier generations, the dated vocabulary might sound different, but the underlying challenge remains familiar: How do people bring their authentic voices to work while still communicating professionally? MORE Accounting ARC: Accounting Internships Need an Upgrade | The CPA Career Nobody Talks About | Conference Season Exposes Accounting's Knowledge Gap | The Feedback Mistake That Costs You Your Best People | Is Your Boss Really the Problem? | Most Accountants Are Missing This AI Shift | 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 In this episode of the Accounting ARC podcast, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Liz Mason, CPA, examine the supposed language barrier separating Generation Z and baby boomers — and question whether it is really as new or insurmountable as some portray it.Their conclusion is less about memorizing the latest slang and more about developing an essential power skill: adaptability.

As caregiving responsibilities expand across generations and definitions of family, employers have an opportunity to rethink how work gets done — and keep valuable people in the process.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchIn this episode of MOVE Like This, Shannon Stone-Winding, President and CEO of the Business Alliance of Colleges and Employers (BACE), joins Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to explore caregiving through a much broader lens: what does it mean for an organization to truly care for its people?Shannon brings both a professional and deeply personal perspective to the conversation. In addition to her work connecting employers, colleges, and emerging talent, she has spent 20 years as the primary caregiver for her husband, a 100% service-connected disabled Marine Corps veteran. MORE MOVE Like This | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network That experience has shaped how she thinks about caregiving, workplace culture, and what employees need to remain and thrive in their careers.Shannon’s current caregiving research grew from a conversation at a diversity symposium, where accounting professionals began sharing examples of how firms were responding to employees’ changing needs.

If MCPs are the infrastructure, agentic AI is the workforce.Full show notes hereThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrRandy Johnston has been in accounting technology longer than many of today’s practitioners have been alive. With more than 50 years in the field, and a hand in designing everything from IBM ThinkPads to Excel’s PivotTables, he has seen more technological revolutions than he can easily count. He even wrote AI code in 1975 in Lisp. Through it all, he has remained true to a singular ideal: “My personal mission has always been to help as many people as possible do the things they want to do with technology.”MORE DISRUPTORS: David Cristello: Growth Breaks Things – and That’s Normal | The Disruptors | Blumer, Vacin: What Only 5% of Firms Get Right | Disruptors | Ira Rosenbloom: PE Forces Firms to Pick a Future | The Disruptors | Doug Slaybaugh: How to Define “Values in Motion” | The Disruptors | Nancy McClelland: Bookkeepers Need a Safe Space to Collaborate | The Disruptors | Chase Damiano: Good Operations Means Defining How the Hand-Offs Happen | The Disruptors | Jeff Seibert: Digits Software Moves Toward Real-Time Accounting | The Disruptors | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkYet Johnston, executive vice president of K2 Enterprises and co-founder of Network Management Group, says the most significant shift is happening right now with Model Context Protocols (MCPs). MCPs are a technical layer that allows multiple systems to be connected and queried through AI. Though he’s spent decades watching technology evolve through mainframes, databases, graphical interfaces, and SaaS, he says MCPs may be the most consequential development he’s seen in years.“It’s making me think we no longer need dashboards. It’s making me think we no longer need user interfaces the way we did,” he says. “I think we’re actually going to wind up talking to a lot of our systems in the very near term.”MORE > > > 

Koziel Calls for a New CPA Firm Model. Show notes hereGear Up for Growthwith Jean Caragherfor CPA TrendlinesMark Koziel is putting the accounting profession on notice: The business model that sustained CPA firms for generations is running out of time.“The hours-times-rate model is a death knell for the profession,” says Koziel, CPA, CGMA, president and CEO of the AICPA and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, on Gear Up for Growth, powered by CPA Trendlines and hosted by Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing. MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here Gear Up for Growth is tailored specifically for public accounting firms with up to 100 team members looking to expand their practices intelligently and efficiently. MORE Gear Up for Growth here | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network here As artificial intelligence accelerates the automation of tax preparation and compliance work, Koziel says CPA firms must fundamentally rethink how they create—and price—value for clients.“There’s still value to that tax return,” Koziel says. “It’s just not based on our inputs.”Rather than charging for the time it takes to complete compliance work, Koziel encourages firms to focus on the insight, judgment and peace of mind they provide through planning, advisory services and proactive client relationships.One of his strongest messages centers on repositioning the profession beyond its traditional identity.“If you ask anybody on the street what a CPA does, they’re going to tell you tax,” Koziel says. “But advisory and planning are the two that we really need to start nailing down.”Throughout the discussion, Koziel emphasizes that while AI continues to reshape workflows, it does not diminish the importance of the CPA. Instead, it elevates the profession’s responsibility to help clients interpret information, make better decisions and navigate increasing complexity.MORE > > > 

As AI handles more routine work, how do young accountants develop judgment, communication and leadership?Accounting ARCWith Donny Shimamoto and Liz MasonCenter for Accounting TransformationThe accounting internship is due for an upgrade.For decades, internships often give aspiring accountants their first real taste of the profession by dropping them into the work: Learn the process, complete the assignment, survive busy season and figure out the unwritten rules along the way.But as artificial intelligence takes over more of the entry-level work traditionally assigned to new accountants, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, and Liz Mason, CPA, argue the profession needs to reconsider what an internship is actually supposed to teach. MORE Accounting ARC: The CPA Career Nobody Talks About | Conference Season Exposes Accounting's Knowledge Gap | The Feedback Mistake That Costs You Your Best People | Is Your Boss Really the Problem? | Most Accountants Are Missing This AI Shift | 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 In this episode of the Accounting ARC podcast, Shimamoto, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC and founder and inspiration architect for the Center for Accounting Transformation, and Mason, CEO of High Rock Accounting, explore why tomorrow's accountants need more than technical proficiency.They need what Shimamoto calls "power skills."

The next generation is blending entrepreneurship, AI, and advisory into careers that barely existed a few years ago.Accounting ARCWith Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationFor decades, the accounting profession has followed a familiar script: earn a CPA license, join a firm, climb the ladder and perhaps become a partner.Rachel Farris, CPA, MBA, is proving there is another way.After building a highly specialized tax advisory practice serving U.S. citizens relocating to Puerto Rico, Farris launches Tax Stack AI, a company that helps accounting firms implement artificial intelligence securely and strategically. MORE Accounting ARC: Conference Season Exposes Accounting's Knowledge Gap | The Feedback Mistake That Costs You Your Best People | Is Your Boss Really the Problem? | Most Accountants Are Missing This AI Shift | 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 She has since sold her CPA practice to focus on AI consulting and education, demonstrating that today's accounting professionals can create careers far beyond traditional public accounting.In this episode of Accounting ARC, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC and founder and inspiration architect for the Center for Accounting Transformation, sits down with Farris to explore entrepreneurship, AI, networking and the expanding possibilities available to CPAs willing to embrace change.Their conversation becomes less about one accountant's journey and more about the profession's future.

“Flexibility should be used as a tool for success. It shouldn't be the exception.” MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchIn this episode of MOVE Like This, Mandy Gallagher, lead manager of Women’s Initiatives at the AICPA, joins Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to discuss why caregiving has become such an important conversation in accounting, what firms may misunderstand about caregivers, and how greater flexibility and support could influence retention and leadership pipelines across the profession. Gallagher’s work focuses on advancing women’s initiatives, supporting professional development, and amplifying women’s perspectives throughout the profession.  MORE MOVE Like This | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network One reason caregiving is getting more attention now is that it is both more visible and much broader than many people have traditionally assumed. Demographic shifts mean multiple generations are simultaneously balancing careers with responsibilities for children, aging parents, siblings, partners, friends, and others who rely on them. COVID also changed expectations around where and how work can happen. Employees experienced firsthand that they could remain productive while having enough flexibility to pick up a child or take a parent to a medical appointment. As more organizations return to traditional office expectations, those competing demands have become harder to reconcile.The conversation challenges another long-standing assumption: that caregiving is primarily a women-with-young-children issue.

From vendor demonstrations to hallway conversations, this year's conference season highlights both excitement and uncertainty across the profession.Accounting ARCWith Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationEvery summer, accounting professionals pack conference centers looking for the next big idea. They attend breakout sessions, visit vendor booths, compare notes with peers and return to their firms with pages of ideas.This year, however, the conversations feel different.Artificial intelligence still dominates the agenda, but the Accounting ARC hosts notice a subtle shift beneath the excitement. The biggest takeaway isn't simply that AI is everywhere. It's that many accountants are struggling to separate innovation from marketing, capability from hype, and opportunity from risk. MORE Accounting ARC: The Feedback Mistake That Costs You Your Best People | Is Your Boss Really the Problem? | Most Accountants Are Missing This AI Shift | 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 In this episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, senior product manager for Karbon and co-founder and educator for TB Academy; Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC and founder and inspiration architect for the Center for Accounting Transformation; and Liz Mason, CPA, CEO of High Rock Accounting, reflect on what they observe during this year's conference season—and what those observations reveal about the profession's next challenge.

Technology changes quickly, but critical thinking remains the most valuable skill accountants can develop. Accounting ARCWith Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationArtificial intelligence is changing accounting faster than almost anyone predicted. But according to William LeFew, Ph.D., the professionals who benefit most from AI are not necessarily the ones with the strongest technical skills—they are the ones who know how to think.In this episode of Accounting ARC, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC and founder and inspiration architect for the Center for Accounting Transformation, welcomes LeFew, chief technology officer at FirmPro, for a conversation that goes beyond software features and into the mindset required to succeed in an AI-enabled profession. MORE Accounting ARC: The Feedback Mistake That Costs You Your Best People | Is Your Boss Really the Problem? | Most Accountants Are Missing This AI Shift | 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 LeFew approaches accounting from an unusual perspective. Trained as an applied mathematician with experience at NASA and multiple technology startups, he intentionally looks for industries where technology can remove friction instead of creating it. Accounting, he says, stands out because of the people.

AI changes how professionals gain experience, forcing teams to reinvent leadership development.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchArtificial intelligence has dominated conversations throughout the accounting profession, but much of the discussion remains focused on efficiency. In this episode of MOVE Like This, Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk sits down with Peter McCarroll, founder of The AI Accountant and partner at Fuel Accountants, to explore a much bigger question: How will AI reshape careers, leadership, and the future of accounting firms? MORE MOVE Like This | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network McCarroll argues that many firms are looking at AI through too narrow a lens. While automating routine work will certainly improve productivity, efficiency alone will not be enough to remain competitive. Firms that thrive will use AI to strengthen strategic thinking, develop new services, deepen client relationships, and create additional value rather than simply reducing costs. Waiting for technology to stabilize or treating AI as just another software implementation may leave firms behind as change accelerates over the next few years.

 Build the firm you want by hiring only the best.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrShow notes hereWhen David Cristello launched Jetpack Workflow in 2016, the market already had plenty of solutions. “Are we too late?” he wondered. But he launched anyway, “and the only reason we launched is because we interviewed so many firms.” These firms told him about the problems with other solutions, and with his founders’ group, he was able to co-create a product that worked.MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkBack then, firms were tracking work on spreadsheets, as many firms today still do, and things were falling through the cracks. However, today’s users have more sophisticated demands. “What used to be just checklists and task lists is now about: what’s the operating system for the firm?” says Cristello.READ MORE →

Intent, tone and delivery matter just as much as the message itself. Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationOne poorly handled conversation can undo months—or years—of trust. In this episode of Accounting ARC, Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, and Liz Mason, CPA, unpack why difficult feedback often fails, how leaders can communicate with greater intention, and what separates constructive coaching from conversations that send employees looking for another job.The conversation starts with a story familiar to anyone who has ever hovered over the “Send” button on a difficult message. MORE Accounting ARC: Is Your Boss Really the Problem? | Most Accountants Are Missing This AI Shift | 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, 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.Originally published Feb. 5, 2026

It’s not just growth.Full show notes here.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrFor CPA TrendlinesScaling a business successfully usually doesn’t happen automatically when top-line revenue grows, as Jason Blumer and Ian Vacin explain in their new book, “Scale with Purpose: The Service Entrepreneur’s Guide to Intentional Growth.”MORE Streaming NetworkVacin, co-founder of Karbon, had seen a peculiar pattern across Karbon’s Practice Excellence survey over the last eight years. Instead of smooth growth curves, firm data showed distinct scaling plateaus at specific headcounts. “Ninety-five percent of firms had this going up motion. Generally, we get to 12 to 16 employees, and then go backward, and they would tell us, ‘Yeah, it grew too fast. It didn’t feel like the company that I wanted,’ ” he explains.READ MORE > > > 

The profession's fastest-growing opportunities help business owners make decisions—not just balance the books.Accounting ConversationsWith Chayton FarleeCenter for Accounting TransformationFor many accounting students, the profession appears to offer two primary destinations: tax or audit.But what if that's only part of the story?In the latest episode of Accounting Conversations, host Chayton Farlee, an assurance associate at CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), welcomes Kaden Cook, CPA, CMA, a virtual CFO with Anders, for a conversation that challenges many of the assumptions students have about accounting careers. MORE Podcasts Cook's own career follows a path that many students may not realize exists. He begins with bookkeeping, gains experience in accounts receivable and accounts payable, discovers outsourced accounting and eventually finds his way into advisory services, where he helps business owners make financial decisions rather than simply report financial results.That distinction becomes one of the central themes of the conversation.

It may create costly leadership gaps that affect engagement, retention, and firm performance.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchPromotions are meant to strengthen an organization. But when firms elevate top performers without preparing them to lead, those promotions can become some of the most expensive decisions they make. The result is often disengaged employees, overwhelmed managers, and avoidable turnover.  MORE MOVE Like This | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network In this episode of MOVE Like This, Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk talks with Megan Robinson, founder and CEO of E Leader Experience, about why leadership isn't a natural next step for every high performer—and what firms can do to build leaders intentionally instead of hoping they'll figure it out.Originally published May 13, 2026

 The hardest workplace lesson isn't spotting a bad manager—it's recognizing when you're standing in your own way. Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason and Byron PatrickCenter for Accounting TransformationIn a candid, unfiltered episode of Accounting ARC, Liz Mason, CPA, CEO of High Rock Accounting, and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, senior product manager at Karbon and co-founder of TB Academy, confront one of the profession’s most relatable—and uncomfortable—topics: bad bosses. But the conversation goes further than workplace horror stories. Mason and Patrick explore a more nuanced reality: sometimes the boss is the problem—and sometimes it's the employee.  MORE Accounting ARC: Most Accountants Are Missing This AI Shift | 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 | “We wanted to talk about this topic because it’s really important to understand when you’re the problem, when your boss is the problem, and what acceptable boundaries are,” Mason says early in the episode.Unpack real stories about bad bosses, miscommunication, and the career lessons that come with both. This episode challenges how accountants think about leadership, accountability, and growth. Originally published May 28, 2026.

Modernizing the Profession Without Losing Its Core. Full show notes hereThe Holistic Guide to Wealth ManagementWith Rory Henry, CFP®, BFA™It’s no secret that the accounting profession is undergoing one of the most significant transitions in its history. Firms are more likely to sell to private equity than to other accounting firms. Technology is reshaping workflows. Worker shortages are forcing firms to rethink talent pipelines. But through it all, public trust remains the foundation on which everything rests.MORE Rory Henry | THE HANDBOOK Holistic Guide to Wealth Management | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkThat tension — protecting what makes the profession trusted while adapting to what the market demands — defines the moment.Few leaders sit closer to that tension than Denise LeDuc Froemming, President and CEO of CalCPA, the nation’s largest state CPA society.READ MORE > > > 

Every client relationship is now up for renewal—and every partner has to learn how to compete.  Full show notes hereGear Up for Growthwith Jean Caragherfor CPA Trendlines“The relationship gets you in the door, but it doesn't get you the work,” says Karen Freeman, chief product officer, DCM Insights, and co-author of Activator Advantage: What Today's Rainmakers Do Differently, in this episode of Gear Up for Growth, powered by CPA Trendlines and hosted by Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing. "Once it's competitive, it's a lot harder to differentiate based on your past relationship."MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | Gear Up for Growth is tailored specifically for public accounting firms with up to 100 team members looking to expand their practices intelligently and efficiently. | MORE Gear Up for Growth here | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network hereFreeman and co-author Matt Dixon, founding partner of DCM Insights, reflect on what they have learned one year after the release of their bestselling book. They discuss how AI, changing buyer behavior and increasing competition are reshaping growth strategies for accounting and advisory firms. Firms that rely on traditional relationship-based growth models risk falling behind.READ MORE > > > 

These accounts offer unique contribution opportunities, strict investment guidelines, and a pathway to future retirement savings. Full show notes hereQuick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodayArt Werner outlines the five key rules advisors and families should understand when considering these accounts.MORE Art Werner | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkDesigned as long-term savings vehicles for children, these accounts offer unique contribution opportunities, strict investment guidelines, and a pathway to future retirement savings.MORE > > >

The profession is changing in ways that go far beyond automation.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.Originally published May 7, 2026

A roller derby skater, crypto auditor, and accounting leader shares why belief, sponsorship, and community shape the future of the profession.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchIn this episode of MOVE Like This, Chelsea Sowers, incoming President of the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA), audit manager specializing in cryptocurrency assurance with The Network Firm, and “Bitcoin Barbie” on the Atlanta Roller Derby team, joins Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to discuss leadership, retention, mentorship, and the realities shaping women’s careers in accounting today. MORE MOVE Like This | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network | JOIN MOVE 2026 At the center of the conversation is a recurring challenge within the profession: attracting women into accounting is only part of the equation. Retaining and advancing them into leadership remains a persistent issue. Sowers argues that women often receive access to the profession without receiving a roadmap for advancement. Flexibility, mentorship, sponsorship, and community increasingly matter to younger professionals, particularly those entering the workforce after major disruptions like COVID. Firms may focus heavily on recruitment while overlooking what keeps talented people engaged years later.

PE makes CPA firms rethink strategy – even if they don't want to sell. Show notes hereThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrFor CPA TrendlinesWith private equity becoming “a real player and a disruptor in the marketplace,” Ira Rosenbloom, CEO of Optimum Strategies, says, the dramatic influx of capital is intensifying competition for quality firms, especially those with strong client bases and growth potential.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 NetworkFirms that PE wouldn’t touch are now being approached by brokers without accounting industry experience, hired by PE groups striving to “build an engine,” Rosenbloom says. But the unwanted attention has “helped some of the smaller firms quickly decide they don't want to go down that path.” So they “take themselves out of the running for a PE situation quicker because of a better understanding of what private equity wants,” he explains.READ MORE > > >  

The best firm build accountability cultures, develop climbers, and make tough calls.Full show notes hereGear Up for GrowthWith Jean Caragherfor CPA Trendlines Research“Some firms dream of being great but only are willing to make the commitment to be good,” Allan Koltin, CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, says in the new episode of Gear Up for Growth with host Jean Caragher. “Leadership is the delta that separates all.”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 hereKoltin says the gap between elite firms and average firms keeps widening, and leadership is the defining factor. Widely recognized as one of the profession’s top consultants, he argues that firms chasing high performance must stop avoiding hard decisions, embrace accountability, and rethink what leadership means.“You can have the same clients, same talent pool, same market opportunities, and one firm ends up in the upper quartile while another struggles,” Koltin says. “The difference is leadership.”READ MORE > > > 

After a near-fatal skiing accident, three accounting leaders confront the uncomfortable questions every firm owner should answer before a crisis strikes.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?Originally published March 26, 2026

Are your firm's stated values consistent with its behavior?Full show notes hereThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrFor CPA TrendlinesHow does your firm define culture? Is your culture consistent with the values posted on the breakroom wall? Doug Slaybaugh, founder of CPA Coach, defines culture as “values in motion.” According to his definition, a firm’s stated values must be evident in the ways a firm actually behaves.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 | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkA firm that truly values philanthropy, for example, should give team members the ability to volunteer or sponsor nonprofit events. “There should be evidence,” Slaybaugh explains. “Otherwise, there’s no evidence of that value. It’s really not your culture.”READ MORE > > > 

Trump accounts for the benefit of children.Full show notes hereQuick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodayTrump accounts offer a rare chance for a government-funded head start on a tax-advantaged education account.“The federal government will actually infuse these accounts with $1,000,” says Art Werner. “It’s free money. Just face it, it’s free money.”MORE Art Werner | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkAny child under age 18 with a Social Security number is eligible for a Trump account. Children born between 2025 and 2028 also qualify for a government contribution.More > > > 

Bookkeepers often feel less empowered than tax professionals.Full show notes hereThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrFor CPA TrendlinesNancy McClelland wants to do more than just run her firm, The Dancing Accountant. She has two big passion projects that are creating the conversations and collaborations this profession desperately needs. Her community, Ask a CPA, aims to bridge the gap between bookkeepers and tax professionals. She also co-hosts a podcast with Questian Telka, She Counts, which provides a safe space for women in accounting to discuss real issues.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 | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkMcClelland started the Ask a CPA Community when she noticed “this big gap that wasn’t about technical knowledge. It was about permission, about permission to collaborate.” While “bookkeepers are often the closest person to the financial truth of a business,” historically, “they've been positioned as subordinate to tax preparers, just sort of expected to hand off things and hope that they did it right,” McClelland explains. READ MORE > > > 

Connection, community, and trust create opportunities that credentials alone cannot.  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.*Originally published May 14, 2026 

"Inclusion often depends on whether people are willing to communicate, listen, and repair misunderstandings when they happen.”MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchIn this episode of the MOVE Like This podcast, Bonnie Ruszczyk sits down with Guillaume Turmel, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne whose research focuses on how people experience genuine inclusion in the workplace. Drawing from his own experiences working internationally, helping launch an LGBTQ+ employee resource group, and observing the disconnect between strong DEI programs and employees still feeling “slightly off,” Guillaume explores why inclusion is far more personal and complex than most organizations assume. MORE MOVE Like This | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network | JOIN MOVE 2026 One of the most compelling parts of the conversation centers around Guillaume’s comparison of inclusion to “love languages.” He explains that organizations often focus heavily on the actions they believe create inclusion, such as policies, programs, or leadership behaviors, without spending enough time understanding how those efforts are actually experienced by employees.

Trump Accounts provide new opportunities for families, employees and closely held businesses.Full show notes hereQuick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodayTax expert Art Werner is launching a series of tax tip videos focused on Trump accounts.MORE Art Werner | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming NetworkIn the series, he provides a comprehensive overview of how these accounts work, how they compare to other investment options, the tax advantages they offer, potential issues practitioners should be aware of, and related fringe-benefit opportunities.MORE > > > 

Unpack how market gaps and transparency revise the recruiting game.Accounting ConversationsWith Chayton FarleeCenter for Accounting TransformationIn the latest episode of Accounting Conversations, host Chayton Farlee sits down with Dominic Piscopo, CPA, founder of The Big Four Transparency, to unpack compensation transparency and the accounting pipeline — two stubborn bottlenecks many firms still struggle to fix. The conversation centers on how accessible salary data and real-world experiences can illuminate a path toward fairer pay and clearer career ladders for accountants at all levels. MORE Podcasts Piscopo describes a career that reveals both the promise and the pain points of the industry. He started in a Big Four firm in tax and quickly encountered a supportive leadership dynamic and a stellar coach, experiences that underscore what’s possible in a healthy culture. Yet even with that backdrop, he confronted a truth many early-career professionals feel but few talk about openly: compensation does not always align with effort or market realities, especially for younger staff trying to break in and prove their value.

Dovetailing finance and product engineering can transform accounting.Full show notes hereThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrFor CPA TrendlinesWhen Jeff Seibert, CEO and founder of Digits, was at Twitter, he was astonished by the difference in data quality and timeliness between the product engineering and the finance sides of the business.On the product engineering side, testing tools, dashboards, and analytic tools provided real-time data on “exactly what your users are clicking on, what your servers are doing every second.” At the same time, “I was waiting two to three weeks for our accountant to give me a black and white P&L,” he recalls, even with “100 people in corporate finance.”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 NetworkThat experience led him to start Digits in 2018, an AI-native accounting platform, which is going head-to-head with QuickBooks and Xero.READ MORE > > >

From micromanagement to missed promotions, hosts get real about bad bosses—and when the problem is you.Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason and Byron PatrickCenter for Accounting TransformationIn a candid, unfiltered episode of Accounting ARC, Liz Mason, CPA, CEO of High Rock Accounting, and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, senior product manager at Karbon and co-founder of TB Academy, confront one of the profession’s most relatable—and uncomfortable—topics: bad bosses. But the conversation goes further than workplace horror stories. Mason and Patrick explore a more nuanced reality: sometimes the boss is the problem—and sometimes it's the employee.  MORE Accounting ARC: Why Relationships Still Drive Career Success | 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 | “We wanted to talk about this topic because it’s really important to understand when you’re the problem, when your boss is the problem, and what acceptable boundaries are,” Mason says early in the episode.Unpack real stories about bad bosses, miscommunication, and the career lessons that come with both. This episode challenges how accountants think about leadership, accountability, and growth. 

Adapt to changing workforce expectations without losing performance or accountability.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA Trendlines ResearchIn this episode of MOVE Like This, host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk talks with Kristi Epp, tax partner, and Amber Schrock, advisory partner and Las Vegas market leader at Frazier & Deeter, about one of the profession’s most urgent challenges: retention. Their message is clear — firms that still believe compensation alone drives loyalty may already be falling behind.MORE MOVEThe conversation explores how accounting has changed dramatically over the last several years. Remote work, automation, talent shortages, mergers, acquisitions, and increasing regulatory complexity have reshaped both firm operations and employee expectations. Epp and Schrock explain that younger professionals are not rejecting hard work; they are rejecting environments that fail to provide meaning, transparency, mentorship, and sustainability.Rather than focusing solely on hours worked, Frazier & Deeter has worked to build a culture centered on effectiveness, growth, and long-term engagement. The firm’s leaders recognize that retention is deeply connected to whether people feel seen, supported, and included in the future of the organization.Originally published 1/14/2026.

"Audit" and "transformation" shouldn't contradict each other.Full show notes hereThe DisruptorsWith Liz FarrFor CPA TrendlinesThe words “audit” and “transformation” don’t often appear together. Some might say they contradict each other. But for Tyler Anderson, Director of A&A Innovation at Accountability Plus, audit transformation is something that has been needed for many years.MORE Tyler Anderson: Re-Inventing Accounting with Tyler AndersonMORE 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 NetworkAnderson, along with his colleagues Corey Schmidt and Alan Anderson from Accountability Plus, served as subject matter experts for the 2025 Audit Benchmark Survey conducted by CPA.com, which sought to understand the current state of audit transformation. The CPA.com team included Emily Remington (Director of Audit Product Management), Amy Bridges (Senior Manager of Practice Development), and survey methodologist Katherine Blackburn. The resulting report, The Audit Transformation Report, was released at Digital CPA in December 2025. Liz Farr, host of The Disruptors, served as the report writer. Audit transformation is often misunderstood as a destination or a future state reserved for large firms with deep pockets and advanced technology. But according to Anderson, transformation is far more practical and accessible. “I see it as the process, not really like it's an end state or anything, but it's really the evolution of audit,” he explains.READ MORE > > > 

When leaders neglect to delegate, chaos reigns.Sponsored by True Advisor: Buy now | Learn moreFull show notes here The DisruptersWith Liz FarrFor CPA TrendlinesChase Damiano, founder of Human at Scale, says that operations are the missing piece for many firms. “It’s sort of this bridge or glue that allows a business and a team to function well together,” he tells Liz Farr in this episode of The Disrupters. 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 TimeMORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network“I see it as the intersection of people, process, technology and culture.” What that looks like in practice, he says, is a firm where the team is happy, clients are satisfied, work is delivered on time and at high quality, and the owner has the freedom to focus on strategy and growth and has the time to spend on non-work things like family.  READ MORE >>>

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.