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87episodes
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Lisa Fitzgerald: Belonging's No Longer an Option in Accounting | MOVE Like This
Apr 1500:34:40Tap to summarizeEffective 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.
Transcribe →Sharrinn Fuller: Build It Better, Then Let It Run Without You | The Disruptors
Apr 1400:48:08Tap to summarizeFreedom 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.”
Transcribe →Basis Makes Its Move: Taps Kenji Kuramoto to Close AI’s Biggest Gap
Apr 1000:22:43Tap to summarizeWhat 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 > > >
Transcribe →Students Who Get Ahead Don’t Wait for Graduation | SLC
Apr 900:39:27Tap to summarizeInternships, 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.
Transcribe →Geof Brown: Rethink Everything | Gear Up for Growth
Apr 600:28:39Tap to summarizeIllinois 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
Transcribe →Built Fast. Sold Faster. Broken Later? The Truth About Accounting Tech | ARC
Apr 200:28:18Tap to summarizeMVP 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.
Transcribe →Carl Richards: The Lie of “Enough” | Holistic Guide
Mar 3100:38:51Tap to summarizeWhy 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.”
Transcribe →Matt Tait: Why Franchising Is the Next Big Thing for CAS | Big 4 Transparency
Mar 2900:36:29Tap to summarizeSponsored 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,
Transcribe →Why Accounting Firms Feel So Unstable Right Now | Accounting Voices
Mar 2900:15:30Tap to summarizeAccounting 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.
Transcribe →Alan Whitman: Why the Next Big CPA Firms Won’t Look Like CPA Firms | Gear Up for Growth
Mar 2800:37:35Tap to summarizeAnd 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.”
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