Alicia sits down with longtime friend and Intuit Trainer/Writer Network co-founder Alison Ball to trace her path from Intuit through Liscio and BookKeep to running her own consulting practice as a trusted sounding board for tech companies and practitioners alike. Alison breaks down why so many accounting tech products stumble (hint: they skip the accountants), shares Blake Oliver's now-famous advice to fix your bottleneck before pointing AI at anything else, and makes the case for why the UK's tax system might be a preview of where the US is headed. Grandkids, gardens, and gamillion-dollar vines make an appearance too.

Sponsors:
Intuit Accountants - http://uqb.promo/intuit
Pilot - http://uqb.promo/pilot
Veltrix - http://uqb.promo/veltrix

(00:00) - Podcast Welcome Guest Intro

(00:45) - Off Brand QBO Shirt Story

(01:36) - How We Met At Connect

(04:24) - TWN Origins And Auditions

(07:05) - TWN Disbanding Impact

(09:03) - Layoffs And Career Shifts

(12:43) - Product Design Mistakes

(15:25) - AI Bottlenecks And Decisions

(17:39) - Community Collaboration Shift

(22:13) - Canada Vs US Accounting

(24:29) - Canadian Community Leaders

(25:21) - Inclusive Culture And Travel Plans

(26:16) - Training Tour Across Canada

(27:03) - Advice For Industry Change

(28:48) - Getting On The AI Train

(31:16) - Tech That Fades Into Background

(32:21) - AI Apps And Workflow Value

(35:25) - Making Tax Digital Future

(40:05) - Life Updates And Where To Connect

(43:36) - QuickBooks Hands On Training Pitch

(45:24) - Final Thanks And Wrap Up

LINKS

Reach out to Alison at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonball/
Listen to our episode about Intuit layoffs: uqb.show/146

July 21 through October 8: HANDS-ON QUICKBOOKS TRAINING COURSE, http://royl.ws/HOT2026?affiliate=5393907

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