CPA Trendlines Podcasts

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. Learn MorePoe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity. Learn More

Keep people first, purpose clear, and culture intact.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA TrendlinesIn the latest MOVE Like This, host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk sits down with?Stacie Kwaiser, CPA, CEO of Rehmann, to discuss her nearly 30-year journey with the firm and the values that continue to shape its culture. Kwaiser reflects on her start in public accounting at Coopers & Lybrand before joining Rehmann, a firm that has since grown to more than 1,100 professionals across 22 offices. Rising through the audit practice and into leadership roles, she was named CEO in 2023, following decades of mentorship, growth, and transformation within the firm.  MORE MOVE Rehmann has long been recognized as a?best firm for women and equity leadership, an achievement Kwaiser credits to intentional, long-standing efforts. Nearly 20 years ago, the firm launched its Women’s Career Advocacy Program to address attrition among female professionals and support their advancement into leadership. What began as a women-focused initiative has since evolved into Rehmann’s broader Career Advocacy Program, embedding sponsorship and development into the firm’s DNA. Kwaiser emphasizes that these efforts are not “initiatives” that can be cut when convenient; they are woven into the very fabric of the firm’s culture. 

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. Learn MorePoe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity. Learn More

Is the next big opportunity across the street...or right where you already are?Accounting InfluencersWith Rob BrownPost-pandemic, accounting professionals saw record pay increases just for changing employers.However, as economic conditions tighten and median pay raises for job switchers fall from roughly 7% to just over 4%, the calculus is changing. The latest episode of the Accounting Influencers explores this new reality, urging professionals to look beyond paychecks and consider the broader picture of career satisfaction. MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown During the Great Resignation, switching jobs was practically risk-free. Firms desperate for talent offered 15–20% salary hikes to fill open seats. Today, however, that market has cooled. With inflation steadying and corporate budgets tightening, job hopping no longer guarantees the big payouts it once did.As host Rob Brown explains, “The financial upside of switching jobs has narrowed, but the emotional and professional costs of moving may be higher than ever.”

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. Learn MorePoe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity. Learn More

Great firms are built, not bought.Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA TrendlinesIn this episode of Gear Up for Growth, host Jean Caragher sits down with Jeffrey Weiner, former CEO and Chairman of Marcum LLP and current Senior Advisor at CBIZ. Weiner shares candid insights from his 40-year leadership journey, explaining how a Long Island accounting firm with seven employees and $300,000 in revenue became a $1.3 billion national powerhouse—before merging with CBIZ.  Gear Up for Growth spotlights the best strategies for smart and efficient growth in today's competitive landscape. More Gear Up for Growth here. 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 videos and podcasts here “Back in 1981, I didn’t even know what $1.3 billion was,” Weiner quips. “But I always knew I wanted to build something.”Over the decades, Weiner redefined what it meant to lead in public accounting, emphasizing trust, talent, and strategic growth. Rather than micromanaging, he viewed his role as “architect,” guiding the firm’s culture, empowering top-tier professionals, and letting his team do what they did best. “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room,” he said.

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. Learn MorePoe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity. Learn More

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. View testimonials. Poe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity.Learn the 5-Step Process.

CPAs translate fame into cash flow, contracts, and accountability. Accounting ARC - Student-Led ConversationsWith Harshita MultaniCenter for Accounting TransformationIn a special episode of Accounting ARC: Student-Led Conversations, student host Harshita Multani interviews Jeff Frable, CPA, CGMA, a partner at CCK Strategies in Tulsa, Okla.; Aurmaudra Bradley, CPA, president of the NABA Indianapolis Chapter; and video producer Dave Maresca with the Center for Accounting Transformation and CPA Trendlines, about the financial mechanics behind modern entertainment—and the accountants who make the numbers work.  MORE Accounting ARC: Free Speech Is a Right; Respect Is a Responsibility | Cash Bags, Casinos & Audits: How First Jobs Shape Us | Gen Z Redefines Careers | Bootleggers, Baptitsts & CPAs: Rethinking Licensure | CPA Firm Ownership Under Fire | Walking Violation: When Showing Your CPA Gets You in Trouble | Audit Bags to TikTok Tags, Gen Z Talks Success | Students Challenge Accounting's Traditional Career Path | True Grit: Recognizing Struggles That Shape Our Successes |More Admins, Fewer Students, No Plan | What Career Advice Gets Wrong for Gen Z - And How to Fix It | Your Identity is Not a Liability | Burnout, Be Gone: Accounting Needs a Boundary Breakthrough The panel opens with favorites ranging from the movie “Back to the Future” to the TV show “Lost,” then quickly moves to the business beneath the screen. Bradley says the shift from box office and album sales to streaming platforms fundamentally changes how talent gets paid and how accountants track performance. She points to the recent labor actions in Hollywood as an example of residual models catching up to platform economics. In 2023, both the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA cited the rise of streaming and reduced residuals as central issues during historic strikes that disrupted production across the industry.  Frable emphasizes that the profession’s core value does not change. “You do you, and I’ll do me,” he says. Artists and athletes deserve to focus on their craft while accountants manage contracts, taxes, and cash flow.

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. View testimonials.Poe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity.Learn the 5-Step Process.

“Being efficient got me more work, not more money. So I left.” Big 4 TransparencyBy Dominic Piscopo, CPAFor CPA TrendlinesWhen Mike Maksymiw, executive director of the Aprio Firm Alliance, walked away from a $500,000-a-year partner role without another job lined up, he wasn’t chasing a title - he was chasing alignment. In this episode of the Big 4 Transparency, host Dominic Piscopo welcomes Maksymiw back for his second appearance, digging into Aprio’s recent acquisition of the PS+ Alliance, the firm’s private equity playbook, and the deeply personal journey that led Maksymiw to where he is now. MORE Dominic Piscopo | MORE Private Equity | MORE Pay & Compensation Aprio’s acquisition of the PS+ Alliance (previously part of RSM) adds team members and roughly 60 new firms to its already expansive alliance network, now approaching 100 firms across North America. Maksymiw says the merger wasn’t just about headcount. “It broadens how we can go find answers… different success stories, different failure stories,” he explains, emphasizing the shared learning opportunities between large and small firms in the network.But what’s a fast-scaling PE-backed firm like Aprio doing supporting local, independent practices?

Reward curiosity, encourage experimentation, and involve the team in every step of firm transformation.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrLike many guests on The Disruptors, Tony Proctor didn’t start out as an accountant. His firm, Proctor and Associates, started as a side hustle in 2007 when he was working in IT management. As a testament to the client service focus of his tech-forward firm, his very first paid client remains his customer. “They are actually still on the roster, and so I’m very excited about that, and I’m excited that they are still willing to pay what today’s price is, and they are not stuck on what the price was in 2007, so I love that,” Proctor says.   MORE STREAMING: Carter-Gray: How 1 Poor Review Strengthened the Firm | Hartman: Upwork to “40 Under 40” in 3 Years | Telka: Transform Fear into Fuel | Woodard: Move Past Reports; Deliver Results | Baker: Find True Purpose to End Burnout | Brolin: The W.I.N. Leadership Formula | Gertrudes: How EOS & “Unreasonable Hospitality” Reshaped GrowthLab | Vilms: The Power of People in a Tech-Driven World | Dickerson: From Diagnosis to Disruption | Kapilovich: Treat People Like People | Martha Yasso: From Wall Street to Main Street | Jackie Meyer: Tax Plans in 90 Seconds? Believe It | Erica Goode: Build a $200K Firm in 15hrs/Week Proctor, like many of today’s forward-thinking accountants, thinks like an entrepreneur. As he explains, accountants are “usually very risk averse and very honed in on the details, and it’s like compliance first,” while entrepreneurs are “what I would call risk tolerant, and so they usually are seeking the risk and figuring out what opportunities are presented from that.” Thinking solely like an accountant, Proctor says, can lead to paralysis.

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. Learn MorePoe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity. Learn More

Normalize money talk, foster belonging, and guide clients toward lives of meaning and well-being.By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™For CPA TrendlinesSpreadsheets, projections, and tax strategies have long dominated advisory. But as Dr. Meghaan Lurtz of Shaping Wealth explains, the work of advisors goes far beyond the numbers. At its best, our work is about relationships, community, and helping clients solve financial challenges and build lives full of meaning and connection.  MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management BUY the Holistic Guide to Wealth Management Lurtz is one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of financial planning. She is a Professor of Practice at Kansas State University, where she teaches in the Advanced Financial Planning and Financial Therapy Certificate Programs. She is also a lecturer at Columbia University, where she teaches Financial Psychology. Her research and teaching focus on how advisors can ask better questions and utilize positive psychology frameworks to deepen relationships with clients and keep them engaged in the long term.

Industry turbulence opens doors for smaller firms, but only those that clearly define and communicate value.Accounting InfluencersWith Rob BrownBetween June 2023 and September 2024, several of the largest accounting firms announced significant workforce reductions and structural changes. KPMG disclosed a deeper round of auditor layoffs in mid-2023. Grant Thornton cut approximately 3% of its U.S. staff (about 350 employees) in May 2024. In September 2024, PwC announced one of its most significant reorganizations in years, resulting in the elimination of approximately 1,800 positions in its U.S. operations. MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown Since then, further reductions have continued. In May 2025, PwC laid off approximately 1,500 more U.S. employees (around 2% of its U.S. workforce), primarily in its audit and tax lines. Meanwhile, KPMG pursued additional cuts, including a round impacting roughly 4% of its U.S. audit workforce later in 2024. Grant Thornton also followed the earlier reductions with more targeted layoffs after its private-equity deal, trimming about 150 U.S. roles (1.5% of its domestic workforce) in late 2024.These moves are not isolated. They signal a broader industry recalibration, leaving thousands of accountants uncertain about their future.At the same time, some major firms are doubling down on mandatory office attendance. Industry observers say the combination of job insecurity and rigid workplace policies could push professionals to seek more flexible and stable opportunities.

"The accounting profession today is living its golden age, driven by its expanded capabilities."Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA TrendlinesIn a landmark episode of the Gear Up For Growth podcast, Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, the longest-serving CEO in AICPA history, joined host Jean Caragher to share his invaluable insights on the evolution of the accounting profession. After 30 years at the helm of the AICPA, Melancon stepped down at the end of 2024, leaving a profound legacy of innovation and transformation.Gear Up for Growth spotlights the best strategies for smart and efficient growth in today's competitive landscape. More Gear Up for Growth every Friday here | More Capstone Conversations with Jean Caragher every Monday | More Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | More CPA Trendlines videos and podcasts hereReflecting on his appointment in 1995, Melancon paints a vivid picture of a pre-digital world where CPA firms relied on print newsletters and direct mail for outreach. “There was no social media, no websites, no digital presence,” he notes. The intervening decades have seen a seismic shift in how firms promote themselves, driven largely by the expansion of services and advancements in technology.Melancon emphasizes the importance of moving beyond the traditional domains of accounting, auditing, and tax. “The notion of us thinking of ourselves as trusted business professionals, not just trusted accounting professionals, has been critical,” he explains. This broader perspective allows firms to thrive in areas like client advisory services (CAS) and technology-driven advisory roles.Originally published 1/7/25.

Timing, venue, and state law shape what you say—and what it costs. Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationThis conversation focuses on practice, not politics. Accounting leaders are urging firms to pair open expression with professional responsibility as political tensions spill into workplaces and social media feeds. In a new episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Liz Mason, CPA, CEO of High Rock Accounting; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA, CEO of VERIFYiQ and co-founder of TB Academy; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies and the Center for Accounting Transformation, outline practical guardrails for speech that keep trust at the center.  RELATED ARC: Talk Politics Professionally | Cancel Culture or Curious Culture? You Choose (Assumed Discrimination) | What Happens in Vegas…Gets Reported on a Tax Return (Working in “Sin” Industries) | Your Identity Is Not a Liability (Pride Week) | Etienne: Decoupling DEIB – A Nuanced Approach |The conversation opens with a condemnation of political violence and a call for grace as individuals and firms process fast-moving events. From there, the hosts shift to the workplace: what employees say online and in public often follows them to the office, and leaders must navigate the implications for culture, clients, and brand. 

Money Accounts for Growth Advancement offer tax-free growth and even a $1,000 government kickstart.Quick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodayCongress may have stumbled into a politically charged acronym, but the new “M.A.G.A. accounts” have nothing to do with campaign slogans. In a recent episode of Quick Tax Tip, tax guru Art Werner breaks down what the law actually created: Money Accounts for Growth Advancement. Click here for more Art Werner Sponsored by Poe Group Advisors: Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms. See Today’s Special Offer “These are tax-exempt trust accounts for U.S. citizens under the age of 18,” Werner explains. “For the right client, this could be really nice.”Listen in to learn how the accounts work. Poe Group Advisors consistently excels in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity.

Short-term thinking and rigid hierarchies stifle experimentation across the profession.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrK.C. Eames, Director of CAS at Dark Horse CPA, sees the traditional partnership model as a barrier to innovation and experimentation. First, the incentives are set up to guide people toward specific behaviors, which are “rewarding to those at the top of the pyramid. And once they’re there, their incentives are kind of to maintain the status quo.”   MORE STREAMING: Carter-Gray: How 1 Poor Review Strengthened the Firm | Hartman: Upwork to “40 Under 40” in 3 Years | Telka: Transform Fear into Fuel | Woodard: Move Past Reports; Deliver Results | Baker: Find True Purpose to End Burnout | Brolin: The W.I.N. Leadership Formula | Gertrudes: How EOS & “Unreasonable Hospitality” Reshaped GrowthLab | Vilms: The Power of People in a Tech-Driven World | Dickerson: From Diagnosis to Disruption | Kapilovich: Treat People Like People | Martha Yasso: From Wall Street to Main Street | Jackie Meyer: Tax Plans in 90 Seconds? Believe It | Erica Goode: Build a $200K Firm in 15hrs/Week | Randy Crabtree: Live at the Intersection of Passion & Skill Second, the consensus model for decision-making makes it challenging to implement change. “When you’re trying to make decisions based on consensus, based on people who are maybe trying not to rock the boat too much, because they might be retiring soon, there’s not a lot of chance that they’re going to vote for those really bold, risky ideas,” she says.  Other barriers to change in traditional firms include the expectation of long hours. “People can’t experiment if they’re overworked,” she says. Another barrier is the use of billable hour metrics, which she sees as “counterproductive to experimentation.” 

Technology, demographics, and ESG are colliding to reshape advisory, career paths, and firm leadership. MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA TrendlinesOn the latest MOVE Like This, host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk welcomes Dan Hood, editor-in-chief of Accounting Today, who has covered the profession since the late 1990s. From his vantage point, the defining theme isn’t a single issue, but the sheer volume of change: accelerating technology (especially AI), shifting demographics, new expectations for work, and the slow-building opportunity of ESG. He argues these forces are intertwined: tech is enabling the shift to advisory, advisory demands new skills and career paths, and those shifts collide with multigenerational teams navigating different priorities.  MORE MOVE The conversation quickly zeroes in on culture as a differentiator in the talent market. Firms that thrive don’t rely on “nice people” and pizza in busy season; they treat culture as intentional work. That looks like clearly articulating values, reinforcing them constantly, and translating them into practices employees actually feel, including thoughtful benefits and flexibility, yes, but also visible sponsorship, personal investment in careers, and rituals that signal “this matters here.” Culture, Dan notes, should permeate every process, from how meetings are run to how milestones are celebrated.