Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | ARC

Less legacy infrastructure could mean faster adoption and outsized opportunity.

Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

In their New Year’s episode, the hosts of Accounting ARC do something many industry commentators avoid: they revisit last year’s predictions, mark what proved accurate, and adjust what did not. Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA — founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies and founder and inspiration architect of the Center for Accounting Transformation— joins Liz Mason, CPA, CEO and founder of High Rock Accounting, and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA, senior product manager for Karbon, and co-founder and educator for TB Academy, to grade last year's predictions and discuss what's to come in 2026. 

• MORE Accounting ARC: 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 | 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

The episode blends reflective scorekeeping with forward-looking speculation, centering on three forces that continue to reshape accounting: alternative licensure pathways, the pace of AI adoption, and the role of culture in firm competitiveness.