The Accountant Quits Podcast

A recurring theme among the CFOs I've interviewed is their common starting point: a lot of them started out at the Big4 accounting firms. I call these places boot camps for accountants - you’re surrounded by some of the brightest minds in accounting, working on massive clients, and the name on your resume alone gets people to take you seriously. Yes, the hours are grueling, and the starting pay is modest. But for those willing to embrace the grind, the payoff isn’t just a paycheck - it’s the foundation for a career that stands out in the crowded accounting space. On Episode 78, I spoke with Zac Hogg, the Financial Controller at the Solana Foundation. Zac’s journey started with nearly three years at PwC in their assurance department before he made the leap into the industry, working in companies like eToro & now the Solana Foundation. ✅ OUR RESOURCES 💌 Join our weekly free newsletter and become a confident web3 Accountant ⁠https://www.theaccountantquits.com/newsletter⁠ 🙌 Join the next cohort of the Crypto Accounting Academy and learn how to manage a business using crypto https://www.theaccountantquits.com/crypto-accounting-academy  ✊ Follow The Accountant Quits on Socials 👉 LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/school/the-accountant-quits  👉 Twitter(X): https://x.com/accountantquits  👉 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theaccountantquits  🎙️ Follow Episode Guests Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachoggcpa/  🎧 Website For show notes and past guests, please visit https://www.theaccountantquits.com/podcast Topics Covered: (0:00) Coming Up (0:56) Episode intro (2:59) Experience working at PwC (9:29) Getting a job at eToro (15:04) Why work in web3 (17:06) Join the next cohort of the Crypto Accounting Academy (19:53) Getting hired at Solana Foundation (22:28) First responsibilities (26:33) Helpful resources when starting out (30:52) Size of the team (33:45) Solana’s growing ecosystem & impact on Finance team (35:35) Web3 tools that integrate with Solana (43:31) Thanks to our sponsor Request Finance (45:10) Tools to track staked assets & staking rewards on Solana (48:16) Subledgers & staking features (50:31) External audit learnings (58:42) Web2 accountant v/s web3 accountant (1:03:40) Exciting projects on Solana (1:06:48) Career opportunities in web3

For the past 2 years, downsizing has been rampant across the board at companies embracing AI. According to Techcrunch, in 2024 alone, there have been more than 130,000 job cuts across 457 companies, from tech giants like Google, Salesforce, Dropbox, Microsoft and Consensys. If existing companies are slashing their workforce, the new startups are also leveraging AI to build a lean workforce. For the past year and a half, Breezing, a crypto subledger, has been quietly hustling, shipping products and onboarding customers - with just two people running the entire show. I spoke with Bassil Eid, the CEO of Breezing and Managing Partner at Detof, a crypto accounting firm, and Selem Essaied, their CTO. Some of their customers include industry-renowned names like SAFE, SingularityNET, Zerion, and well-known accounting firms like Harris & Trotter, Myna, R3gen and OnChainAccounting. ✅ OUR RESOURCES ✨Become a confident Web3 Accountant with our weekly free newsletter: https://www.theaccountantquits.com/newsletter 🙌 Join the next cohort of the Crypto Accounting Academy and learn how to manage a business using crypto https://www.theaccountantquits.com/crypto-accounting-academy  ✊ Follow The Accountant Quits on Socials 👉 LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/school/the-accountant-quits  👉 Twitter(X): https://x.com/accountantquits  👉 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theaccountantquits  🎙️ Follow Episode GuestsLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bassil-eid-7701a822/  LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selemessaied/  🎧 Website For show notes and past guests, please visit theaccountantquits.com/podcast/ Topics Covered; (0:00) Coming Up (1:13) Episode intro (2:59) Creating a billion-dollar company using AI (6:42) Building a subledger with a 2 person team (11:27) Finding the right investors (13:39) Using different subledgers & running an accounting firm (17:20) Thanks to our sponsor Request Finance (18:59) Features subledger should do well (22:45) Running own nodes v/s using 3rd party node providers (26:03) What accountants want in a subledger (28:02) Should subledgers offer invoicing, payments (32:56) Accounting firms contributing to build Breezing (34:45) Shoutout to accountants (37:06) Learnings from startup failures (40:35) Breezing’s wow features (43:42) Closing invoices without a clearing account (46:42) Breezing’s pricing (49:03) How Bassil keeps learning crypto accounting (53:29) How to be a good subledger salesman (56:16) Favourite maxim (59:47) Reach out to Bassil

With traditional banks, it takes days to move your money, they offer little to no yield, and worst of all, they can freeze your account without warning. Also, you no longer control your assets once deposited - they become liabilities on the bank’s balance sheet. That means if things go wrong, your best hope is a bailout. We’re currently ushering into a new era of banking, one powered by stablecoins. One company building on this vision is Dakota, a crypto-powered neo-bank designed for global businesses. With Dakota, your deposits are fully backed by U.S Treasuries, you can send money globally with no transaction fees, and earn yield on your assets through U.S Treasuries and DeFi products, all within a single platform.  On Episode 76, I spoke with Ryan Bozarth, the Co-Founder & CEO of Dakota.  If you’re a fan of the smooth, user-friendly experience of Neobanks like Mercury, Brex, Wise, or Revolut, then you’re going to love Dakota. Think all that, but with the speed of crypto - where international wires don’t take days, but minutes. ✅ OUR RESOURCES ✨Become a confident Web3 Accountant with our weekly free newsletter: https://www.theaccountantquits.com/newsletter 🙌 Join the next cohort of the Crypto Accounting Academy and learn how to manage a business using crypto https://www.theaccountantquits.com/crypto-accounting-academy  ✊ Follow The Accountant Quits on Socials 👉 LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/school/the-accountant-quits 👉 Twitter(X): https://x.com/accountantquits  👉 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theaccountantquits  🎙️ Follow Episode Guest Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanbozarth/  X : https://x.com/ryanbozarth_  🎧 Website For show notes and past guests, please visit theaccountantquits.com/podcast/ Topics covered: (0:00) Episode Intro (2:36) Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge (4:47) More M&As deals (6:09) Stablecoins & cross-border payments (8:17) Adoption of stablecoins from web2 companies (9:13) The rise of neobanks (12:11) Neobanks offering stablecoins (13:03) Role of stablecoins for neobanks (14:23) How to choose stablecoins (16:28) What is Dakota (18:43) Tokenized TBills & DeFi in Dakota (20:28) Banking licence of Dakota (21:46) No transaction fees for transfers & Pricing (23:32) Compliance challenges when onboarding new businesses (27:08) Crafting Dakota’s UX (29:49) Airbnb storyboard framework at Dakota (31:46) Marketing Dakota’s platform (33:31) Onboarding non crypto-native businesses (35:12) Summarizing crypto neobanks (37:38) Ryan’s favourite maxim (38:26) Reaching out to Ryan

If you’re a technical accountant who’s also bringing in new business for your company, I have to ask - why haven’t you started your own firm yet? Yeah, the idea sounds terrifying at first. You’re stepping out of the cozy safety net of a guaranteed paycheck. But if you’ve got grit and the guts to be an entrepreneur, why keep waiting? Sure, it’s hard work, but in the end, it’s worth every ounce of effort. It's the satisfaction of creating something that’s yours. Being a crypto accountant is an emerging career field, and I’m excited to talk with someone who took the leap of faith when it was still brand new, 8 years ago. I’m talking about Patrick Camuso, a well-respected and recognizable voice of the web3 industry. He’s the founder of Camuso CPA, a full-service firm specializing in tax, accounting, and advisory services for web3 businesses. ✅ OUR RESOURCES ✨Become a confident Web3 Accountant with our weekly free newsletter: https://www.theaccountantquits.com/newsletter 🙌 Join the next cohort of the Crypto Accounting Academy and learn how to manage a business using crypto https://www.theaccountantquits.com/crypto-accounting-academy  ✊ Follow The Accountant Quits on Socials 👉 LinkedIN: linkedin.com/company/the-accountant-quits 👉 Twitter(X): https://x.com/accountantquits  👉 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theaccountantquits  🎙️ Follow Episode Guest Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcamuso/  X : https://x.com/PatrickCamuso  🎧 Website For show notes and past guests, please visit theaccountantquits.com/podcast/ Topics Covered: (0:00) Episode Intro (2:38) Why did Patrick quit his job at Deloitte (5:06) Launching a crypto accounting practice (6:49) How Patrick closed his 1st clients (8:59) Expanding from tax to accounting services (11:53) Initial sales call with clients (15:30) Crypto onboarding checklist (17:43) Becoming a forensic accountant in web3 (21:02) Pricing - approach & learnings (24:06) Hiring & onboarding team members (27:25) Interview test with block explorers (29:19) Hiring from the Philippines & Pakistan (30:51) Team culture (32:12) ROI on content creation (35:56) Web2 tech stack like ClickUp, Karbon (37:12) Sub ledgers & tax tracking tools (40:29) Overview of CamusoCPA (43:24) Onchain sales tax (45:01) Get a copy of Navigating The NFT Sales Tax Maze (46:22) If Patrick had to start all over again (48:22) Patrick’s favorite quote (49:51) How to contact Patrick

Many projects in web3 label themselves as payroll products when they’re payment products. If you’re looking for a crypto payroll provider,  an important prerequisite should be that they know how to handle the following; Calculate tax withholdings, Run social security deductions, File taxes for employees Platforms like Deel, Oyster, or Remote.com allow you to have access to a global pool of talent. But, they were built for fiat, not crypto. On Episode 74,  Dominika Stobiecka, CEO and Co-Founder of Toku helps us to learn about token-based compensation and tax compliance. Toku is an all-in-one crypto-native solution that helps you manage employment, stablecoins, native token payroll, and token grant administration for your international team in +100 countries. ✅ OUR RESOURCES ✨Become a confident Web3 Accountant with our weekly free newsletter: ⁠https://www.theaccountantquits.com/newsletter⁠ 🙌 Join the next cohort of the Crypto Accounting Academy and learn how to manage a business using crypto h⁠ttps://www.theaccountantquits.com/crypto-accounting-academy⁠ ✊ Follow The Accountant Quits on Socials 👉 LinkedIN: ⁠linkedin.com/company/the-accountant-quits⁠ 👉 Twitter(X): ⁠https://x.com/accountantquits⁠ 👉 YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theaccountantquits⁠ 🎙️ Follow Episode Guest Linkedin: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/dom-stobiecka/ X : ⁠https://x.com/dmnkstbck Topics Covered: (0:00) Episode Intro (2:24) Dominika’s background (4:30) When should web3 projects have a token? (7:30) Crypto compensation trends (11:38) Setting up token compensation (14:02) Choosing the right token compensation instruments - RTUs, RTAs (17:00) Thanks to our sponsor Harris & Trotter (19:04) Download the Token Compensation Primer (19:37) Understanding EOR And PEO services (23:02) Hiring an employee v/s a contractor (25:27) EORs - why crypto expertise matters (29:44) Thanks to our sponsor Web3 Finance Club (31:27) Social security deductions (33:41) Overview of Toku (36:30) Monthly payroll process with Toku (39:43) Toku’s marketing approach (44:36) Developments for crypto adoption (46:12) Closing thoughts (47:22) Dominika's Amelia Earhart Maxim (49:38) How to contact the Toku Team

Since 2017, over $8billion has been lost on-chain due to smart contract hacks, infrastructure issues and rugpulls. The figure becomes even larger when you count phishing attacks and scam coins. Yet today the vast majority of on-chain transactions and protocol positions aren’t protected… for example if you look at DeFi current TVL which is around $80billion, there is only about $100m which is covered or insured against protocol risk. One company that is on a mission to make DeFi safe and accessible is OpenCover. Since 2022, OpenCover has protected thousands of businesses and individuals against on-chain transaction and protocol risks. On Episode 73, I spoke with its Co-Founder & CEO, Jeremiah Smith, who provided us a short masterclass into DeFi cover and Insurance, and how finance & accounting professionals at web3 startups & DAOs can mitigate their on-chain risks. Download the State of DeFi Insurance Report ✅ OUR RESOURCES ✨Become a confident Web3 Accountant with our weekly free newsletter: https://www.theaccountantquits.com/newsletter 🙌 Join the next cohort of the Crypto Accounting Academy and learn how to manage a business using crypto https://www.theaccountantquits.com/crypto-accounting-academy ✊ Follow The Accountant Quits on Socials 👉 LinkedIN: linkedin.com/company/the-accountant-quits 👉 Twitter(X): https://x.com/accountantquits 👉 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theaccountantquits 🎙️ Follow Episode Guest Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsjeremiahs/ X : https://x.com/itsJeremiahS Topics Covered: (0:00) TAQ Intro (1:08) Episode Intro (3:05) Jeremiah’s background (5:00) 3 main onchain risks (8:15) Financial impact of onchain risks (10:03) Best practices for keys management (11:30) Protecting against transaction & post-transaction risk (14:08) How to mitigate protocol risk (16:45) Thanks to our sponsor Harris & Trotter (18:49) Insurance for tokenized T-Bills (20:52) How to choose DeFi Cover (26:10) When should CFOs consider DeFi insurance (28:35) Overview of OpenCover (32:56) Thanks to our sponsor Web3 Finance Club (34:38) Is OpenCover an underwriter (37:42) Pricing (38:54) The future of AI & DeFi Insurance (41:45) OpenCover partnership (44:28) Challenges for adoption (46:11) Closing Thoughts (47:14) Jeremiah's Pablo Picasso Maxim (48:44) Reach out to Jeremiah

As the world moves “on-chain,” so too will the need for auditors. With auditors naturally evolving their practices from periodic paper reporting, to digitally native, API-enabled, Oracle-ready, and real-time reporting. But how do auditors bridge the gap and how can the auditing industry as a whole remove the technical barriers to entry? Enter LedgerLens, a platform made for auditors, by auditors. Providing a suite of crypto-audit and attestation tools, enabling auditors to complete financial statement audits with digital assets on the balance sheet. LedgerLens also provides additional “Proof of Reserve”-specific tooling, enabling you to take on new engagements for stablecoins, exchanges, and RWAs.  ✅ OUR RESOURCES ✨Become a confident Web3 Accountant with our weekly free newsletter: https://www.theaccountantquits.com/newsletter 🙌 Join the next cohort of the Crypto Accounting Academy and learn how to manage a business using crypto https://www.theaccountantquits.com/crypto-accounting-academy  ✊ Follow The Accountant Quits on Socials 👉 LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/umarmhassam/ 👉 Twitter: https://x.com/accountantquits 👉 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theaccountantquits  🎙️ Follow Episode Guest Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremynau-cpa-cma/  X.com: https://x.com/JeremyNauCPA  🎧 Website For show notes and past guests, please visit theaccountantquits.com/podcast/ Topics covered; (0:00) TAQ intro (1:04) Episode intro  (2:58) Being at Armanino & FTX Saga (8:24) Proving ownership of private keys  (14:29) Setting up in-house nodes  (16:55) Using LedgerLens to validate audit assertions  (19:17) Crypto knowledge to use LedgerLens (20:29) Sponsor Harris & Trotter | Scholarship & Job Guarantee Program (22:40) Is LedgerLens live or in private beta (23:42) Onboarding and 1st audit engagement  (26:14) Proof-of-reserves toolkits (32:14) Target audience for proof-of-reserves toolkits (33:00) Trusting oracle networks & role of auditors with RWA (36:43) Tricky categories for RWA (38:52) Thanks to our sponsor Web3 Finance Club (40:34) Do auditors rely on subledger data (43:23) How to choose a subledger (45:01) The Network Firm & its services (46:45) Steps to become a Crypto Accounting Practice - Article (52:00) Main Takeaways (53:31) Jeremy's Maxim - Proverbs 23:23 (55:04) How to contact Jeremy

David Byrd, a Partner and Blockchain Strategy Leader at EY, dives into the world of internal controls for digital assets. He discusses the unique challenges faced in auditing this rapidly evolving space, including the need for specialized expertise. Byrd contrasts centralized and self-custody practices, emphasizing robust internal controls. He highlights the importance of accurate blockchain data and the significant impact of having a SOC 2 report. The conversation also touches on 'proof of reserves' in light of recent events in the crypto market.

There is no current standard framework on how transactions within DAOs should be structured and accounted for. Transactions on the blockchain or so-called block explorers are cash-based and do not comply with accrual-based accounting.  Today many companies having on-chain transactions use crypto sub-ledgers, but the essence of DAOs is to reduce the financial asymmetry of information and instead offer real-time and transparent accounting records.  One company making a significant contribution to advancing the state of on-chain accounting is Steakhouse Financial, a web3 consulting services firm, which has developed a methodology to offer real-time & independently verifiable financial statements for DAOs.   Steakhouse contributors collaborate with industry-renowned names such as MakerDAO, ENS, Lido, Morpho, Badger, and more.  To help us understand this novel way of accounting and reporting on-chain transactions for DAOs, I spoke with Adrian (also known as ‘@adcv_’ on Twitter, the Co-Founder at Steakhouse Financial. Topics covered; Episode intro (0:47) Adrian’s story into blockchain (3:10) Starting Steakhouse Financial (5:37) Using Dune Analytics to prepare MakerDAO’s financials (7:17) Can Steakhouse commercialize Dune Analytics dashboards as a product (14:30) Dune Analytics dashboards for Lido, ENS (15:52) How to start with Dune Analytics (18:22) SQL knowledge to learn Dubne Analytics (19:30) Using owner labels (21:59) Web3 tools used by Steakhouse Financial (24:03) Using AI for crypto accounting (26:27) Thanks to our sponsor Web3Finance Club (27:51) Benchmarks & performance attribution for DAO treasuries (29:38) Diversifying into wBTC, stETH, sDAI (36:30) DAO Accounting research paper, and should DAOs use sub ledgers (38:11) What is a rebased token and wrapping stETH to wstETH (42:47) Accounting for stETH & wstETH (46:58) How CFOs can manage treasury with staking (47:53) Overview of Steakhouse’s services (57:13) How should accountants upskill with blockchain (1:01:17) How to reach out to Adrian (1:04:19) Highly recommended reading - Nikolai's principles (1:04:58) Follow The Accountant Quits: LinkedIN: linkedin.com/company/the-accountant-quits Twitter: twitter.com/accountantquits Follow adcv_: Twitter: https://x.com/adcv_  Follow Steakhouse Financial: Twitter: https://x.com/steakhousefi  Review If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. Website For show notes and past guests, please visit theaccountantquits.com/podcast/

In its early days, businesses used crypto mainly for trading. However, more use cases have emerged in recent times. Making payments with crypto as we all know is lightning fast, but businesses utilizing self-custodial wallets need a full-fledged infrastructure with advanced customization. For example, managing user permissions and roles, creating approval workflows, and having quick integrations with exchanges or DeFi apps. The war for enterprise wallets is raging, and teams have to decide whether to opt for a fully decentralized multisig solution or rather a centralized MPC wallet infrastructure. To help us understand how companies can use crypto for operations and manage their treasury, I spoke with Bentzi Rabi, the CEO and founder of Utila, an enterprise-grade solution for digital assets. Topics covered; Episode intro (0:41) Challenges of web3 teams for operations (1:23) Multisig v/s MPC wallets (3:41) Why would a Gnosis Safe user switch to an MPC wallet (7:36) Thanks to our sponsor Cryptoworth (11:07) Onboarding with Utila (13:09) Receiving payments use case (17:39) DeFi & CEX connections (20:55) On-ramping & off-ramping (21:59) Integrations available (24:00) How Utila compares with Fireblocks (25:57) What companies should use Utila (29:50) Challenges for mainstream adoption (32:47) Bentzi’s favourite maxim (34:42) Follow The Accountant Quits: LinkedIN: linkedin.com/company/the-accountant-quits Twitter: twitter.com/accountantquits Follow Bentzi Rabi: LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bentzi-rabi/ Twitter: https://x.com/bentzzi Review If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. Website For show notes and past guests, please visit theaccountantquits.com/podcast/