CPA Trendlines Podcasts

Here's how to label, package, and price the value you already provideGear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA Trendlines“With AI, we finally have the tools to free up time for advisory, and clients are asking for it,” says Megan Leesley, director of tax at Dark Horse CPAs, during her appearance on Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing. “They want more than a tax return. They want strategic guidance, and they’re willing to pay for it.”  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 Leesley, a member of the Intuit Tax Council, recently presented at DCPA25 on transitioning from compliance to advisory, sharing practical steps to transform a traditional tax practice while increasing revenue, improving client relationships, and enhancing work-life balance. Leesley shares how she intentionally reduced her client base and tripled fees to focus exclusively on advisory work. “I reduced my book of business from $350K ARR with a plan to bring it down to $50K,” she explains. “I raised prices significantly, required advisory as part of all engagements, and still ended up at over $100K ARR, double my target, even after losing more clients than expected.” 

A new definition of “professional degree” limits loan access for accounting students and raises fresh alarms about equity, access, and pipeline. Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationWhen the U.S. Department of Education released its negotiated language for implementing the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act’s graduate loan reforms, most accountants probably did not expect to see their field at the center of a political storm. But in draft rules tied to the law, accounting master’s programs are not classified as “professional degree” programs for purposes of federal student loan caps.   MORE Accounting ARC: 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 | CPA Firm Ownership Under Fire | Walking Violation: When Showing Your CPA Gets You in Trouble |That classification matters. Under the new structure, beginning in July 2026, graduate students may borrow up to $20,500 per year, with a $100,000 lifetime cap, while “professional students” are allowed up to $50,000 annually and $200,000 total. Medicine and law make the professional list. Accounting does not. Neither do nursing, education, architecture, social work, nor several other fields that traditionally are seen as high-skill professions. In this episode of Accounting ARC, co-hosts Liz Mason, CPA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, unpack what that reclassification could mean for the accounting pipeline—and for how the profession sees itself. 

The number one complaint isn’t pricing, it’s confusion..Big 4 TransparencyBy Dominic Piscopo, CPAFor CPA TrendlinesFor many business owners, finding the right accountant feels like an impossible task. You’re trusting someone with your finances, your future, and sometimes even your peace of mind. But in an industry dominated by word-of-mouth and vague Google listings, Sam’s List has emerged as a game-changing alternative: a review-based directory for CPAs, bookkeepers, fractional CFOs, and financial advisors, designed to make trust and transparency easier for everyone.  MORE Dominic Piscopo | MORE Private Equity | MORE Pay & Compensation In this episode of Big 4 Transparency, host Dominic Piscopo speaks with co-founder Kimi Green, who shares the wild story of how the viral idea from entrepreneur Sam Parr (of My First Million) turned into a thriving lead-generation platform - and how she found herself leading it with no prior experience in accounting. “I despised accounting,” Green laughs. “I didn’t even ask follow-up questions when someone told me they were a CPA.” 

Only disciplined planning, accountability, and open communication will cut through the industry’s rapidly thickening fog.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrMatt Rampe sees the accounting industry as one “under a lot of pressure to change, and it’s changing very quickly.” The combination of a staffing crisis, retiring baby boomers, AI, private equity, and tax law is creating “the fog,” a period in which the path forward isn't just unclear; it's fundamentally unknowable. To address “the fog,” his new book, CPA Firm Strategic Planning: Your Roadmap for Long-Term Success, lays out a framework grounded in decades of consulting experience with Rosenberg Associates, combined with research on organizational change, leadership psychology, and what drives team performance. “Strategic planning, in my mind, is the venue by which you analyze and think through those issues, put them up, not just out of reactivity,” Rampe explains. It means “really stepping back and looking at the big picture of the industry and your firm and your situation, and then making choices that you're aligned with.”  MORE STREAMING: Chang: Killing SALY, One Agent at a Time | Vanover: 5-Star Firms Don't Bill by the Hour | Kless: Profit Is a Result. Flourishing Is the Purpose | Whitman: Build Culture on 'Progress,' Not Change | Shein: No PE? No M&A? No Problem | Hood and Weber: Time to RISE | Proctor: Turn Dumb Ideas into Brilliant Solutions | Carter-Gray: How 1 Poor Review Strengthened the Firm | Hartman: Upwork to “40 Under 40” in 3 Years |According to Rampe’s research, strategic planning fails most often at the execution stage. Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported that “execution fails after the planning meeting.” Firms gather, generate good ideas, identify priorities, and then get pulled into their day-to-day work, and nothing happens. Or they put off strategic planning altogether until some imaginary day when they might have time.  “One of the insights is you need to spend time working on the business, not just in the business, because the in the business is going to drown you,” Rampe explains. The way you solve that is "not working harder in the business. It's working, prioritizing, working on the business.” Rampe’s book outlines his Five I framework, which helps firms work through strategic planning and implement those plans by developing accountability throughout the firm. Each of the I’s has a main question attached to it, designed to invite curiosity.  

Understand the legal tax hack the IRS actually wants you to use.The Concierge CPAWith Jackie MeyerFor CPA TrendlinesIn a recent edition of the Concierge CPA podcast, host Dr. Jackie Meyer and guest Acen Hansen delivered a detailed, no-nonsense exploration of using the Backdoor Roth IRA and the Mega Backdoor Roth to harness tax-free growth — particularly for high-income earners and those focused on legacy planning. More Jackie Meyer Catch Jackie Meyer and other thought leaders on Dec. 10 at Tax Season Readiness: Practical Steps for a Smoother Busy Season |1.5 CPE  A Backdoor Roth IRA isn’t a special new account — it’s a workaround. As Dr. Meyer, founder of TaxPlanIQ, and Hansen, a wealth advisor for Legacy Wealth Management, explain, it allows people who earn too much to contribute directly to a Roth IRA to still access the benefits of a Roth by first contributing to a traditional IRA (on a non-deductible basis) and then converting it to a Roth IRA.Once the funds are inside a Roth IRA, they grow tax-free and — assuming account and timing requirements are met — distributions in retirement are tax-free.For high earners with incomes above IRS thresholds for direct Roth contributions — which, for 2025, prohibit single filers with MAGI above roughly $165,000 and married couples filing jointly above about $246,000 — the Backdoor Roth remains a viable path.“It’s kind of surprising how many people don’t know about the ability to do a backdoor Roth,” Hansen says. “Most of the time, it’s, ‘Oh, I don’t qualify for Roths so I’ve got to figure something else out.’"

“If you don’t have accountability, you can never reach your ambition.” It's Not Just the NumbersWith Penny Breslin and Damien GreatheadFor CPA TrendlinesIf there’s one topic that never gets old in accounting, it’s technology. New apps promise smoother workflows, faster reconciliations, and smarter insights every year. Yet, despite all the innovation, many firms still struggle with the same problem: too many tools, too little strategy.  MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead MORE Advisory & Consulting BUY "It's Not Just the Numbers" In the latest episode of It’s Not Just the Numbers, hosts Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead revisit a metaphor that’s as timeless as it is practical, the “little black dress” of technology. The conversation digs into what every firm owner should understand about building a tech stack that actually fits their ambition, not just their app wish list. 

Turn networking, sessions, and follow-up into measurable outcomes—not just time out of the office.Accounting InfluencersWith Rob BrownSeventy-six percent of professionals believe in-person conferences offer better networking opportunities than virtual events. But while accountants spend millions each year on registration fees, hotel rooms, and travel, only a fraction walk away with meaningful ROI. According to Rob Brown on Accounting Influencers, the problem isn’t the events—it’s the strategy. MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown “People go to conferences and just float,” Brown says. “They wander the expo hall, catch a few sessions, grab the swag—and then wonder why nothing changes.” With conferences back at full strength and offering multi-sensory experiences, deeper technical sessions, and richer networking formats, Brown says firms should treat them as strategic business opportunities, not passive learning days.

Stop “playing small ball,” and reimagine client experiences.Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA Trendlines“A business model describes how you earn revenue when services are given away for free,” said Ron Baker, co-founder of THRESHOLD: A Revelation for the Transformation Economy, during his appearance on Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing. “That terrifies people, but it’s where the economy is going.”  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 Sponsored by Tax Season Readiness: Practical Steps for a Smoother Busy Season  | Is your firm truly ready for tax season—or just hoping to survive it? Join this 90-minute webinar featuring an Accounting ARC Live panel with thought leaders who know what it takes to optimize performance under pressure. | Dec. 10, 2 p.m. ET | 1.5 CPE Baker discusses the profession’s next major evolution: the transformation economy, where firms no longer compete on services, scope, or efficiency, but on their ability to change lives.He argues that CPAs are uniquely positioned to guide clients through lasting financial and personal transformation. CPA value will shift from work performed to life and business outcomes: healthier, wealthier, wiser clients living with meaning.  

A CPA credential amplifies your ability to question systems and push for fairness.Accounting ARC - Student-Led ConversationsWith Arpan GrewalCenter for Accounting TransformationAdvocacy often appears on television as protest marches, campaign rallies, or contentious debates. But in a recent Accounting ARC – Student-Led Conversations episode, host Arpan Grewal and guest ZeNai Savage, CPA, recast advocacy as something more grounded and accessible: a series of everyday decisions about when to speak up, who to invite in, and how to use professional skills for public good. Sponsored by Tax Season Readiness: Practical Steps for a Smoother Busy Season | Dec. 10, 2 pm ET  | Is your firm truly ready for tax season—or just hoping to survive it? Join this 90-minute webinar featuring an Accounting ARC Live panel with thought leaders who know what it takes to optimize performance under pressure. See Today’s Special Offer MORE Accounting ARC: 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 | CPA Firm Ownership Under Fire | Walking Violation: When Showing Your CPA Gets You in Trouble | Savage is not a typical accountant. She is the founder of The Savage Advantage, a consulting firm that provides outsourced controller work, budget development, governance support, and board training to nonprofits and civic organizations. She also writes and speaks through Blurred Lines, a personal platform built on the belief that people do not have to separate their faith, professional life, and community service into neat compartments.For Grewal, a Gen Z student leader, Savage’s path offers a concrete example of how young professionals can blend technical careers with civic engagement.

The OBBBA just reset the rules.Quick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodayFor the last several years, tax professionals, small businesses, and even casual online sellers have been living through what Quick Tax Tip host Art Werner calls “a fun roller coaster ride”—if you think tax compliance roller coasters are fun.In this episode, Werner breaks down the whiplash-inducing changes to Form 1099-K and the brand-new thresholds for 1099 reporting, and explains how Congress, the IRS, and a long list of confused taxpayers all contributed to the mess.Click here for more Art WernerIf you accept payment cards or use third-party payment processors such as PayPal, Venmo, Square, or Stripe, you may already know this story.