CPA Trendlines Podcasts

A campaign promise turns into tax code reality—but only for a limited time.Quick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodayOn the latest Quick Tax Tip, tax guru Art Werner unpacks one of the buzziest provisions tucked into the “One Big Beautiful Bill”: the partial exemption of tips from taxation.Click here for more Art WernerDuring their campaigns, both former President Trump and Vice President Harris floated the idea of eliminating taxes on tips. Now, some of that rhetoric has made its way into law—but with caveats that every taxpayer, accountant, and employer in the hospitality sector needs to understand.

Stop reacting. Start Guiding. Move from Historian to Navigator with an AI-powered Business GPS platform purpose-built for growing CPA firm advisory.The traditional advisory model wasn’t built to scale-- 4impactdata changes that.Client Advisory Services at ScaleStart delivering scalable advisory in weeks — not months — with our 5-step implementation process.4ID is purpose-built to embed codified wisdom into your existing workflow — quickly and seamlessly. With our proven 5-step approach, your team can confidently move from insight to action without complexity or disruption.Advisory Beyond Dashboards.Built for What Comes Next. Old School: Dashboards report what happened. New School: We scale your advisory with recommendations. Learn MoreSchedule a Demo

Treating communication as a strategy, not administration, helps firms navigate M&A, private equity, and constant change.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA TrendlinesOn the latest MOVE Like This, host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk sits down with Alice Grey Harrison of AGH Consulting to talk about the people side of firm transformation. Harrison, a three-decade veteran of strategic communications and change management in the accounting sector, helps firms navigate M&A, private equity, leadership transitions, and system rollouts by focusing on how people experience change.  MORE MOVE Harrison’s central thesis: culture, clearly tied to mission–vision–values, is a growth engine. When people see how their daily work advances firm goals, they give “discretionary energy.” She illustrates this with a pivotal chapter from her big-firm years: after a streak of acquisitions, offices clung to local traditions and bespoke tax methods that trapped capacity. Moving to a true “one firm” model, aligned methodologies, systems, and talent, unlocked scale and accelerated growth that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. 

Stop reacting. Start Guiding. Move from Historian to Navigator with an AI-powered Business GPS platform purpose-built for growing CPA firm advisory.The traditional advisory model wasn’t built to scale-- 4impactdata changes that.Client Advisory Services at ScaleStart delivering scalable advisory in weeks — not months — with our 5-step implementation process.4ID is purpose-built to embed codified wisdom into your existing workflow — quickly and seamlessly. With our proven 5-step approach, your team can confidently move from insight to action without complexity or disruption.Advisory Beyond Dashboards.Built for What Comes Next. Old School: Dashboards report what happened. New School: We scale your advisory with recommendations. Learn MoreSchedule a Demo

From automation to document management, open source solutions can deliver enterprise-level value for free.Quick Tech TalkWith Steve YossCPE TodayWhat if you didn’t have to pay for Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, or even popular automation platforms like Zapier? What if you could get the same—or even better—functionality for free, while also gaining full control over your data and privacy? That’s the promise of open source software, and it’s more accessible than ever. MORE Steve Yoss here | MORE TECH In the latest episode of Quick Tech Talk, you’ll learn how open source tools are transforming both personal and business technology use. From document management to automation, open source solutions provide cost savings, flexibility, and security—all without the hidden strings of paid SaaS products.Open source software means that the underlying code is publicly available. Anyone can use, modify, or share it. That freedom has given rise to an entire ecosystem of high-quality applications that rival the best-known commercial products.

Dashboards and statements aren’t enough—accountants must help clients turn data into action. The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrJoe Woodard sees a disconnect between what accountants think they’re selling and what clients want to buy. Many accountants still think they’re selling time, but as Woodard points out with a vivid analogy, that’s not what clients care about. MORE STREAMING: 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 |“If I'm going into CVS and I need Tums,” he explains, imagine if CVS charged you more because “I hung around in their store for twice as long to buy the Tums as I needed to, I took a circuitous path. Maybe I looked at some of the kids’ toys for an upcoming birthday party where they’re going to charge me twice as much for the Tums.”This absurd scenario mirrors what accounting firms do to clients when the cost of delivering the service depends on the time it takes to do the work, so “the value of the product changes based on some arbitrary time metric,” Woodard says. “As long as that’s the case, there’s always going to be a resistance to the billing for selling the wrong product.”However, even among firms that have adopted value pricing, a disconnect remains because the focus is on deliverables rather than outcomes.

The PFML federal tax credit is no longer temporary. Here's how to claim it, avoid pitfalls, and support your workforce.Quick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodayIf you’ve been taking advantage of the federal Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) credit, here’s some good news: It’s no longer set to expire. Thanks to recent legislation, the enhancement of this credit is now permanent—a significant win for employers who want to support their staff without taking a major financial hit. Click here for more Art Werner Catch more Art Werner, Wednesday, Sept. 3, for Tax Rumors, Episode 3, with CPA Steve Yoss, and hosted by CPA Trendlines’ Rick Telberg. In the latest Quick Tax Tip episode, tax expert Art Werner breaks down exactly what this means for your business, how you can qualify, and the rules you must follow to keep this benefit in play.

Attention CPAs and accounting pros! Are you ready to take your practice to the next level? Then it’s time to upgrade to CPA Trendlines PRO Membership—your all-access pass to premium insights, strategies, and tools designed just for YOU!See today 's best PRO  offers here.Get exclusive access – Over 10,000 articles, tools, and expert guidance—keeping you ahead of the curve in practice management, growth, and industry trends.Enjoy VIP perks – Be the first to get new content, receive special handling on orders, and unlock priority concierge service just for PRO members.Save big– In the CPA Trendlines Shop, plus deep discounts on membership plans!And here’s a bonus: New PRO members receive welcome gifts worth over $300!Stay informed – With exclusive member surveys, studies, and expert insights that help grow your firm and boost your success!More support, more value, more power for your practice!Upgrade today at CPA Trendlines and start maximizing your potential!

As private equity reshapes the profession, accounting leaders debate who should hold the keys to ownership. Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationWhen New York passed the first CPA licensure law in 1896, the goal was simple: protect the public by ensuring financial professionals met high standards. More than a century later, that mandate is at the heart of a heated debate about who should be allowed to own CPA firms. MORE Accounting ARC: 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 | What Happens in Vegas… Gets Reported on a Tax Return | Burnout, Be Gone: Accounting Needs a Boundary Breakthrough | The Ultimate Business Hack You’re Probably Ignoring | Resilience, Real Talk, and the Road to Mental Wellness | Blockchain Could Still Reshape Accounting | What Gen Z Wants from Business | Firm Differentiation Depends Upon Client Service In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Liz Mason, CPA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, explore the evolution of firm ownership rules and their implications for the profession.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act can reward smart planners—and punish the unprepared.Quick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodayIn the aftermath of the newly enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), taxpayers and businesses alike are scrambling to determine whether they stand to gain or lose under the sweeping changes. But according to tax authority Art Werner, the dividing line between winners and losers is clear: those who plan will win; those who don’t will lose. Click here for more Art Werner Catch more Art Werner, Wednesday, Sept. 3, for Tax Rumors, Episode 3, with CPA Steve Yoss, and hosted by CPA Trendlines’ Rick Telberg. “There are always winners and losers in a tax bill,” Werner says in the latest Quick Tax Tip podcast. “But the best answer I can give at this point is that the winners are going to be the people who plan.”