CPA Trendlines Podcasts

Measuring impact—not hours—creates happier teams, better clients, and a stronger profession.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrWhat will it take to kill the billable hour? Chris Vanover, founder of CPAClub, believes it’s not only “outdated and archaic,” but that today’s age of AI and automation “is a recipe for the death of the billable hour.”    MORE STREAMING: 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 | Telka: Transform Fear into Fuel | Woodard: Move Past Reports; Deliver Results CPAClub, formerly AuditClub, operates under a different model. As Hervochon explained in his first appearance on The Disruptors, CPAClub operates as a subscription service, where pass holders have access on a monthly or annual basis to a team of highly skilled auditors and accountants. This innovative business model undoubtedly contributed to the firm’s recognition as CalCPA’s Firm of the Year for 2025.  “CPAClub was launched back in 2022 with a mission to try to help improve the profession,” Vanover explains.  “Hours aren't necessarily something you want to buy, because ultimately, I could sell you 40 hours at a certain value per hour, but there's no guarantee that I would actually deliver anything with those hours,” Vanover explains.  

“A knee-jerk pullback can actually increase legal risk."MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA TrendlinesIn a climate where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs have become political flashpoints, employment attorney Aislinn Sroczynski of Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld joins host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk on MOVE Like This to unpack the facts behind the fear. The result is a grounded, no-nonsense discussion on how firms can remain inclusive, compliant, and confident—without compromising their values. MORE MOVE Despite the noise, Sroczynski reminds us that the legal foundation of DEI hasn’t budged. Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, and the Equal Pay Act still form the bedrock of U.S. anti-discrimination law. “What’s changed,” she explains, “is the level of scrutiny.”That means employers should revisit—not rewrite—their programs to ensure they focus on fairness regardless of protected characteristics, not because of them.

"If they’re consistently uncooperative, they’re not a good CAS client, no matter how much they pay.”  It's Not Just the NumbersWith Penny Breslin and Damien GreatheadFor CPA TrendlinesIn the world of client accounting and advisory services (CAS), most firms focus on building internal teams, refining processes, and adopting the right technology. Yet, one crucial element often gets overlooked: the client. In a recent episode of It’s Not Just the Numbers, co-hosts Damien Greathead and Penny Breslin explore why clients must be treated as integral members of the team, and what happens when firms fail to define the client’s role in the process. Their conversation, drawn from decades of working with accounting firms around the world, provides a blueprint for CPAs and firm owners aiming to elevate their CAS practices.  MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead | MORE Advisory & Consulting | BUY "It's Not Just the Numbers" Traditionally, accountants position clients as recipients of a service; for example, the client would deliver documents once a year, and the firm would produce a tax return. That transactional model doesn’t work in CAS, says Breslin. 

Automation isn’t replacing accountants—it’s exposing who can’t evolve.Accounting InfluencersWith Rob BrownArtificial intelligence isn’t a future disruptor—it’s already embedded in accounting. The profession’s survival depends on how quickly firms adapt.“The robots are coming—scratch that—they’re already here,” says Accounting Influencers host Rob Brown. “AI literacy isn’t optional anymore. If you’re treating AI as tomorrow’s problem, you’re already behind the curve.”The latest episode explores the seismic impact of automation on accounting and the urgent need for firms to transform their skills, strategies, and structures. MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown Citing a McKinsey report, Brown notes that nearly 80% of organizations already use AI in at least one core function. “It’s pervasive now,” he says. “Reconciliation, data entry, transaction classification—AI eats those jobs for breakfast.”A 2023 OpenAI study even found that automation could impact nearly all tasks performed by accountants and auditors. Yet, surprisingly, the accounting job market hasn’t collapsed. “Two years into the generative AI journey, most jobs haven’t vanished,” Brown observes. “The danger isn’t robots replacing humans—it’s humans who fail to leverage robots being replaced by those who do.”

Growth doesn’t always mean moving on—it can mean moving deeper.Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA Trendlines“I love Smith + Howard, and I loved marketing, but I didn’t think I was the person for that role anymore,” says Julie Barnes, chief of staff of Smith + Howard, during her appearance on Gear Up for Growth, powered by CPA Trendlines, and hosted by Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing. “I didn’t want to leave; I wanted to do something different. I wanted to be valuable to the firm and create value in whatever role I landed in.”  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 Barnes shares how her 30-year journey at the firm has evolved through initiative, transparency, and a culture that supports growth from within. Her story offers two powerful takeaways for professionals in accounting firms.

Leaders tie AI to real workflows, not wish lists, and adoption follows. Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationAccounting leaders are accelerating AI deployment across tax, audit, and advisory—but three accounting veterans and hosts of Accounting ARC argue the difference between adoption and shelfware comes down to focus, guardrails, and relentless training. On the latest episode, hosts Liz Mason, CPA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; dissect how large firms are approaching Microsoft Copilot and adjacent tools. They agree that leaders should start now, but do so strategically.  MORE Accounting ARC: 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 | 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 Patrick, CEO of VERIFYiQ and co-founder and educator at TB Academy, opens with a caution that resonates across enterprise tech cycles: many organizations feel pressured to adopt generative AI without clearly defining expected outcomes. He urges leaders to ask what success specifically looks like, whether that is fewer review points, faster cycle times on close, or reduced audit adjustments. 

Key changes to Sections 168 and 179 offer fresh opportunities for strategic deductions.Quick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodayIn the latest Quick Tax Tip episode, tax expert Art Werner dives into one of the most talked-about provisions in the new tax bill: the restoration of 100% bonus depreciation.“Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, bonus depreciation started to phase down from 100% to zero,” Werner explains. “For 2025, it was set at 40%. But this new bill retroactively restores 100% bonus depreciation — starting Jan. 20, 2025 — and keeps it that way through the end of 2029.”Click here for more Art WernerThat January date, Werner notes, is significant: “It happens to be Inauguration Day. So it seems the new administration is ushering in a new era for business expensing.”The move reverses years of gradual cutbacks and offers businesses renewed incentive to invest in equipment and property. According to Werner, this means tax practitioners can breathe easier — at least for now.

In the age of AI, conversations, not calculations, will define the future of the profession.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrEd Kless believes accountants can do much more than monitor the numbers. Together with Ron Baker, their latest venture, Threshold, is a community that aims to support professionals in facilitating transformations in their customers. As Kless explains, transformations occur when someone makes lasting changes in one or more of the domains of human flourishing.   MORE STREAMING: 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 | Telka: Transform Fear into Fuel “The purpose of business is to promote human flourishing. Profit is the result of a business. And there's nothing wrong with that,” Kless says. “I think profit is good, but it's the result. It's not the purpose.” Drawing from Benjamin Franklin and economist Russ Roberts, Kless explains that human flourishing has four domains: making people healthier, wealthier, wiser, or helping them live with more purpose.  When accountants work with customers across these four domains, they are not merely providing accounting services but are also facilitating transformations. In a recent episode of The Disruptors, Ron Baker explained Joe Pine’s model for economic value, which Pine described in his earlier book, “The Experience Economy.” In this model, transformations are the most valuable of economic offerings. 

A new generation of borrowers is emerging—and advisors need to be ready to serve them.By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™For CPA TrendlinesStudent loan debt is not just a problem for young professionals anymore. It is a challenge that increasingly touches families, near-retirees, and even retirees. With more than $1.8 trillion in federal student loan debt across 42.5  million borrowers, the issue is too significant for CPAs and financial advisors to overlook because more and more of their clients are directly affected. MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management BUY the Holistic Guide to Wealth Management On the latest episode of Holistic Guide to Wealth Management, Alex Bottom, CEO of Finology, and Ryan Galiotto, CFP®, CSLP®, founder of the Student Loan Help Network, discuss how new legislation, shifting demographics, and growing demand for guidance are reshaping this area of planning.“Student loan planning is essentially looking at a client’s full financial picture and helping them find the fastest and cheapest way to eliminate that debt,” Galiotto explains. “[Student loan] debt is a massive issue within our country right now, and it is only going to get bigger.”

"The classroom is no longer a pipeline for work-ready professionals."Accounting InfluencersWith Rob BrownToday’s accounting leaders are facing an alarming truth: the next generation of recruits may be the least “work-ready” in decades.They know their algebra, their Shakespeare, and their chemistry formulas—but not how to introduce themselves in a job interview, meet a deadline, or handle feedback. That’s the provocative premise explored in the latest episode of Accounting Influencers Podcast, where host Rob Brown tackles the widening gap between what schools teach and what firms need.“The classroom is no longer a pipeline for work-ready professionals,” Brown warns. “And accounting firms are starting to feel the pain.” MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown Brown, a former high school math teacher, speaks from experience. He spent years coaching students to pass tests—not preparing them for the real world. “The curriculum is built for exams, not for the workplace,” he says. “No one’s teaching children how to build trust, handle tough feedback, or develop emotional intelligence.”That shortfall has far-reaching consequences. According to research cited in the episode, only 11% of business leaders strongly agree that graduates leave school ready for work. Eight in ten employers say that new hires lack not only technical proficiency but also critical soft skills, such as resilience, digital literacy, and time management.