CPA Trendlines Podcasts

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. Learn MorePoe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity. Learn More

Private equity isn’t the only way to scale.The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrSteve Shein thought small accounting firms need a different option than private equity or the traditional M&A route. So he founded Franklin Alliance, which operates differently from either of those models.  Unlike traditional private equity models that typically focus on cost reduction and mandate immediate process changes, Franklin Alliance operates as an investment partner with a fundamentally different structure. "We’re trying to build this intentionally, with the goal of being a differentiated partner, specifically for small firm owners who care about things like culture, autonomy, and their firm identity,” Shein explains. “We built this platform as an operating company specifically so we’re not a fund,” Shein explains. “It’s backed by venture capital and family offices, which basically means that the profile of the investors that we’ve taken capital from has a longer-term time horizon.”  MORE STREAMING: 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 This structure enables what Shein calls a “culture of growth rather than a kind of cost rationalization,” which is a better fit for many small firms. The approach contrasts with acquisitions by regional firms, where acquired firms are generally forced to adopt new processes, workflows, and technology within 90 days. 

Just make sure you and your clients understand costs, premiums, risks, and potential surrender charges. By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™For CPA TrendlinesLife insurance has long been misunderstood. Too often, advisors and clients alike dismiss it as costly, confusing, or underperforming. But as Keith Friedman, CEO and founder of FBO Strategies, explains on our recent podcast, permanent life insurance deserves a second look. When designed and communicated correctly, life insurance can be a flexible, tax-efficient asset that provides protection, liquidity, and even a hedge against long-term care costs.  MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management BUY the Holistic Guide to Wealth Management Friedman, creator of the trademarked Carbyne Allocation® approach, has built his practice on independence, analysis, and transparency. He believes the industry needs to move past outdated sales tactics and toward thoughtful integration of insurance into portfolio construction and holistic planning. “Permanent life insurance or cash value life insurance is frequently viewed as something that is expensive, rigid, and doesn’t perform,” Friedman says. “Now some of those things are true—but over time the commissions and fees are actually less than if you paid an advisor to manage your money.” 

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. Learn MorePoe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity. Learn More

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. Learn MorePoe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale, and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunities. Learn More

Keep your own voice in charge.Accounting InfluencersWith Rob BrownIn the race to stay relevant in accounting, artificial intelligence has emerged as both a powerful accelerator and a quiet threat. In this episode of the Accounting Influencers podcast, the conversation dives deep into how accountants can harness AI to amplify their visibility and credibility—without losing their authenticity.AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Jasper have made it easier than ever for professionals to create content that showcases their expertise. Need a LinkedIn post, a client email, or a blog idea? You can generate it in seconds. But speed comes with a price. The danger, as host Rob Brown notes, is mistaking efficiency for originality. MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown “AI is fast. AI is smart. But AI has no soul,” says Brown. “It’s never sat with a client in crisis or led a team through busy season. It hasn’t lived your story.”The temptation to let AI speak for you is understandable. Accountants are busy, and content creation can feel daunting. Yet, when AI-generated posts sound polished but generic, professionals risk blending into the background. The very tool designed to help them stand out could make them indistinguishable.

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. Learn MorePoe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale, and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunities. Learn More

Five steps turn vision into execution.Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA TrendlinesOn the latest episode of “Gear Up for Growth,” host Jean Caragher interviews Matt Rampe, partner at Rosenberg Associates and author of the forthcoming book, "CPA Firm Strategic Planning: Your Roadmap for Long-Term Success," about how accounting firms can move beyond ad-hoc retreats to a disciplined, accountable planning process that sticks.Rampe, who advises firms on strategy, succession, partner development, and profitability, said the book grew out of years of facilitation and coaching with firms of all sizes. “The book was in my brain for a long time before it got put on paper,” he says. “When I started writing, it actually came pretty quickly—but I learned there’s a lot more to making a book than a Word document.”  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 Rampe argues that the profession has reached a disruption point, citing converging pressures including private equity, technology, staffing shortages, succession for retiring Baby Boomers, and a shift toward advisory services. “What worked for us 10 years ago isn’t going to work for us 10 years in the future,” he says. “The old model, where a few partners disappear into a room and come out with a plan, doesn’t work in this age. We need to be nimble.”

Poe Group Advisors; Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms.Our clients love working with us, and we know you will too! Don’t just take our word for it. Learn more about our client success stories and how we’ve guided buyers and sellers through a smooth transition with their bookkeeping, accounting, and CPA firms. Learn MorePoe Group Advisors is the premier accounting practice intermediary firm in the industry with over 20 years of M&A experience. PGA was founded by Brannon Poe, a CPA with a Big 4 background. Buying or selling a CPA firm is one of life’s most significant ventures for business owners. Qualified buyers looking to buy an accounting firm want to find the right CPA practice for sale, and accounting practice sellers want to find the right buyer. This is where Poe Group Advisors excels time and time again in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunities. Learn More

A shutdown halts processing, piles up invoices, and leaves contractors and nonprofits fronting the float. Accounting ARCWith Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationWhen the federal government shuts down, headlines focus on politics. But behind every furlough and frozen budget lies a deeper story—one told through accounting cycles, payroll ledgers, and cash flow reports. In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Liz Mason, CPA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, break down what really happens when appropriations stall and the business of government grinds to a halt.  MORE Accounting ARC: 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 “This is the kind of thing accountants think about,” Mason says at the start of the episode. “What’s the actual technical answer? What does a shutdown mean for accounts payable, for payroll, for the IRS? What’s really happening behind the scenes?” Their discussion reveals a complex web of accounting impacts—from unpaid invoices and delayed reimbursements to frozen nonprofit grants and confused taxpayers.