Accountant's Flight Plan

Did you know that currently in the U.S., only about 10% of firms are cloud-based; whereas in Australia and New Zealand the rate is around 50%? Also, did you know that cloud firms typically sell for much higher multiples than traditional firms? Why is that?Listen in on Brannon’s conversation with Ben Richmond, who is the Vice President of Business Growth for the accounting software company Xero to learn more.

This week, Brannon sat down with Anna Liotta for a podcast you DO NOT want to miss! This isn’t your typical accounting podcast, as they discuss generational differences in the workplace and the importance of understanding them to run a successful company. No wonder Fortune 500 companies keep bringing Anna back to talk about generational codes and the large impact they make on a business’ success!

If you are thinking about modernizing your firm, you don’t want to miss this podcast. Brannon recently sat down with Tate Henshaw to discuss the ins and outs of transitioning a traditional firm over to a cloud-based firm.Tate led the charge transitioning Polay+Clark from server to cloud, which led to his current position at Xero as a local ambassador in the Atlanta area, sharing insights from his experience running a cloud-based practice. Tate was also recently named a 2019 “40 under 40 Honoree” by CPA Practice Advisor.

Blake Oliver is our latest guest to sit down for a conversation with Brannon. Blake is an entrepreneur, accountant, writer and speaker who specializes in cloud accounting technology. He is the Director of Product Marketing for FloQast. In 2016 and 2017, he was named a “40 Under 40” in the accounting profession by CPA Practice Advisor. I had the pleasure of meeting Blake and David at a CalCPA event to celebrate new licensees.  Blake recently became a CPA. Listen to the podcast to gain more insight into how Blake created and sold his cloud-based accounting practice.

Jason Ding is our latest guest to sit down for a conversation with Brannon. Jason is a young practice owner who purchased his CPA firm in the Vancouver, BC area through Poe Group Advisors in 2018. Jason is the proud owner of Jason Ding, CPA Inc., which provides accounting, tax and consulting services. What’s really interesting about his story is just how he’s grown his CPA firm since purchasing. He made some very bold moves! Listen in to find out how he went about driving exponential growth.

Many of you we presume are already familiar with Ron Baker because he truly is a trailblazer in the accounting industry. If this if your first time hearing Ron speak, then you are in a for a real treat!Ron is essentially the father of “value-pricing” in the accounting world. We could not be more excited to share his and Brannon’s conversation with you. In 1989 he first began switching from charging for time (billable hours) to charging fixed prices for value delivered.

Brannon recently had an enlightening conversation with Amy Vetter. Listen in on their conversation about work life balance, which helps create a more productive work-force and a more productive you. Amy Veter is a CPA, author, teacher, public speaker and yoga studio owner. In this podcast, Amy gives us insight into the contentment she feels in business and life by living a purposeful, mindful, relaxing and productive life. We highly recommend you listen to the business and life advice Vetter has to contribute in this podcast.

Shannon is the Vice President of lending for accounting and tax professionals at Live Oak Bank. He can provide loans in all 50 states of the US. He was recruited to launch the accounting and tax vertical in 2017 after successfully launching a similar program at another top 25 SBA lender. Shannon has over two decades of banking experience and has worked in a number of small business initiatives. He spent the beginning part of his career in the special assets group of a niche lending division at one of the nation’s largest banks, assisting in the sale of professional practices. This knowledge helps him understand the importance of the deal flow and striving to always keep the deal moving forward. As well, he is committed to the accounting profession, attending all major accounting trade shows annually, meeting with industry experts and constantly staying in front of trends in the accounting world. To learn more, please visit the Live Oak/Poe Group landing page.

Rita is a nationally known CPA firm management consultant, speaker and author. She has been repeatedly named to Accounting Today’s list of Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting. CPA Practice Advisor has also named Keller one of The Most Powerful Women in Accounting. Keller confers with some of the most respected consultants to the CPA profession. These relationships allow her to maintain a keen sense of what CPA firms are facing nationwide.

Ryan shares on this podcast how he started his completely cloud-based firm and how there was originally a good deal of push back from other CPAs. He had a revolutionary vision to create not just good client service, but to create an incredible client experience. He also wanted a fun workplace for himself and his workforce that allowed for flexibility and required less of the aspects of the accounting business that he found mundane. Ryan succeeded.