The Unique CPA

On Episode 116 of The Unique CPA, Randy is joined by Jonathan McGuire of Aldrich Advisors to discuss Opportunity Zones, a unique element of the tax code introduced by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2018. Opportunity Zones allow investors to defer capital gains taxes and later taxation by investing in designated low-income communities. Jonathan covers the tax benefits, requirements for Opportunity Zone Funds and Businesses, and types of eligible investments. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

On Episode 115 of The Unique CPA, Randy talks to Eileen Adao, Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships with Glean.ai. Eileen discusses her career journey from the Big Four to tech startups, and what she’s learned about the importance of culture, coaching, and diversity in creating an inclusive workplace where people can bring their authentic selves to work. She also details Glean.ai’s leveraging of AI to provide insights and efficient workflows for accountants. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

On Episode 114 of The Unique CPA, Randy gets together with Dawn Brolin, the CEO of Powerful Accounting and author of The Designated Motivator. Dawn discusses her journey of coaching a college softball team during tax season, the experience of which led her to write her book. She details how technology and relationship pricing models have helped her reduce her hours during tax season and provide more value to her clients. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Randy talks to Zach Baughan, a mindfulness consultant and practitioner, on episode 113 of The Unique CPA. Zach discusses how mindfulness and meditation practices can help reduce stress and increase performance for accounting professionals through techniques like deep breathing and seated, silent meditation, as well as a number of book and app recommendations. Randy also talks to Zach about his own advocacy for mental health in the accounting profession and how he hopes to incorporate mindfulness into his talks going forward. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Making technology work for your firm is the theme on Episode 112 of The Unique CPA. Randy talks to Ellen Choi, co-founder of Aiwyn, an automation platform for accounting firms. She talks about how Aiwyn helps firms streamline processes and overcome resistance to change. Leveraging AI, through what she describes as the “virtuous cycle of mutual learning,” can help not only to improve value based pricing and client experience for firms of any size, but increase the knowledge and understanding of the humans who use these AI-based tools. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Randy Crabtree talks “coach-ulting” and tax optimization with Brian Amann of CPA Edge on Episode 111 of The Unique CPA. Brian was the former founder and partner at TaxOps, which has been recognized as a top accounting firm by Accounting Today and Inc. magazine, among others, and he took his experience developing TaxOps’ model and offered it to other accounting professionals by founding CPA Edge. He stresses the important of culture and brand, both difficult things to measure, but very important in ensuring the success of an enterprise. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

David Toth of Winding River Consulting brings his digital marketing expertise to the table in this conversation with Randy on episode 110 of The Unique CPA. David identifies the five core principles behind developing a successful digital culture that drives growth at a CPA firm amongst a plethora of other business development insights. He further touches on how important getting buy-in from people in important, decision making roles, as well as finding them “gems” within your firm that will carry on the torch in future generations. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Randy Crabtree is joined by Gale Crosley of Crosley+Company on episode 109 of The Unique CPA. Gale’s specialty is in driving strategic, organic, revenue growth for CPA firms, and she has been recognized for her influence and insights into the accounting profession by The Advisory Board, CPA Practice Advisors, Accounting Today, Inside Public Accounting, and more. Gale shares her insights through actionable principles any CPA firm can take now to improve its growth and profitability, and delves into just how strategic organic growth works. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Joe Woodard joins Randy for Episode 108 to talk about June's Scaling New Heights conference and automation as the key to helping your business soar. The founder of Woodard, a nationally recognized CPA coaching membership, and co-host of The Woodard Report podcast with Heather Satterly, Joe offers a road map for firms that are looking to automate more of their processes, shares tips for how to get it done in an efficient, scalable way, and relieves tensions around the onslaught of AI solutions with a reminder that the software solutions you already use will probably be integrating artificial intelligence into their functionality anyway—so you don't have to become an end-all, be-all expert on AI. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Randy welcomes Tina White, the founder of Panoramic Academy, on Episode 107 of The Unique CPA. Tina started her career in the public accounting world, then transitioned to ownership of an HVAC servicing company, and now runs Panoramic Academy, which specializes in coaching business owners to improve their financials and make their companies self-sufficient. She discusses how important advisory services are in the accountant / business relationship, the human element of that connection, and how important it is for any business to tighten up every aspect of its operations. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com