Ask CPA Trendlines
Now, with smarter search, deeper analysis, more detailed responses (v.2.7).
Now, with smarter search, deeper analysis, more detailed responses (v.2.7).
By Martin Bissett
Connection, community, and trust create opportunities that credentials alone cannot.
Sponsored by True Advisor: The Definitive Success Guide for Client Advisory Services by Hitendra Patil |
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Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason and Byron Patrick
Center for Accounting Transformation
In the accounting profession, technical excellence is expected. However, according to the latest episode of Accounting ARC, relationships — not just work product — often determine who grows, who leads, and who thrives.
In a candid and deeply personal conversation, Liz Mason, CPA, and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, explore how relationship-building shapes careers, creates opportunity, and provides stability in an unpredictable profession.
MORE Accounting ARC: The Real Problem with AI in Accounting | AI Can Fix Your Workflow—or Break It in Seconds | Efficiency Is the Wrong Goal for AI | Accounting’s Hidden Talent Risk: The Sandwich Generation | Built Fast. Sold Faster. Broken Later? The Truth About Accounting Tech | Recognize When You Need to Recharge Before You Burn Out | Valuing More Than the Balance Sheet | Accounting’s “Untalked-About” Frontier | Why Happiness is Hard-Fought for High Achievers | The Fastest Way to Lose Talent Is “Dick Leadership” | Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn’t a Failure; It’s a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting |
Mason, CEO of High Rock Accounting, opens the discussion by reflecting on how little emphasis the profession places on teaching interpersonal skills. Patrick, senior product manager for Karbon and co-founder and part-time educator for TB Academy, agrees. “You don’t learn it in college,” he says. “There’s no course on building relationships.”
That gap, they argue, becomes especially obvious early in a professional’s career.

56,000 new accounting majors since 2023.
By CPA Trendlines Research
Accounting programs at U.S. colleges and universities are seeing a resurgence after years of decline, providing fresh evidence that the profession’s talent shortage may be easing.
New data from the National Student Clearinghouse and the AICPA show that accounting is now outperforming most other business disciplines in attracting undergraduate students.
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Yes, you can put a number on it, and it might be bigger than you expect.
By August Aquila
MAX: Maximize Productivity, Profitability and Client Retention
It’s important to remember that the most valuable asset of any professional services firm is its clients.
Losing clients can be costly, but do you really know how much it can cost you? Let’s find out.
The first step is to track client attrition. Be honest with yourself here. It’s important to know how many clients leave each year and why they leave. Most clients don’t leave because of fees. There are two main reasons people leave:
“Inclusion often depends on whether people are willing to communicate, listen, and repair misunderstandings when they happen.”
MOVE Like This
With Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk
For CPA Trendlines Research
In this episode of the MOVE Like This podcast, Bonnie Ruszczyk sits down with Guillaume Turmel, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne whose research focuses on how people experience genuine inclusion in the workplace. Drawing from his own experiences working internationally, helping launch an LGBTQ+ employee resource group, and observing the disconnect between strong DEI programs and employees still feeling “slightly off,” Guillaume explores why inclusion is far more personal and complex than most organizations assume.